In the modern era of college football with NIL and the transfer portal fundamentally altering the sport, Texas Tech’s rise to dominance is turning heads.
The Red Raiders certainly aren’t the first team to go all-in on the transfer portal with high-dollar, high-profile transfers. But that hasn’t always translated to success on the field, as portal acquisitions can be volatile. Just ask Florida State and Mike Norvell, who have become portal-reliant and it’s led to some volatile results for the Seminoles. After a 13-0 2023 season, FSU is just 7-17 over the last two seasons.
So how did Texas Tech avoid a mercenary transfer culture and parlay its No. 1 transfer class into a 12-1 record, Big 12 title and College Football Playoff berth?
“One, I got really lucky because Behren Morton didn’t go anywhere and Jacob Rodriguez didn’t declare for the draft and Bryce Ramirez came back, just some old guys that have been with me for the last four years and some guys that have been with us for the last three years,” head coach Joey McGuire said in an interview on 105.3 The Fan (KRLD-FM). “They were really intentional with the guys that we brought in. This is what Lubbock’s about, this is what the building’s about.
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“We brought some guys in that I knew were leaders from their other teams. So I wanted to make sure they understood they had a voice here. I think it all started with that. They really came together.”
Texas Tech brought in 21 transfers last offseason, many of which were star players at their previous school. Guys like David Bailey, Lee Hunter, Romello Height, Howard Sampson were able to bring their immense talent and leadership to create the backbone of the No. 4 team in the country.
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That ability to bring transfers into the program culture starts with the guys you already have.
“We did a lot of stuff from January up until camp started, we’ll do some stuff next week whenever we practice and school’s out, just to be around each other and continue to grow that chemistry,” McGuire explained. “But it started a lot with the guys we had in the building, really trying to bring these guys into Lubbock and getting them to understand what it’s all about to be a Red Raider.”
There’s plenty for McGuire to be proud of, from the program’s first Big 12 Championship victory to its first CFP berth. But that’s not what McGuire is most proud of.
“How much they care about each other,” he explained. “I’ve been doing this for 31 years, I’ve been a part of some really special teams. These guys, this is a special team. There is a real brotherhood in this building. You can see that in how hard they play.”
They’ll take that brotherhood to the CFP on New Year’s Day against the winner of Oregon-James Madison in the Orange Bowl.
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