{"id":151960,"date":"2026-02-05T10:14:09","date_gmt":"2026-02-05T10:14:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/151960\/"},"modified":"2026-02-05T10:14:09","modified_gmt":"2026-02-05T10:14:09","slug":"texas-techs-felix-ojo-named-most-overpaid-player-in-2026-recruiting-class-by-gms","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/151960\/","title":{"rendered":"Texas Tech’s Felix Ojo Named Most Overpaid Player in 2026 Recruiting Class by GMs"},"content":{"rendered":"

The 2026 recruiting classes are finalized as Wednesday marked National Signing Day. According to 247Sports<\/a>, the top five classes belong to the USC Trojans<\/a>, Oregon Ducks<\/a>, Alabama Crimson Tide<\/a>, Ohio State Buckeyes<\/a> and the Notre Dame<\/a> Fighting Irish.<\/p>\n

In total, 18 teams secured a five-star recruit, including the Texas Tech Red Raiders, who recently made a College Football Playoff appearance. The recruit is offensive tackle Felix Ojo from Mansfield, Texas. He ranks No. 5 at his position and No. 48 overall in his class.<\/p>\n

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He chose to commit to Texas Tech, turning down offers from prestigious programs such as Texas, Oklahoma, Ohio State<\/a>, Michigan, Alabama, USC, Georgia and Oregon. However, despite receiving numerous offers, a couple of anonymous general managers identified him as the most overpaid player in the 2026 recruiting class.<\/p>\n

\"Texas<\/p>\n

Texas Tech 5-Star offensive lineman Felix Ojo.Felix Ojo&sol;X<\/p>\n

(Felix Ojo&sol;X)<\/p>\n

In a survey conducted by On3’s Pete Nakos, four general managers and staff members were asked if there were any players they felt were significantly overpaid during the signing cycle. Seven responses indicated that Ojo was considered overpaid. He reportedly signed a three-year deal with an expected average annual salary of $775,000.<\/p>\n

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\u201cFelix Ojo,\u201d an SEC<\/a> general manager told Nakos<\/a>. \u201cTexas Tech paid for measurables over tape. Every year, we get hit on high-ranked guys who aren\u2019t good. If Jackson Cantwell actually got $5 million over three years, that\u2019s a big risk.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cOjo is overrated,” another SEC general manager said. “When I arrived here, we were recruiting him. I put on his tape and immediately took us off him. He stinks.\u201d<\/p>\n

The backlash surrounding Ojo\u2019s NIL deal highlights a growing tension across college football<\/a> as programs weigh upside against financial risk. Texas Tech\u2019s willingness to outbid traditional powers reflects a broader shift, where aggressive NIL strategies can level the recruiting playing field, but also invite scrutiny when projections don\u2019t align with on-field evaluations.<\/p>\n

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From a historical standpoint, high-profile \u201cboom or bust\u201d recruits are nothing new, but NIL has raised the stakes dramatically. Anonymous general managers\u2019 comments suggest skepticism not just toward Ojo, but toward the broader trend of paying premiums for measurables over proven production. For programs like Texas Tech, the gamble signals ambition and confidence, while critics see it as a warning sign of an unregulated market.<\/p>\n

Looking ahead, Ojo\u2019s development will be closely monitored as an early litmus test for NIL-driven recruiting bets. If he becomes an anchor on the Red Raiders\u2019 offensive line, the investment will look visionary. If not, his deal may be cited for years as an example of why programs are calling for clearer guardrails as NIL spending continues to escalate into future signing cycles.<\/p>\n

Related: Kirk Herbstreit Names Surprising College Football Program That Can Win a National Championship<\/a><\/p>\n

This story was originally published by Athlon Sports<\/a> on Feb 5, 2026, where it first appeared in the College Football<\/a> section. Add Athlon Sports as a Preferred Source by clicking here.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"The 2026 recruiting classes are finalized as Wednesday marked National Signing Day. According to 247Sports, the top five…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":151961,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[6],"tags":[778,262,62982,21542,16971,3129,769,27,29,28,415,767],"class_list":{"0":"post-151960","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-texas","8":"tag-alabama-crimson-tide","9":"tag-college-football-playoff","10":"tag-felix-ojo","11":"tag-mansfield","12":"tag-nil","13":"tag-ohio-state","14":"tag-oregon-ducks","15":"tag-texas","16":"tag-texas-headlines","17":"tag-texas-news","18":"tag-texas-tech-red-raiders","19":"tag-usc-trojans"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151960","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=151960"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/151960\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/151961"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=151960"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=151960"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-tx\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=151960"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}