Texas Tech knows how to play the game. They watched Ohio State decimate the College Football Playoff field in 2024 and knew they needed an influx of NIL funds and a massive transfer portal class to take the Red Raiders from Big 12 afterthoughts, to perennial contenders. For the most part, it worked, too.
That was until Oregon exposed Texas Tech’s biggest problem, one they probably didn’t know they had at the time. A good transfer portal class is only half the battle. Recruiting the top high school players is just as important as landing the top transfers. Not saying that Texas Tech didn’t recruit high school well, but they have to go hand in hand.
The Red Raiders had an offensive problem against Oregon in the Orange Bowl and if you look at their transfer haul from a season ago, it shouldn’t surprise you why their defense was immaculate, and their offense was subpar. None of the big name transfers for Texas Tech were offensive players.
It’s a hard lesson Joey McGuire and the Texas Tech donors will keep in mind with the portal opening on Friday.
You can’t recruit the transfer portal without recruiting high school players too
Texas Tech got a first-row seat to why recruiting the best high school players is important. Oregon’s true freshman defensive back Brandon Finney Jr. picked off Behren Morton twice in Thursday’s game, compounding all the problems Texas Tech had on offense. The Ducks haven’t been shy about going to the portal to fill out their roster, but they know the value of high school recruits too.
Not only did Oregon have the No. 5 transfer portal class, they had the No. 5 recruiting class too. Texas Tech, on the other hand, their recruiting class was outside the top 50. Which proves why having the No. 2 portal class isn’t as significant as they thought.
Texas Tech was able to mask its glaring offensive problems thanks to its elite defense. The majority of their NIL money in the portal was spent on the defensive side of the ball. Investing on one side of the ball just won’t work on a national scale. It can work in the miserable Big 12, but to compete for a national championship, you have to build on offense and defense.
When you look at teams like Miami and Malachi Toney, he’s the center of their offense and he’s a true freshman. He’s not the only one, but the truth is high school recruits still matter just as, and it’s something McGuire is already catching on to.
Joey McGuire, Texas Tech have blueprint for national dominance after CFP dud
The transfer portal is officially open and while McGuire might be teased to focus solely on transfers again, he also knows this cycle he can’t neglect the top high school prospects. National Signing Day is next month, and the Red Raiders have already made an impression on the 2027 class. For the class of 2026, they have a top 20 recruiting class, a massive jump from 51 in the Class of 2025 and have the No. 2 class per Rivals, already for 2027.
Maybe McGuire just needed a year to figure out how to translate his knowledge of coaching high school players into recruiting them. With a top 20 incoming class, it should be the foundation McGuire and Texas Tech need to keep it in the national conversation. The transfer portal is good, but it’s not the means to an end. When used properly, the transfer portal helps you fill the holes left from high school recruitment.
The top high school players still have value in college, and they’re a bit cheaper too. Though Texas Tech shelling out reportedly nearly $30 million in NIL money a year shows they want to compete financially too, just because you have the money doesn’t mean you have to spend it all at once.
The next few years will determine just how good Texas Tech will be. We know they can recruit the transfer portal and land the top guys each year. Now they need to prove they can recruit against the national powers too at the high school level. Otherwise, they’ll never get to that elite level.