Was on vacation last week and moved at a much slower pace than normal, but having a lot of time on planes I got a lot of work done for preseason football stuff.

Texas Tech had 3 commitments over the weekend including running back J’Koby Williams (5-10/170) from Beckville, wide receiver Tyson Turner (6-2/190), and defensive end Charles Anderson, Jr. (6-7/240). You can check out the Red Raider Sports, On3, and Inside the Red Raiders. Rivals’ Cole Patterson write about the work happening with Texas Tech’s 2024 class, which included offensive lineman Ellis Davis last week and 5-star receiver Micah Hudson is a big fish that visited as well:

Momentum is rolling in Lubbock as Joey McGuire and staff build Texas Tech’s 2024 class. The Red Raiders have secured some key commitments this month, perhaps none bigger than high three-star tackle Ellis Davis. Additionally, the Red Raiders hosted electric four-star wideout Ernest Campbell last weekend and could be making a move in his recruitment.

But this weekend sets the biggest stage for McGuire and company because five-star wide receiver Micah Hudson takes his official visit to Lubbock from Friday to Sunday, giving the Red Raiders the opportunity to potentially land its highest-rated recruit of the Rivals era.

There’s work to be done. Especially since Hudson stopped to check out Texas before getting on his flight to Lubbock, and the Longhorns will host him for their own official visit next weekend. Still, the door is open for Texas Tech to make a splash and loud statement on the trail with a successful few days.

Texas Tech announced the 2023 Hall of Fame & Honor Class with the Hall of Fame including the following:

• Gonzalo Escobar for men’s tennis from 2008-2012
• Cathy Carlson for women’s tennis from 1984-1988
• Kim Kaufman for women’s golf from 2009-2013
• Kliff Kingsbury for football from 1999-2002
• Greg Lowery for men’s basketball from 1970-1972
• Matt Wingo for football from 1988-1991
• Jason Young for track and field from 1999-2004

Also, Mike Leach, the former head football coach from 2000 through 2009, who passed away in December of 2022, is the only Hall of Honor inductee. It is fitting that Leach and Kingsbury go together.

Texas Tech announced that The Red Raider Club will promote and assist in fundraising for The Matador Club, which provides name, image, and likeness opportunities for student-athletes. On3’s Jeremy Crabtree has a breakdown about how this structure is different that Texas A&M’s The 12th Man+ Fund, which is a quasi-collective under the umbrella of The 12th Man Foundation:

It’s safe to assume the restructuring at Texas Tech is the result of the new Texas NIL law.

Interestingly, the release says, “Athletics department staff will now be able to provide education and fundraising support to The Matador Club and its’ members, Texas Tech will not coordinate any NIL activities for student-athletes, per state and NCAA guidelines.”

But it’s still another significant step forward thanks to the school-friendly state NIL law that’s greased the skids for collectives to become more tethered to a university’s fundraising arm and for Texas schools to have more control over how the pooled donor funds are distributed among athletes for NIL activities.

“As a former student-athlete and lifelong Red Raider, I am thrilled to see that Texas Tech Athletics continues to be on the forefront of progress, innovation, and creativity,” Cody Campbell, the founding director of The Matador Club, said.

The Athletic’s Bruce Feldman has his thoughts from the Elite 11 competition (this is the larger competition that whittles down to just 11 quarterbacks for later in the summer I think) and Texas Tech commit Will Hammond gets some love:

Will Hammond, a three-star committed to Texas Tech, looked way better than his ranking. He was one of the most athletic QBs at the event and was almost always on time with his throws. The 6-feet-2, 187-pounder was a favorite of many of the coaches. They loved how he throws the ball but also how decisive he was in how he communicated to them in the competitions. This guy’s a steal for the Red Raiders. I doubt he’s going to be a three-star for much longer.

24/7 Sports’ Andrew Ivins also had his final ranking where Hammond ranked 6th at the end of the competition:

6. Will Hammond (Texas Tech commit) – Hammond was arguably the biggest surprise of the week. He not only shined during his Pro Day, but he was pin-point accurate during 7-on-7 play as he completed 10 of his 13 pass attempts for 113 yards and two touchdowns. That included nine straight compositions. Hammond owns a thick, athletic build and is a nice early evaluation by the Red Raiders.

On3’s Charles Power had Hammond 10th:

Will Hammond turned in a consistent, solid week of work at the Elite 11 Finals. His skill set looks to be a strong fit in Texas Tech offensive coordinator Zach Kittley’s Air Raid scheme. Hammond showed very good accuracy on his short and intermediate passes. His ability to place the football to those levels of the field was in the top group among the Elite 11 Finalists. Hammond played with good timing over the course of the week, especially during 7-on-7. He completed his first nine passes, doing a nice job of taking what the defense gave him. While Hammond didn’t have quite the downfield arm of others on hand, he was one of the more accurate and reliable passers over the course of the week.