East Texas defensive lineman Braylon Rigsby commits to Texas Tech

Texas Tech moved one step closer to filling up its 2023 football recruiting class Tuesday when Woodville defensive tackle Braylon Rigsby, the defensive lineman of the year in District 10-3A Division I last season, made an oral commitment to the Red Raiders.

Rigsby's high-school team lists him as 6-foot-3 and 280 pounds. He was credited last season with 61 tackles, including 15 tackles for loss and three sacks, according to 247Sports.

Woodville went 7-4 and 5-1 in district. State champion Lorena beat the Eagles in the second round of the playoffs.

Rigsby also has been offered scholarships by Abilene Christian, Louisiana-Lafayette, Northwestern State, Sam Houston State and Washington State.

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Tech has commitments from 22 prospects for its recruiting class, players who can sign in mid-December or early February. The Red Raiders are close to filling up with the commitments of Shreveport (La.) Captain Shreve cornerback Marquez "Macho" Stevenson on Monday and Rigsby on Tuesday.

Before their pledges, Tech coach Joey McGuire said last week, "If we stopped right now, I'd feel good. If it's the right high-school guys, then we're going to take anywhere between 23 and 25."

"It's like I told (Tech staff members) the other day whenever we came in and (hosted) an official visit: Make sure the guys that are committed to us leave this campus even more committed," McGuire said. "We want guys that are not committed to us to commit, but it's more we have some really good players that are committed to us. Let's make sure we hold on to them." 

The Red Raiders lost a commitment early Tuesday when Canutillo running back L.J. Martin switched his pledge to Stanford. Martin, a consensus state top-100 prospect, committed to Tech in late April. 

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The Red Raiders also are in a tug-of-war with Ohio State for Waxahachie cornerback Calvin Simpson-Hunt, according to recruiting services.

Tech was the first school to offer Simpson-Hunt a scholarship, and he pledged to the Red Raiders in late November. He subsequently has received offers from more than two dozen schools, including Alabama, Florida, LSU, Notre Dame, Oklahoma and Texas. He now is a  consensus national top-200 recruit.

McGuire said his staff is not recruiting any more players from the transfer portal this off-season.

"Ready to go," he said. "I won't take anybody else. Everything that we're doing now is (for the class of) '23." 

The recruiting class is ranked No. 6 in the nation by Rivals but tied for 43rd based on the average star ranking of the players. The 247Sports recruiting service ranks Tech's class No. 8 overall and No. 32 based on average grade per player.

In April, Tech's class was ranked No. 1 by 247Sports and No. 2 by Rivals as McGuire's staff grabbed about 20 early commitments, by far the most in the country at the time.

Tech 2023 commitments

The following high-school juniors have made oral commitments to Texas Tech for the Red Raiders' 2023 class. Oral commitments are non-binding until a player signs a letter of intent.

Jake Strong, 6-2, 200, QB, Justin Northwest; Demarion "D.J." Crest, 6-3, 185, WR, El Paso Parkland; Kaleb Smith, 6-1, 175, WR, Frisco Reedy; Tyrone West, 6-2, 185, WR, Humble; Chris Palfreeman, 5-10, 160, IR, Fort Worth All Saints Episcopal; Kaden Carr, 6-5, 300, OT, Lubbock-Cooper; Dylan Shaw, 6-4, 290, OT, Corpus Christi Flour Bluff; Daniel Sill, 6-5, 260, OT, College Station; Amier Washington, 6-4, 260, DE, Orange Little Cypress-Mauriceville; Tre'Darius Brown, 6-4, 315, DT, Natchitoches (La.) Central; Jayden Cofield, 6-3, 325, DT, Manor; Braylon Rigsby, 6-3, 280, DT, Woodville; Isaiah Crawford, 6-4, 210, OLB, Post; John Curry, 6-3, 187, ILB, Coronado; Miquel Dingle, 6-2, 205, ILB, Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes; Anquan Willis, 6-1, 220, OLB-RB, Wichita Falls Rider; Marcus Ramon-Edwards, 6-4, 205, S-OLB, Trinity Christian; Jmaury Davis, 6-0, 180, S, Clarendon; Brenden Jordan, 6-0, 185, S, Mansfield; Chapman Lewis, 6-1, 170, S, Burleson Centennial; Calvin Simpson-Hunt, 6-0, 175, CB, Waxahachie; Marquez "Macho" Stevenson, 6-2, 170, CB, Shreveport (La.) Captain Shreve.