Texas Tech football is hoping for a positive move in the right direction in 2024. Last season, the Red Raiders struggled out of the gate but finished the year at 7-6, following a win in the Independence Bowl over California. Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire is entering his third season in the Big 12 program, and hoping for more wins in 2024. The Red Raiders made some moves in the transfer portal to help them get those wins, and one addition in particular should do a great deal to help the team this season.
DEFENSIVE HELP
The Red Raiders got a big pickup in their secondary from the transfer portal. Safety Javeon Wilcox is joining the Red Raiders, after spending last season with Texas Tech's Big 12 conference rival TCU. Wilcox is a former 4-star high school recruit, per 247Sports. He joins a secondary that lost some firepower after the 2023 season. The Red Raiders lost two safeties, Tyler Owens and Dadrion Taylor-Demerson, following the last campaign.
The Wilcox pickup helps shore up that safety room. Wilcox redshirted during the 2023 season with TCU, but that doesn't mean he's green. The young man was highly recruited out of high school. As a senior playing football at Texas' Lake Belton High School, Wilcox recorded 125 tackles. That's impressive, to say the least. Wilcox also had three interceptions, two pass breakups, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery that season, per TCU's communications. He was the no. 67 overall prospect in the state of Texas the year he came out of high school. If one follows high school football recruiting, you can see that Texas has a rich pool of players year in and year out. Wilcox is an under-the-radar player that should help the Texas Tech secondary and give them a lift in 2024. He's got four years of eligibility left, which means the future is bright for the young man in Lubbock.
Texas Tech needs some help on defense. In 2023, the team gave up a total of 338 points. The Red Raiders also gave up a total of 2,979 passing yards, which was one of the worst marks in the Big 12. Only six other teams in the conference gave up more passing yards last season than Texas Tech. With the loss of two safeties, the Red Raiders need all the help they can muster to strengthen their pass defense.
NEW LOOK BIG 12
Texas Tech is part of an interesting lineup of teams in the Big 12. The conference lost powers Oklahoma and Texas this offseason to the SEC. The league is also adding Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah for the 2024 season. There's a vacancy now at the top of this league, so it will be interesting to see if Texas Tech is able to compete for a Big 12 conference title in 2024. Joey McGuire has certainly won enough games in Lubbock for fans to believe that he can get it done. McGuire is 15-11 in his two seasons, with two bowl victories.
Texas Tech football opens their 2024 slate of games on August 31 against Abilene Christian. The Red Raiders also play non conference games against Washington State and North Texas, before opening Big 12 play on September 21 against newcomer Arizona State.
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