The Morning Stake | 2023.01.20

24/7 Sports’ Steve Wiltfong details the strong start for the Texas Tech 2024 recruiting class with the help from 4-star St. Thomas (Houston) running back Johann Cardenas (6-0/215).

“I just love the atmosphere over at Tech overall,” Cardenas said. “I’ve never been much of a city person either and that’s just another plus with being able to go to school in Lubbock. The biggest thing though is what Coach McGuire and the rest of the staff at Tech is building. They’ve already picked up so many 24s and it’s only January of our junior years. Also what he’s done in one year alone is just incredible and it’s only the beginning.”

CBS Sports’ Shehan Jeyarajah grades each first-year coach with Joey McGuire earning an A. As an aside, Sonny Dykes was the only coach that earned an A+ with Washington’s Kalen DeBoer and Duke’s Mike Elko also earning A’s with McGuire.

Texas Tech took a shot on a Texas high school coaching legend, and he promptly posted their best season in a decade. McGuire has imposed his will on the recruiting trail, and the vibes haven’t been this good in Lubbock in a decade.

The Oregonian/s James Crepea details the transfer of Oregon outside linebacker and tight end Terrell Tilmon (6-5/225). I didn’t know that he was originally the outside linebacker and was moved to tight end last year (moving to tight end was the part I didn’t know). Tilmon is originally from Mansfield Timberview and guess he’s a defense guy at this point.

CBS Sports’ Dennis Dodds writes that the early exits for Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12 could help new members that agreed to a diluted share upon expansion.

Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech agreed to share a portion of their media rights distributions from the Big 12’s existing deals with Fox and ESPN to make possible the league’s recent expansion with BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF joining the fold in the 2023-24 athletic season. The vote (believed to be held last year) was 8-0 in favor of the move with Texas and Oklahoma abstaining, multiple sources tell CBS Sports.

Each of the eight legacy Big 12 schools agreed to forego $16 million total ($8 million annually in 2023-24 and 2024-25), approximately 19% of their $42.6 million annual distributions, sources said. Each of the four new Big 12 members are set to receive $18 million to $19 million annually, approximately 40% of the original annual distribution.

BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and UCF will each receive a full share of media rights revenue when the Big 12 begins its new deals in the fall of 2025, a source added. That full share will be a base figure of $31.6 million annually. Big 12 officials believe the all-in figure will approach $50 million per school once NCAA Tournament and College Football Playoff revenue is added.

Sort of looming over all of this is that the Big 12 schedule hasn’t been released and Dodds writes that the early exit fees could be as much as $168 million, which is where the negotiation is probably at right now with UT & OU leaving early. They don’t want to pay that much and the Big 12 is fine letting this play out, while UT & OU are anxious to leave and no longer be part of the Big 12.

Rivals’ Nick Harris and Matt Clare answer questions and one of them is if Texas Tech will fill their class quickly. I’m quoting Clare’s response with you having to click over to read Harris.

Clare’s take: FACT. The coaches already have seven commitments and they are hosting a Junior Day/Top Prospects weekend in early March. The 2024 class will be smaller with 16-18 total spots available, so that is one of the reasons for one weekend at a later date compared to other in-state programs hosting prospects in January/February. The coaches have been hitting the road hard during this open contact period and I would guess they have around 14 commitments after the spring ends.

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