Texas Tech Gets a Rub From Ric Flair and Goes on Recruiting Tear
Professional wrestling has its own language, so let me catch you up on a few words and phrases.
'Face' means good guy. That's Texas Tech. 'Heel' means bad guy. Think TCU, Baylor or UT. A 'botch' is a spot or move that doesn't go as planned -- like Texas Tech's 2014 or the 2017 special teams. A 'bump' is when a wrestler hits the mat.
Kliff Kingsbury and company have taken their share of bumps since 2013, but he's still around. He's trying to avoid becoming a 'jobber' (someone who regularly loses) in the Big 12 (think: Kansas). And to avoid being on the bottom of the card, Kliff Kingsbury needs a big 2019 recruiting class.
In the business, when a young wrestler wants to break into the big time, he'll interact with a big-time talent and catch a 'rub' (think: greatness by association) from a bona fide star to 'get over' (able to get reactions).
Kingsbury entered last week with everyone talking about the struggling 2019 recruiting class. They lost their quarterback target to Baylor. The 'smarks' (smart fans who know wrestling is scripted, but still love watching the action) came out in full force, saying he lost his edge and is destined to be a 'spot monkey' that couldn't get it done in the big time.
Kingsbury left the week getting a rub from the greatest pro wrestling personality of all time and went on an absolute recruiting tear all weekend long. He shot a vignette with Ric Flair, and all hell broke loose.
Flair came in off the hot tag and told Ole Miss, Texas Tech's opener in 2018, to strap up. And the recruiting trail took notice.
Texas Tech was every recruit's dream, and the Big 12's nightmare, this weekend. Every recruit wanted them, and every Big 12 team wanted to be them. Kliff Kingsbury just worked harder than anyone else last weekend.
After the Flair video dropped, Simon Gonzalez committed -- the first TE commit since Jace Amaro. Then, Texas Tech signed the Big Show, Trevor Roberson -- a 6'11", 355-pound tackle from Wellington, Texas. The Red Raiders would add WRs, LBs and DBs, running up the total class to 11 over the weekend.
They are now in the top 40 nationally and 6th in the Big 12. And they aren't done yet.
On Monday, Texas Tech would add the biggest recruit of the weekend: the future leader of the Red Raiders stable, highly-recruited San Angelo QB Maverick McIvor.
This article might be going after a 'cheap pop' by name dropping the greatest sports entertainer of all-time, the 16-time World Champion, the 60-minute man, Slick Ric, the dirtiest player in the game, Ric Flair. But the fact remains that Texas Tech football had a very good weekend on the recruiting trail, and now have some serious momentum built for a championship push.
Some day.