With the sort of recruiting momentum that Joey McGuire and the Texas Tech Red Raiders now have, it makes sense that he and his coaching team would want to keep targeting the finest players in the state of Texas. This involves attempting to recruit a player who a specific Big 12 rival is quite eager to keep.
According to his profile on On3/Rivals, Raiden Cook, a four-star defensive line prospect from Mont Belvieu, Texas, just visited Lubbock as part of an unscheduled tour to check out the Red Raiders. However, while he apparently traveled to West Texas to see the Texas Tech football team, Cook is now committed to play for the Houston Cougars.
That does not mean, however, that the Red Raiders would not attempt to persuade him to switch.
According to reports, Joey McGuire of the Texas Tech Red Raiders wants to persuade Houston Cougars commit Raiden Cook, a four-star defensive lineman, to switch schools.
Texas Tech looks to be attempting to entice Cook away from the Cougars, according to On3/Rivals’ social media.
And there are a few ways that makes perfect sense. McGuire and the Red Raiders have been all-in on adding defensive talent (and also stockpiling the finest talent in the Big 12) for the 2027 recruiting class. Cook is presently one of the top-rated players pledged to play for a school in the Big 12, but he is one of only two of the conference’s highest-rated recruits who is not committed to Texas Tech.
And the Red Raiders aren’t insane to want to change that fact.
According to 247Sports, Cook has piqued the curiosity of teams all across the country in recent months. The aforementioned Cougars made him an offer on January 27, 2026. Texas Tech apparently made an offer on March 9, 2026. But, dating back to last summer, institutions such as Lamar, Texas Southern, Stephen F. Austin, and Midwestern State extended scholarship bids to him.
Those are all modest initiatives in Texas that are unlikely to garner much national attention. According to 247Sports, the Oklahoma State Cowboys have made an offer. The Kentucky Wildcats, Texas State Bobcats, Texas Longhorns, and TCU Horned Frogs are all included in this group.
Houston will certainly have to fight for Cook, making it an exciting recruitment battle for the Coogs, Red Raiders, and everyone else who joins the race.
