Red Raiders gain commitment from another portal quarterback

Tulsa's Francis lands in Lubbock, likely to play backup role behind Brendan Sorsby

Former Tulsa Golden Hurricane quarterback Kirk Francis (11) throws the ball against the Memphis Tigers during the first half at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium. | Wesley Hale-Imagn Images

Texas Tech needed to move quickly to bring in another arm through the transfer portal and did just that by adding Tulsa quarterback Kirk Francis.

He visited Lubbock on Jan. 8-9 and announced his offer from the Red Raiders Jan. 10 before his commitment Tuesday night, according to is Instagram.

Tech lost veteran backup Mitch Griffis to the transfer portal before landing at fast rising Group of Five program East Carolina.

Francis, 6-foot-1, 200 pounds, played the previous three seasons for Tulsa and appeared in 18 games which includes 12 starts. He has completed 270-of-462 passes (58%) for 3,045 yards, 18 touchdowns and 13 interceptions with the Golden Hurricane.

He is the No. 1,769 ranked portal prospect and No. 112 among quarterbacks, per 247Sports player rankings.

Coming out of high school as a member of the 2022 recruiting cycle, Francis received only one FBS offer but was pursued by several FCS and D-II programs such as Drake, Fort Hays State, Houston Christian, Missouri Southern State, Southeast Missouri State, Central Oklahoma and East Central Oklahoma.

His best day game at the collegiate level came two seasons ago in 2023 against Tulane under former coach Willi Fritz. Francis completed 22-of-34 passes for 345 yards, one touchdown and no turnovers.

However, the Golden Hurricane came just short of a road upset, falling 24-22 to the Green Wave. Texas Tech's new quarterback has thrown for more than 200 yards in 7-of-18 career games.

With the Red Raiders already adding five-star transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby earlier this month, it probably slots Francis in a backup role. Other passers expected on campus to begin the spring semester include Lloyd Jones, Stephen Cannon, Holden Phillips and Will Hammond.

Despite missing out on a couple of highly rated transfers, coach Joey McGuire's portal haul currently ranks No. 2 among Big 12 foes and No. 9 nationally, according to 247Sports team rankings.

Red Raiders Portal Class

• Trey White, EDGE (San Diego State)
• Austin Romaine, LB (Kansas State)
• JoJo Johnson, DL (Oregon State)
• Bryce Butler, DL (Washington)
• Jalen Jones, WR (Alabama State)
• Brendan Sorsby, QB (Cincinnati)
• Mateen Ibirogba, DL (Wake Forest)
• Julien Laventure, DL (Akron)
• Adam Trick, DL (Miami, OH)
• Davin Martin, CB (UTSA)
• Donte Lee Jr., WR, (Liberty)
• Amarie Fleming, EDGE (Allen University)
• Jett Carpenter, TE (Nevada)
• Kenny Johnson, WR (Pitt)
• Malachi Simmons, WR (Auburn)
• Corey Platt, Jr., LB (Houston)
• Kirk Francis, QB (Tulsa)

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