Texas Tech is winning big on the recruiting trail—and SEC fans can't handle it
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Texas Tech's recent recruiting success, combined with its headline-grabbing haul from the transfer portal, signals a clear shift in the landscape of college football. Gone are the days when elite recruits were essentially guaranteed to land at blue-blood programs like Alabama, Ohio State, or Texas. In the past, a school like Texas Tech would've had little chance of competing for top talent in the country.
Those days are over.
This shift can largely be attributed to the rise of NIL opportunities, which have leveled the playing field in ways previously unimaginable. Fans of historically smaller programs are celebrating this new reality, assuming they have the funds to capitalize (hello, Texas Tech). Meanwhile, many SEC fans are struggling to accept that their programs no longer have an automatic claim on every top prospect.
Take five-star offensive lineman Felix Ojo, for example. When Texas Tech reportedly outbid the likes of Texas and Ohio State for Ojo with a lucrative multi-million dollar NIL deal, the college football world took notice—and SEC fans lost their minds. When the Red Raiders followed that up by landing the No. 1 overall prospect in the 2027 class, it sparked even more disbelief and backlash from SEC loyalists.
To cope with this new reality, many of those fans have convinced themselves that players are just chasing easy money, opting for quick paydays at places like Texas Tech instead of proving themselves in the so-called "best" conference in the country. But here's the problem: the SEC isn't what it used to be.
Yes, the SEC once instilled fear across the college football world. It boasted the biggest, fastest athletes, and regularly dominated on the national stage. But that dominance has faded in recent years. The last two national champions have come from the Big Ten. Alabama, once an unstoppable force under Nick Saban, suddenly looks very beatable—just ask teams like Michigan and even Vanderbilt. LSU remains solid under Brian Kelly, but the Tigers are far from the powerhouse they were. Even Georgia, a recent back-to-back national champion, just lost the top prospect from its own state to Texas Tech.
For years, SEC programs enjoyed a recruiting edge through backdoor deals and under-the-table incentives. Now that paying athletes is legal, programs like Texas Tech are able to play the same game—only better. And that's not sitting well with a fan base used to having it all. The truth? The SEC isn't entitled to anything anymore.
In this new era, Texas Tech is playing by the rules—and thriving. While SEC fans cling to the belief that losing top recruits is a sign of players lacking the desire to compete at the "highest level," the reality is far more uncomfortable: the SEC is no longer the premier conference in college football. Programs like Texas Tech are rising, and they're doing it the right way—out in the open.
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Christopher Breiler launched Winged Helmet Media and began covering the Michigan Football program in an unofficial capacity in 2017. He then joined Wolverine Digest as part of the FanNation network in 2021 as a contributing writer, where he served as both a writer and a photographer on game days. In 2024, he took over as the Managing Editor for Michigan Wolverines On SI. In January of 2025, he took over as Publisher for Maryland On SI. His love for Michigan Football brought him into the industry, and his passion for being a content creator has led to some amazing experiences along the way.
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