Two more Red Raiders look for new homes

Jan 12, 2023 - 10:35 PM

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With a few more names leaving the team today, it’s about time we keep you up to date on the guys that have left the roster so far.

Today, both Trey Cleveland and Syncere Massey decided to enter their names into the portal. Massey was poised to get more playing time next year, but both Jaylon Hutchings and Tony Bradford Jr. will be returning to the team. Massey is talented enough to be a key contributor/rotational starter on almost any defensive line, but Tech just had too many veteran starters ahead of him.

As for Cleveland, he was in the receiver rotation more this past season. Tech is just a lot deeper and is bringing in more talent as well to the position so it’s understandable that he would want to seek a different opportunity to see more targets and be on the field more often.

There were three more key guys who left the past month. Most notable, Reggie Pearson Jr. entered the portal and quickly transferred to Oklahoma. I don’t need to tell you about the impact that he’s had on the team, so this will be a tough guy to replace in the secondary. Kobee Minor was starting to see the field more, but along with Philip Blidi decided to transfer to Indiana to play for the Hoosiers.

Blidi has been a guy that was expected to be a huge part of this defense but just couldn’t get out of the backup rotation behind Hutchings and Bradford Jr.. That’s two key depth pieces that we’ve lost from the interior defensive line, but luckily enough we’re deep at that position so my worries aren’t too high.

The last few guys were Ethan Carde, Larry Moore and Michael Shanahan. Shanahan might be the hardest hit because we’re also trying to get his brother to come to Tech so that takes a blow with him leaving.

As for the guys that we have brought in, we’ve got a few big names to talk about. Steve Linton is a pass rusher from Syracuse that should have an immediate impact after losing Tyree Wilson. We also signed Quincy Ledet, a talented interior defensive lineman from ULM who has an opportunity with the recent transfers to step in immediately and add to the depth at that position.

Another guy that could fill in for a recent transfer of our own is CJ Baskerville. He comes in at the safety position from SDSU and plays a similar role as Reggie Pearson Jr. did for us.

On the offensive side of the ball, we picked up commitments from former Western Kentucky center Rusty Staats. He’s the type of guy that I believe became the starter the minute he stepped into the building. He’s a solid piece that should help us improve one of our keys weak spots.

The final guy I will mention is Deandrae McCray, a wide receiver from Austin Peay. He’s a speedster that knows how to make things happen with the ball in his hands, and I can’t wait to see what he does for this offernse.

As the rest of the recruits get signed an a few more roster moves are made I’ll be keep everyone up to date. We should be able to touch up a few key positions and get this roster ready for Spring Ball which is coming at us sooner rather than later!