If you have the size, film and athletic requirements to play for Texas Tech Football, the coaching staff will find you. Such was the case when in early July General Manager James Blanchard and the Red Raider staff offered Bonduel (WI) HS athlete Ryan Westrich.
The offer was the second for the 6-foot-6, 235 pound Westrich, and his first from a Power 4 program.
RedRaiderSports spoke with Westrich to learn of the latest in his recruitment.
What you need to know...
... Other than Texas Tech, Westrich has also been offered by Central Michigan. He's also taken gameday visits to Illinois and Wisconsin among others.
... As a sophom*ore Westrich put up 52 tackles, 14 TFL's and 5 sacks. Offensively he contributed with 11 receptions for 145 yards while also adding 35 rushing yards. Stats per wissports.net
... Following the season he was selected for the 2023 WFCA All-Region Team at both tight end and defensive end
... On the court Westrich averaged 15.6 points and 8.8 rebounds per game while helping Bonduel to a 26-2 record
... Westrich is a standout for Bonduel's track and field program, setting personal records in the 100 Meters (11.51 seconds), 200 Meters (24.39 seconds), Shot Put (49' 8.5"), Discus (142' 5") this past spring. He also runs for Bonduel's 4x200 and 4x400 Relay teams.
Overall recruitment: "It's been going pretty well. This whole recruiting thing was kind of new to me, my family, and even really our coaching staff. We really haven't been exposed to anything like this before, but with some help from some people who have been through it we've been finding some ways to help figure out what's going on and things have been going pretty well."
Position fit at the next level: "So Texas Tech has offered me as a defensive end and Central Michigan hasn't really expressed which position they'd like me to play, they just recruited me as an athlete and left the position ambiguous. As long as I get to play some competitive football, I don't care what position I play in the future."
How the Texas Tech offer came together: "Well, actually, I just had a message from Coach (James) Blanchard in my Twitter, asking me how I was doing, like the stuff that typical recruiters say. We were talking and then one day he just decided that he was going to call me and he gave me the offer.
It was a really cool experience. Me and my family, we're really excited about that opportunity. We were just super grateful for having that experience and being able to have this opportunity now in the future to possibly go to that school."
Connections to Texas Tech: "I don't have much personal experience with Texas Tech, but I have seen them on TV playing a lot of competitive football in their conference. I would definitely say that they're a very great program and it's one that I'd be definitely interested in looking into in the future."
Plans to visit Lubbock: "I haven't received an invitation for a game day visit yet. If I did get one, it might be a little difficult this year during the football season to get down there because of school and football, but it would definitely be something to consider."
Other schools in the mix: Westrich also spoke a little about Central Michigan (offer), Wisconsin (interest) and Illinois (interest).
On Central Michigan... "Well, it's a school that my dad went to when he was in college. He played linebacker there. From what I heard it's a good university, good program, good athletics, good academics. Pretty close to home."
On Wisconsin... "Well, everyone in Wisconsin usually grows up to be a Badger fan and I'm guilty of that. I loved watching the Badgers when I was growing up. It'd be definitely a cool experience to see if I can get offered by them, but it's not a guarantee that I would be going there."
On Illinois... "It was a really cool town and sort of experience there with all their fans. And the stadium was just, it was a bit smaller, but the energy was still there. It was, it was a cool experience getting to know the coaching staff and getting to watch some competitive football."
What he's looking for in a program: "Well, first things first, academics is first. So I'd want to go into a school with top-notch academic facilities and great teachers and a good reputation in like getting out in the field after college."
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