You might remember these Red Raiders when they were WVU football targets
WVSports.com takes a trip down memory lane and takes a look at current Texas Tech players that at one time were recruited by West Virginia. We’ll examine their recruitments as well as how they have turned out in college.
So without any further waiting, which Red Raiders were once West Virginia targets on the recruiting trail?
McCray had two impressive seasons at Austin Peay where he totaled 129 catches for 1,888 yards and 17 touchdowns and the Florida native elected to enter the transfer portal. West Virginia was one of the first schools to jump into the mix for McCray and was able to get him on campus for an official visit in December. It looked like that might be enough, but he would take another visit to Texas Tech where he had connections with several coaches that had previously been at Austin Peay. The Red Raiders would win the battle and the speedster would sign and enroll early there leaving the Mountaineers not only with a recruiting loss off the field but a challenge now on it.
Related: Behind Enemy Lines: Texas Tech
Valdez is the rare example of a prospect on this list that was recruited by West Virginia out of high school. The Mountaineers extended an early offer to Valdez and there was some interest to the point that he had hoped to make a visit at some point. But as the process continued, he seemed to find more options in his regional area and eventually offered his commitment to the Red Raiders. A dynamic back, Valdez saw action in only four games and totaled 18 carries overall for 169 rushing yards.
McAlpine was a target of West Virginia who took an official visit to campus in June of last year. He was a teammate of wide receiver Jarel Williams and it appeared for a while that he would join him in Morgantown. However, he initially committed to TCU following a visit there and after the coaching shakeup opened up his recruitment. The Mountaineers continued their pursuit but after Texas Tech hired his defensive line coach it was a done deal that he would head to Lubbock.
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