Texas Tech football lands skyscraper tackle Maurice Rodriques on signing day
The Texas Tech football team will have a new look at offensive tackle next season with Monroe Mills departed via the NCAA transfer portal and Caleb Rogers projected to move inside.
The Red Raiders added a candidate on national signing day to come in and start at one of those positions. Tech announced the signing of Saddleback College's Maurice Rodriques, an offensive tackle who lists himself at 6-foot-7 and 320 pounds. In the past two weeks, he visited and received scholarship offers from Texas Tech, Florida, Georgia, Southern California and UCLA, according to recruiting services.
Rodriques had not publicly committed going into signing day. His announcing for the Red Raiders and Tech's announcement of signing him happened minutes apart.
Rodriques graduated from Pasadena (Calif.) High School in 2021 and was a sophomore this season at Saddleback in Mission Viejo, California. He figures to be part of a plan to reconstruct the Red Raiders' offensive line.
Mills, who had his name entered into the portal after the regular season, committed Tuesday to Louisville. Tech coach Joey McGuire said last week his staff plans to move Rogers inside next season, a move precipitated by feedback from pro scouts who evaluated Rogers' NFL prospects. During preparation for the Independence Bowl last week, Rogers said he believes center is the position he'll play.
In addition to signing Rodriques, Tech has commitments from three experienced offensive linemen from the transfer portal: tackle Sterling Porcher from Middle Tennessee State, guard Vinny Sciury from Toledo and guard Davion Carter from Memphis. Sciury has started 33 games the past three seasons at Toledo, and Porcher and Carter have started 25 and 23 games, respectively, at Middle Tennessee and Memphis.
Their presence gives the Red Raiders a safety net of experience up front. In addition to Mills, at least five other seasoned offensive linemen are departing — Dennis Wilburn, Rusty Staats and Cole Spencer having completed their eligibility, Landon Peterson having committed as a transfer to North Texas and Jacoby Jackson having his name in the portal.
In addition to Rodriques, Tech signed all 20 high-school players from whom it had commitments on Wednesday, the first day of the national signing period.
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This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football gets skyscraper tackle Maurice Rodriques on signing day
