Texas Tech shocks the world, lands 5-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo
Not too many people had this on their bingo card.
After previously announcing a top four of Texas, Ohio State, Michigan and Florida, Mansfield (TX) Lake Ridge five-star offensive tackle Felix Ojo set off some Fourth of July fireworks by instead choosing to head to West Texas and becoming a Texas Tech Red Raider.
Ojo announced his decision on Friday afternoon at a ceremony at his high school.
To say this is a massive commitment for Texas Tech would be an understatement. Ojo, the No. 6 overall prospect in the 2026 class per the On3 Industry Ranking, becomes the highest-rated prospect to ever commit to the Scarlet and Black.
He becomes Texas Tech’s 18th commitment of the 2026 class and third this week, following the commitments of fellow blue chips Donovan Webb and Ashton Rowden respectively.
The 6-foot-7, 275 pound Ojo, the top prospect in Texas per On3 and the On3 Industry Ranking, chose Texas Tech over a total of 50 offers.
He joins a Texas Tech offensive line class that also includes four-star guard Jerald Mays and three-star Tennessee product Jacob Crow.
Texas Tech’s DFW connections pay off
Texas Tech has had a ton of success recruiting the Mansfield area in recent seasons.
Whether it’s Caleb Rogers, Jacoby Jackson, Brenden Jordan, Joseph Adedire, Jordan Sanford, Landon Hullaby or Terrell Tilmon, Texas Tech has cleaned up at schools in the 817 lately. Coaches with deep DFW ties such as Joey McGuire and Kenny Perry have a lot to do with that success, which has all led to this moment in landing the five-star Ojo.
In recapping his official visit to Texas Tech in late April, Ojo told RedRaiderSports that one of the things that stands out to him about the Red Raiders is his strong relationship with everyone on the staff due to the Tech/Mansfield ties.
“Just had meetings, experienced some of campus life and had lunch & dinner with the coaches. It was a great time. What stood out was the facilities.
I have a strong relationship with everyone on the staff because of the Tech/Mansfield ties.”
Another ace-in-the-hole might gave been the aforementioned Rogers.
A lightly-recruited three-star in the 2020 class, Rogers hails from the same Lake Ridge program that Ojo plays at. Rogers started all five seasons at Texas Tech before becoming a 3rd round pick of the Las Vegas Raiders in the 2025 NFL Draft. That helped show Ojo that all of his dreams can be accomplished in Lubbock, TX.
Ojo’s future in Lubbock
A bona fide five-star prospect, it’s fair to expect Ojo to start at Texas Tech as soon as his freshman season.
The Red Raiders spent big in the transfer portal, landing guys such as Howard Sampson, Hunter Zambrano and Will Jados. Zambrano and Jados are seniors, and while Sampson has two years of eligibility remaining, the hope is for the 6-foot-8, 340 pound mauler to have a monster season and declare early for the NFL Draft, potentially opening up the left tackle position in 2026.
Another tackle the staff is extremely high on is redshirt freshman Jacob Ponton, who started Texas Tech’s bowl game in December. If everything goes to plan, an Ojo-Ponton tackle pairing could set up the Red Raiders for success on the offensive line for years to come.
