The Texas Tech football team added a prolific Texas high school running back to the roster at mid-term.
Sawyer Wilkerson, a career 5,600-yard rusher at Comanche and Stephenville High Schools, is on the spring roster Texas Tech posted on Monday, Feb. 2. He’s listed as a 6-foot, 215-pound redshirt freshman.
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An athletics spokesman said Wilkerson was a Tech student in the fall.
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Wilkerson rushed for 150 yards as a freshman on varsity before he suffered a season-ending injury. As a Comanche sophomore in 2022, he carried 259 times for 2,601 yards and 29 touchdowns on a 10-2 team. Comanche won District 5-3A Division II and finished 10-2. A year later, he carried 187 times for 1,251 yards and 13 touchdowns. The team went three rounds deep in the playoffs, finishing 8-5.
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After transferring to Stephenville for his senior year, Wilkerson carried 201 times for 1,659 yards and 26 TDs. That team went 12-2, losing in a Class 4A Division I regional final. It also included wide receiver Tristian Gentry, who started his college career with Texas Tech last season.
Stephenville running back Sawyer Wilkerson scrambles away from the Wylie defense during Friday’s game in Abilene Sept. 20, 2024. Final score was 49-27, Stephenville.
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Tech has 103 players on the roster, two fewer than the roster limit specified in the House v. NCAA settlement. That includes 20 freshmen the Red Raiders signed in December and 21 players the Tech staff has added in January from the NCAA transfer portal.
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No longer on the roster is backup offensive lineman Jurrien Loftin, who has a year of eligibility remaining but went through the Red Raiders‘ senior-day ceremony before the Nov. 8 home game against Brigham Young. Loftin completed a bachelor’s degree in economics in three years and is now a doctoral student.
Texas Tech finished 12-2 last season, winning a Big 12 championship for the first time and losing to Oregon in a College Football Playoff quarterfinal at the Orange Bowl.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football adds career 5,600-yard rusher to spring roster
