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Texas Tech football lands top DT Mateen Ibirogba from transfer portal
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- Texas Tech football lands top DT Mateen Ibirogba from transfer portal
Being a power-conference school with a suddenly insatiable appetite for success allows the Texas Tech football program to make transfer-portal pounces on unheralded players who began to develop elsewhere.
Tech hopes to make former Wake Forest defensive tackle Mateen Ibirogba a finished product.
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Ibirogba, who spent two years at FCS-level Georgetown and the past two at Wake Forest, has committed to the Red Raiders after also sparking interest from Notre Dame, Georgia Tech and Tennessee . On3 Sports reported Ibirogba's pledge on Tuesday, Jan. 6.
The 247Sports website has Ibirogba as the No. 6 overall prospect in this portal cycle, On3 ranks him No. 9 and both regard him as the top interior defensive lineman on the market.
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Though Ibirogba produced modest stats this season — 21 tackles, 3 ½ tackles for loss, 2 sacks — he's viewed as a potentially high NFL draft pick in 2027 because of his athletic traits. He's listed at 6-foot-3 and 296 pounds.
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Ibirogba was an unrated recruit out of high school in Clarksburg, Maryland. In 21 games over two years at Georgetown, he was credited with 51 tackles, 11 ½ tackles for loss and 4 ½ sacks. He played mostly on the edge at the time and was listed on Georgetown's roster at 6-4, 250.
He gained weight and moved inside for the Demon Deacons , redshirting in 2024.
What Wake Forest transfer defensive tackle Mateen Ibirogba brings to Texas Tech football
Nov 30, 2024; Winston-Salem, North Carolina, USA; Wake Forest Demon Deacons defensive lineman Mateen Ibirogba (99) reaches out for Duke Blue Devils running back Star Thomas (17) during the second half at Allegacy Federal Credit Union Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images
Texas Tech needs to shore up its interior defensive line. Second-team all-America nose tackle Lee Hunter and rotation piece Dooda Banks are out of eligibility. So is starter Skyler Gill-Howard, though Gill-Howard is hoping to receive an eligibility-clock extension from the NCAA for another year. Second-team all-American A.J. Holmes has a year of eligibility left, provided he doesn't turn pro.
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Ibirogba could have a similar impact as Gill-Howard, who developed through Division II and Group of Five programs to become an immediate impact player for the Red Raiders as a portal addition last winter.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football lands top DT Mateen Ibirogba from transfer portal
