There is recruiting well, and then there is what Texas Tech is doing to the rest of the Big 12 right now.

As the 2027 recruiting cycle takes shape, the Red Raiders aren't simply leading their conference rivals. They're overwhelming them. A recent graphic posted on X by Rivals provided a striking look at just how wide the gap has become.

The graphic featured the top 10 players in the 2027 class currently committed to Big 12 programs. The first seven names on the list are all Texas Tech commits. After Houston commit Raiden Cook checks in at No. 8, the final two players are Red Raiders as well. In other words, nine of the Big 12's 10 highest-ranked commitments are headed to Lubbock.

That's not just an impressive recruiting accomplishment. It's another sign that what Texas Tech is building isn't designed to be a one-year wonder.

The 2027 team rankings tell a similar story. Texas Tech currently sits No. 9 nationally in the Rivals rankings, putting the Red Raiders in position to sign the highest-ranked high school class in program history. Meanwhile, the next-highest Big 12 program, Kansas State, checks in at No. 34.

That 25-spot difference is significant on its own. However, it becomes even more impressive when you consider how recruiting rankings are calculated.

Class rankings tend to reward quantity. The more commitments a program has, the more opportunities it has to accumulate points and move up the standings. That's important in this case because Kansas State currently has 27 high school commitments compared to only 17 for Texas Tech.

Despite having 10 fewer players committed, Tech is still 25 spots ahead of the Wildcats.

In fact, Texas Tech has the smallest recruiting class of any of the top nine programs in the Rivals rankings. What the Red Raiders lack in quantity, they more than make up for in quality. Their average recruit rating of 91.4 ranks fifth nationally.

And Tech is doing all of this without LaDamion Guyton counting toward the 2027 class.

Guyton, the five-star Georgia edge rusher who was once touted as the nation's top 2027 prospect, graduated high school early and skipped his senior season to join the Red Raiders for the upcoming season. Had he remained in the 2027 class, Tech's already impressive haul would look even more ridiculous.

Instead, the Red Raiders still have two five-star prospects set to arrive after this season.

The headliner is Cedar Hill defensive tackle Jalen Brewster, the nation's No. 1 overall recruit. Five-star Maryland edge rusher Anthony Sweeney, the No. 16 overall prospect in the class, is also committed to Tech.

Then there are the 10 four-star commitments.

For perspective, that's as many four-star recruits as Kansas State, Houston, TCU, Utah, BYU and Arizona have combined.

That might be the most telling statistic of them all. Texas Tech isn't narrowly winning recruiting battles against its conference rivals. The Red Raiders are assembling a collection of high-end talent that the rest of the league currently can't match.

Texas Tech is building something meant to last

In college football, putting together one special season is difficult. Turning that season into the beginning of a sustained run is even harder.

That's where Texas Tech finds itself now.

Given the success of 2025 and the recruiting dominance of the past two cycles, it can be easy to forget how quickly this transformation has happened.

Less than two years ago, Tech fans were frustrated after a double-digit home loss to Colorado ultimately helped keep the Red Raiders out of the Big 12 Championship Game. After that defeat, booster Cody Campbell famously responded, "I will" when a fan on X demanded that Tech buy a better offensive line.

Campbell and Tech's other major boosters ultimately invested in much more than that.

The Red Raiders assembled the nation's top transfer class, bringing in players such as David Bailey, Romello Height, Lee Hunter, AJ Holmes and Bryce Pollock to transform the defense in one offseason. That roster overhaul helped lay the foundation for last season's Big 12 championship.

The transfer portal showed what Texas Tech could accomplish when its financial resources were combined with an aggressive plan for roster construction. Now, the Red Raiders are taking the next step by using that success to attract elite high school prospects.

That's an important evolution.

Building primarily through the portal can produce immediate results, but it also requires a program to replace huge pieces of its roster every offseason. Signing and developing elite high school players gives Tech an opportunity to establish continuity while still using the portal to address specific needs.

That's where Joey McGuire's background becomes especially valuable.

McGuire's roots are in high school football, and developing relationships with players, coaches and families at that level has always been one of his strengths. Now he has the resources and recent success necessary to turn those relationships into elite recruiting classes.

And Tech isn't limiting itself to Texas.

The 2027 class includes players from Maryland, Michigan, Pennsylvania and Louisiana. The Red Raiders have even gone international, landing offensive tackle Zarius Matavo from the NFL Academy in Melbourne, Australia, and edge rusher Adeola Werner from the NFL Academy in London.

That geographic reach is another indication of how much the perception of Texas Tech football has changed. The Red Raiders aren't just trying to convince prospects from West Texas or neighboring states to believe in what they're building. They're successfully selling that vision to players thousands of miles from Lubbock.

That's what a program with national ambitions looks like.

The transfer portal can help a team become good quickly. High school recruiting is how a program builds a foundation capable of remaining good year after year.

Texas Tech is now doing both.

While much of the Big 12 is jogging at a steady pace, the Red Raiders are sprinting toward national relevance and lapping the conference in the process.

Maybe that's why BYU head coach Kalani Sitake recently made a public plea for greater investment from his program's boosters. If one of Texas Tech's biggest conference threats recognizes that more resources are necessary to keep pace in the Big 12 arms race, that says plenty about where the league currently stands.

Of course, recruiting rankings don't hang banners. Texas Tech still has to develop these players, keep the roster together and turn all that talent into victories.

But that's a much better problem to have than wondering whether enough talent is coming through the door.

Anyone waiting for the Red Raiders' rise to disappear should probably stop holding their breath. The transfer portal helped Texas Tech accelerate its climb. Now elite high school recruiting is giving the program a chance to stay there.

At the moment, nobody else in the Big 12 appears particularly close to keeping up.

The future of the conference is increasingly looking scarlet and black.