DT Khy Haywood is a Red Raider
Texas Tech has added to its top five nationally ranked recruiting class with a surprise commitment from Denton (TX) Guyer defensive lineman Khy Haywood, who announced on Monday night.
Haywood had previously announced Northwestern, Colorado, Arizona, and Kansas State as his four finalists, but ends up staying in-state and committing to Joey McGuire‘s program.
Texas Tech has been recruiting Haywood for over two years – he announced his initial offer from the Red Raiders back on May 13, 2024. That longstanding relationship between Haywood and the coaching staff eventually led to his pledge.
In total, Haywood held 35 offers at the time of his commitment.
“Coach McGuire is an excellent coach and also an amazing person to be around,” Haywood told Rivals‘ Sam Spiegelman in November 2025. “The Texas Tech staff is great. They make sure you feel welcomed as soon as you get on campus. When I was on my visits, that’s what I saw and I loved that. What I like about how they recruit is that every time I’m on the phone with either Coach Teachey or Coach Fitch, they don’t ask about football first; they ask how I’m doing personally. What excites me about Texas Tech and how I can fit in is that I know what they’re trying to build over there, and I know I can lead that on the defensive line.”
According to the Rivals Industry, Haywood is rated as an 87.55-rated prospect, the No. 558 overall recruit in the 2027 class, the No. 60 defensive lineman and the No. 78 player in the state of Texas.
He is ranked much higher per ESPN, where he is a four-star prospect and a top 200 player nationally.
As a junior, Haywood recorded 71 tackles, 30 tackles for loss, 12.5 sacks and an interception. Following the season, he was named the District 5-6A Defensive Player of the Year and unanimous first-team All-District defensive tackle.
He is the 10th commit for Texas Tech in the 2027 class and the fifth defensive lineman, joining Jalen Brewster, Anthony Sweeney, K’Adrian Redmond and Brody Pfannenstiel up front.
Haywood and Redmond also train together in the offseason, as both work with defensive line player development specialist Brandon Tucker who is the founder of the Trench Warfare training program and father of former Texas Tech wide receiver Jerand Bradley.
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