Texas Tech football takes UTEP cornerback Amier Boyd-Matthews from transfer portal

Posted by author December 17, 2024 Football

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The Texas Tech football team continues trying to fortify a secondary that proved to be a liability this season.

Texas-El Paso cornerback Amier Boyd-Matthews committed to the Red Raiders on Monday, according to a report by On3 and a social media post by The Matador Club, the donor collective that supports Tech athletes. During the time he had his name in the NCAA transfer portal, Boyd-Matthews also drew interest from Wake Forest, Colorado State and Houston, among others.

Boyd-Matthews, listed by UTEP as 6-foot-1 and 180 pounds, started in four of the nine games he played this season. He logged 16 tackles, three pass breakups, two interceptions and a fumble recovery.

Tech’s now known to have eight additions from the transfer portal that opened last week for a 20-day window. Four of the eight are defensive backs, including three cornerbacks.

Tech (8-4) is next-to-last out of 133 FBS teams in pass defense, allowing 305.3 yards per game. The Red Raiders play Arkansas (6-6) on Dec. 27 in the Liberty Bowl.

Boyd-Matthews signed with UTEP out of Phoenix Mountain Pointe High School. He was a third-year sophomore this season on a Miners team that finished 3-9. He played in four games, starting three, as a freshman, and played in 11 games, starting one, as a redshirt freshman.

The other DBs in Tech’s transfer portal haul are safety Cole Wisniewski (6-4, 218) from North Dakota State and cornerbacks Dontae Balfour (6-2, 180) from UNC-Charlotte and Brice Pollock (6-1, 190) from Mississippi State.

Before the addition of Boyd-Matthews, Tech’s transfer-portal collection was ranked No. 1 in the country by On3, No. 3 by 247Sports and No. 5 by Rivals.

Tech coach Joey McGuire said recently he planned to sign 10 to 12 players from the transfer portal. Among McGuire’s stated needs that are not yet filled are an experienced running back, a tight end, two defensive tackles or edge players, a kicker and possibly another offensive lineman.

Assuming federal Judge Claudia Wilken gives final approval on April 7 to the House v. NCAA case, football team rosters will be capped at 105 players next season. Tech projects to be well above that number going into the spring semester. On Sunday, former Tech wide receiver Micah Hudson committed to Texas A&M, trimming the roster by one.

Terms of the House settlement agreement don’t go into effect until July 1, which will make spring practice in many locations a competition for roster spots.