Both starting guards for Texas Tech football finished their careers this season. Louisville transfer Jordan Church will be in mix to replace them.
The deadline for college football players to notify their schools of intent to enter the NCAA transfer portal this off-season was the end of the night on Friday, Jan. 16. Players with their names in can still choose a new school afterward.
The Texas Tech football team picked up its first such player on Saturday, Jan. 17, when former Louisville offensive lineman Jordan Church committed to the Red Raiders. On3 Sports reported Church's pledge. He'll be a junior next season with two years of eligibility left.
Church, listed by Louisville at 6-foot-4 and 310 pounds, played in every game this season for the Cardinals, who finished 9-4 with a win in the Boca Raton Bowl. He made three starts early in the season. According to the Louisville Courier-Journal, Church gave up only sack over 514 snaps and was one of the least penalized offensive linemen who played more than 500 snaps.
Church went to IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, and spent his first two college seasons at Florida Atlantic. He redshirted in 2023, playing in two games, then started 12 games at left guard in 2024.
What Louisville transfer offensive lineman Jordan Church brings to Texas Tech football
Church will compete for a starting guard spot and, at worst, offer an experienced backup option.
Texas Tech loses starting guards Davion Carter and Will Jados as well as early 2024 starter Vinny Sciury, all of whom completed their eligibility. Among those in the mix to replace them are Cash Cleveland, who played in six games this season, and Hunter Zambrano, a transfer-portal addition from last winter who played in three games.
Others who were sophomores or younger this season include Daniel Sill, Holton Hendrix, Connor Carty and Patrick McMath. Sill ended the season as a backup tackle and McMath as a backup guard, though Tech coach Joey McGuire originally projected McMath as a center.
Though Church began his career at Florida Atlantic, recruiting services reported he had scholarship offers at the time from several power-conference schools, among them Florida State, Louisville, Missouri, Ole Miss, Pittsburgh and Tennessee.
This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Texas Tech football gets Louisville's Jordan Church in transfer portal
Category: General Sports
