BY DON WILLIAMS l AVALANCHE-JOURNAL

Texas Tech defensive coordinator Ruffin McNeill felt like hugging the fax machine. First it spat out a letter of intent from one of the marquee defensive tackles the Red Raiders needed and then another.

“For our defensive line, it was a great shot in the arm getting those two guys — almost within 30 seconds,” McNeill said. “One fax came in, and the next came in 30 seconds after the other.’’

Tech’s football recruiting class receive a godsend Wednesday when the Red Raiders landed a pair of highly rated defensive tackles on which there were no guarantees going into signing day. Pearlie Graves, an all-state honoree from Tulsa, Okla., East Central High School, and Myles Wade, a marquee national recruit two years ago out of Portland, Ore., both signed with Tech.

Tech coach Mike Leach couldn’t blame McNeill for being excited.

“We were able to get arguably two of the top defensive tackles in America,’’ Leach said, “so that was pretty good for us.’’

Killeen Ellison's Daniel Cobb was one of 12 members of the Avalanche-Journal state Top 100 recruiting list to sign Wednesday with Texas Tech. Cobb was a 1,200-yard rusher last season but will play defense for the Red Raiders. (Courtesy of Killeen Daily Herald)

Tech signed 24 players on Wednesday. With Wichita Falls Rider wide receiver Eric Ward already enrolled in January, there are 25 newcomers in all.

Twelve are members of the Avalanche-Journal state Top 100 prospects list, including six from the A-J Fabulous 44. The most A-J Top 100 recruits Tech has signed was 17 in 2006. The most Fab 44 choices the Raiders have reeled in in one year was seven in 1997.

“We were looking for athleticism and speed,’’ Leach said. “The two most important positions were (offensive) line and (defensive) line, but we also wanted to get some safeties. I think this is the best recruiting class since I’ve coached here.’’

The nice twists at the end no doubt made Leach feel that way.

Wade committed to Tech on Jan. 25, but reports surfaced just before signing day that he had visited Washington last weekend and would put put off signing until he could visit Nebraska this weekend.

However, Wade officially choose Tech the first day recruits could make their college choices binding.

Whereas Wade had been on Tech’s commitment board for more than a week, Graves never belonged to the Red Raiders until signing day. At various times, Graves said he had scholarship offers from Michigan, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Kansas and Colorado among others.

Graves said he didn’t tell Leach of his intentions until Tuesday, but he knew where he was headed after a face-to-face with Leach last Friday.

“As soon as I met the head coach, as soon as I touched base with him, it was like a bond,” Graves said. “It clicked. I could tell he was a fun guy to be around. I will enjoy playing my four years of football with him.”

Graves had been loosely committed to Michigan for more than two months, but didn’t sound as if he agonized over the switch.

“It was a great decision that I made,” he said. “I’m glad what I decided, and I’m hoping the coaches and players are ready for me, because I’m coming down there to be a great player. I’m honored to play for Texas Tech. I can’t wait to get down there and prove myself to the world.”

As a senior, Graves was credited with 71 tackles, six sacks and four fumble recoveries. Those stats pushed his career totals to 136 tackles, 12 sacks and seven recoveries.

If his visit with Leach last Friday didn’t have him fully convinced to sign with Tech, Graves said a spiritual experience did. He said he prayed for a sign or a dream to let him know which school to choose, then had that dream on Saturday.

“God came through and led me to that dream,” Graves said. “I guess in my dream he was telling me great things will happen to me if I end up going to Texas Tech. It was a football dream. I’m walking down the tunnel, hearing the fans scream, yelling, cheering. This dream, we’re playing against Texas. That let me know right there.”

McNeill said Graves will be tried at both defensive tackle and defensive end. Graves said he is 6-foot-3 and 264 pounds, pretty similar in size to current Tech defensive tackle Ra’Jon Henley. But McNeill said he is comparable to both the Raiders’ interior starters — quick and powerful like Henley, a high school wrestler with balance like Colby Whitlock.

Wade (6-2, 311) adds more beef in the middle. Two years ago, when he came out of Portland Central Catholic High School, Wade was ranked by the Rivals.com recruiting service among the top 100 prospects in the nation and one of the top 10 defensive tackles.

At Tech, he will be a sophomore with no redshirt year remaining. Now the Red Raiders will keep their fingers crossed that Wade and Graves become eligible for next season. Graves said he has a 2.4 grade-point average and needs to improve his college-entrance exam score. He’s awaiting results for the last ACT he took.

Wade told the Avalanche-Journal that, on top of the course load he’s taking this semester at Portland Community College, he will need another eight credit hours in the summer. He said the plan is to complete his associate’s degree and graduate in July, not long before preseason practices begin.

Aside from defensive tackle, one of the areas that Tech was most successful in addressing was a secondary that lost seven players from last year. The Raiders signed six defensive backs, including Fabulous 44 choice Will Ford and Top 100 selections Terrance Bullitt, Daniel Cobb and Phillips.

“I really like that class of DBs,” McNeill said. “We wanted speed and athleticism. They’re all aggressive. They’re all competitors.”

About the only signing-day disappointment was that Tech failed to land Austin wide receiver Emory Blake. The A-J Fabulous 44 recruit, who was committed to Tech from early November to mid-January, signed with Auburn. He had said as recently as Tuesday that the Raiders were still in the running.

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The following players signed letters of intent Wednesday with Texas Tech. An asterisk (*) denotes members of the Avalanche-Journal Fabulous 44. A grid (#) indicates a member of the A-J state Top 100 recruiting list.

Enrolled at mid-term: *Eric Ward, 6-0, 195, IR, Wichita Falls Rider.

Signed Wednesday: *Jacob Karam, 6-1, 200, QB, Friendswood; *Eric Stephens, 5-8, 180, RB, Mansfield Timberview; E.J. Celestie, 5-10, 173, IR-RB, Lake Charles, La., Barbe; #Aaron Fisher, 6-2, 185, WR, Keller Fossil Ridge; Derrick Mays, 5-11, 168, IR, Killeen Shoemaker; *Kyle Clark, 6-5, 278, OT, Denton Guyer; *Joel Gray, 6-6, 285, OT, Lewisville Hebron; Matt Goetz, OG, 6-4, 270, Cibolo Steele; LaAdrian Waddle, 6-6, 315, OT, Columbus; Aundrey Barr, 6-3, 234, DE, Carrollton Newman Smith; #Kerry Hyder, 6-3, 262, DE, Austin LBJ; Chris Knighton, 6-2, 239, DE, Longview; Romario Cathey, 6-3, 285, DT, Nashville, Tenn., Maplewood; Pearlie Graves, 6-3, 264, DT, Tulsa, Okla., East Central; Myles Wade, 6-2, 311, DT, Arizona Western College/Portland, Ore., Central Catholic HS; Dion Chidozie, 6-1, 190, OLB, Dallas Bishop Lynch; #Brandon Mahoney, 6-2, 210, OLB, Keller Fossil Ridge; James Scott, 6-3, 226, LB, Coldspring-Oakhurst; #Terrance Bullitt, 6-2, 181, S, Garland Naaman Forest; #Daniel Cobb, 6-1, 205, S, Killeen Ellison; *Will Ford, 6-0, 190, S, Abilene Cooper; D.J. Johnson, 6-0, 170, CB, Austin St. Stephen’s; #Jarvis Phillips, 6-0, 190, DB, Dallas Carter; Yahshua Williams, 6-2, 190, CB, Denton Ryan.