Someone going from Lubbock to Miami, Fla., might do so for the pleasure of visiting a tourist destination. Lavaughn Whigham and Phillip Warren plan to make the trip in reverse, in part to experience the serious business of Big 12 Conference football.

Whigham and Warren, defensive backs who helped Miami’s Southridge High School to a 10-1 season last year, were the last players to commit to Texas Tech going into the national signing period, which begins today. The 6-foot-1, 180-pound Whigham was a wide receiver-cornerback for his high school team, and the 5-9, 180-pound Warren was an all-purpose player.

Their coach said both were given the impression Tech wants them as defensive backs.

“I think what sold them was the Big 12, knowing that they’re going to go up against some of the top wide receivers in the nation, year in and year out, and have a chance to compete for a national championship, year in and year out,’’ Southridge coach Patrick Burrows said. “I guess media exposure would be (a) third (reason).’’

Burrows said his charges also found it appealing that Tech had won nine or more games in four of the last five seasons.

“They won’t have to rebuild something; they’ll be able to enhance something,’’ Burrows said. “That kind of intrigued them.’’

The players that former Tech coach Mike Leach and new coach Tommy Tuberville lassoed will be able to send in their binding letters of intent starting at 7 a.m. today. Tech has 22 scholarships available, though it remains to be seen whether the new staff will sign that many. Having only 13 scholarship seniors in 2010, coaches could opt to leave a slot or two open for more flexibility.

Tuberville’s staff did their own evaluations of the pledge class they inherited in January and stopped recruiting a few.

In addition to players already committed, Tech remained in the running for a few prospects who were uncommitted as of Tuesday. Chief among them is Hargrave Military Academy defensive end J.R. Ferguson, whose head coach, Robert Prunty, was hired to the Tech staff last week. Ferguson (6-3, 275) is ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 31 recruit in the nation, regardless of position.

A coach at Taft High School in Woodland Hills, Calif., told the A-J on Tuesday that running back Lucky Radley (5-9, 185) was deciding among Utah, Tech and North Carolina. Linebacker Darrin Kitchens (6-3, 215) from Homestead, Fla., was down to Florida or Tech, according to a story in Tuesday’s Miami Herald.

Tech made a late run at Cqulin Hubert, an all-District 19-5A linebacker from Aldine Eisenhower. He visited Lubbock over the weekend, but Eisenhower coach Ray Evans said Tuesday it appears Hubert will stick with his commitment to Iowa State.

Radley and Kitchens also visited the Tech campus over the weekend.

The Southridge pair were on the same visit and cast their lot with the Red Raiders. Whigham had been committed to Central Michigan, and Burrows said Warren almost committed to Marshall during the recruiting process. Southern Mississippi and Northern Illinois also recruited both.

Other than lacking height, Warren brings a lot to the table, his coach said.

“Phillip Warren is a great man-to-man cover corner,’’ Burrows said. “He was a workout warrior for us — the strongest kid, pound for pound on the team, and one of the fastest kids as well. He was a great man-press cornerback that was very good in run support as well. We did a lot of things with him.’’

In fact, Warren’s job description ranged from punter, which he did regularly, to pass rusher, when circumstances called for it. He was credited with 10 sacks among the 64 tackles he was in on.

“His best attribute was he had very good acceleration,’’ Burrows said, “so at times I blitzed him off the edge. He was very productive. I used him everywhere.’’

Burrows said Warren compensated for his short stature with a 38-inch vertical leap. That’s not an issue for Whigham, who has a taller, leaner build. Whigham was in 33 tackles and returned his only interception more than 100 yards for a touchdown, but his coach said opposing quarterbacks tended to avoid his side.

“I think he’s going to have great success,’’ Burrows said. “He has long arms and a good vertical leap. (At cornerback), he was basically a rangy wide receiver that can tackle. A lot of opponents knew that if they did throw the ball to him, he was going to pick it off — not just break it up, but pick it off.’’

Tech’s highest-rated in-state pledges are Denton Ryan quarterback Scotty Young, Southlake Carroll defensive end Jackson Richards — both members of The A-J Fabulous 44 — and Round Rock Stony Point defensive back Desmond Martin and Sulphur Springs offensive tackle Beau Carpenter, members of the A-J state Top 100. Carpenter enrolled at mid-term.

Adding to the hoped-for haul are Midwest City, Okla., defensive back Tre’Vante Porter and Ocala, Fla., wide receiver Kadron Boone, the latter listed by ESPN.com among the top 150 recruits in the nation.

But the Red Raiders are having to keep their fingers crossed for Boone. He committed to Tech in August, but after the coaching change, Boone spent January using the rest of his allotted five official visits. He made stops at Louisville, Georgia, West Virginia and LSU.

TEXAS TECH COMMITMENTS

The following players have signed with or made oral commitments to Texas Tech. An asterisk (*) signifies a member of The A-J Fabulous 44 list of the state’s premier recruits. A grid (#) indicates a member of The A-J state Top 100 recruiting list. The national signing period for spring semester graduates begins Wednesday.

Signed at midterm: #Beau Carpenter, 6-7, 275, OT, Sulphur Springs; Donald Langley, 6-2, 295, DT, Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) College/Germantown, Md., Seneca Valley HS; Scott Smith, 6-7, 275, DE, Butler (Kan.) Community College/Honolulu St. Louis HS.

Oral commitments: *Scotty Young, 6-3, 190, QB, Denton Ryan; Delans Griffin, 5-10, 178, RB, Clinton, Okla.; Kadron Boone, 6-1, 190, WR, Ocala (Fla.) Trinity Catholic; Shawn Corker, 6-1, 189, WR, Fort Lauderdale (Fla.) Cardinal Gibbons; Ben McRoy, 5-9, 163, IR, Lakeland, Fla.; Lavaughn Whigham, 6-1, 175, WR-CB-S, Miami (Fla.) Southridge; Aleon Calhoun, 6-6, 330, OT, Navasota; Eric Lawson, 6-6, 310, OG-OT, Olive Branch, Miss.; James Polk, 6-7, 290, OT, Alief Elsik; Dartwan Bush, 6-1, 255, DE, Clute Brazoswood; *Jackson Richards, 6-3, 247, DE, Southlake Carroll; Lawrence Rumph, 6-3, 270, DE, Navarro College/Keller Fossil Ridge; Coby Coleman, 6-2, 290, DT, Frankston; Mike Jones, 6-2, 267, DT, Sugar Land Kempner; Joe Carmical, 6-2, 231, ILB, Monticello, Ark.; Zach Winbush, 6-2, 205, LB, Schertz Clemens; Urell Johnson, 6-0, 175, CB, New Orleans (La.) Walker; Phillip Warren, 5-9, 180, CB, Miami (Fla.) Southridge; #Desmond Martin, 6-0, 178, DB, Round Rock Stony Point; Russell Polk, 5-11, 190, S, Dallas Carter; Tre’Vante Porter, 6-0, 185, DB, Midwest City (Okla.) Carl Albert; Brandon Smith, 6-0, 175, DB, Raceland (La.) Central Lafourche.

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