Joey McGuire offers 2023 athlete Anquan Willis after playoff victory

On3 imageby:Peter Warren11/13/21

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Wichita Falls (Texas) Rider running back/EDGE Anquan Willis will never forget the night of Friday, Nov. 12, 2021.

In the first round of the Texas state playoffs, Wichita Falls (Texas) Rider went up against Carrollton (Texas) Creekview. Wichita Falls Rider dominated on its way to a 59-13 victory to advance to the next round and move to 10-1 on the season.

Willis played a major part in the victory. He scored two touchdowns — a 15-yard rushing touchdown and a 50-yard receiving touchdown — rushed for 100 yards and had 82 receiving yards.

In the midst of celebrating the victory, Willis got a phone call from new Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire. McGuire told Willis he wants to offer him a scholarship.

Willis starts tearing up out of sheer joy and his teammates start mobbing him in celebration. It was a true demonstration of the power of high school sports.

Texas Tech will be the first of many offers for Anquan Willis

Anquan Willis is one of the best football players in the Wichita Falls area of Texas, which is located northwest of the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex near the border of Oklahoma.

Wichita Falls Times Record News sports reporter Jonathan Hull wrote a column about Anquan Willis’ lack of offers and notoriety in September.

“Willis has been the best player in the Wichita Falls area this season,” Hull said. “I haven’t seen a player at the Class 5A level impact both sides of the ball to the degree he is since Wichita Falls High’s O.J. Clark in 2014. Clark went on to play at New Mexico State.”

He is bound to pick up more offers soon.

As for McGuire and the Red Raiders, the Willis offer ended his first five days on the job. And a busy first work week it was.

His first day was spent offering recruits across the state and picking up three commitments from his old coaching spot of Cedar Hill (Texas). He then won his press conference, telling reporters he was going to die in Lubbock, Texas. And then he kept on recruiting and recruiting.