Kansas EDGE Brody Pfannenstiel finds home at Texas Tech
For new Texas Tech EDGE commit Brody Pfannenstiel, the moment the Red Raiders entered the picture came together quickly and in a way he didn’t quite expect. What started with a request from General Manager James Blanchard asking for a video of him dunking soon turned into a meaningful conversation about his future in Lubbock. Less than a day after sending the clip, Pfannenstiel found himself on the phone with the Red Raiders’ staff, discussing how he could develop into the next impact EDGE in Texas Tech’s system.
The moment carried even more weight given the timing, as Pfannenstiel had just been watching Texas Tech standout David Bailey’s highlights in class, making the vision laid out by the staff feel that much more real.
“Yeah, it’s been pretty recent for the most part,” Pfannenstiel said. “Coach Blanchard, he called me and said he’s really interested in me and that he wants to see a video of me dunking, which is kind of funny. So I sent a video of me dunking and then next day I got a phone call from Coach Blanchard.”
“It was pretty cool, the day before in class, I was watching David Bailey’s highlights. So it was kind of a full circle moment, just seeing his highlights and then he’s talking about like, this could be you if we get you to the right point and get you developed, you know what I mean? So it was pretty cool.”
Pfannenstiel got to take a visit down to Lubbock on March 13 during Texas Tech’s offseason program called “The Forging”. The visit was key to his decision, and the 6-foot-3, 225-pound prospect resonated with the program as it’s similar to what Pfannenstiel is used to back home in Hoisington, KS.
“Yeah, it was definitely like, going into it was a good thing,” Pfannenstiel said. “We had a group chat with all the coaches and I always talked to them and got to FaceTime Coach (Joey) McGuire before I headed up there. Then we got up early in the morning, watched The Forging with all the guys there competing. We did the same sort of thing during the summer, so it was almost like home away from home.
I thought it was really cool that Coach McGuire was saying, like, hop in the drills, bro. He’s like yelling and he’s doing the drills and everything. Like, it’s a real environment, you’re wanted there. It feels like everybody’s wanted there and needed there.”
Texas Tech assistant coach Jacquies Smith
Earlier this offseason the Red Raiders hired Jacquies Smith from the Atlanta Falcons to be the program’s new outside linebackers coach. The two have quickly developed a strong relationship, combined with Smith’s NFL background was appealing for Pfannenstiel.
“Yeah, coach Jacquies is a great guy,” Pfannenstiel said. “Just getting to know him and everything like that, he’s really invested. We got to be on a Zoom call about two weeks before I headed up to Tech and then on my visit we got to go over my film, the other guys’ film and how he coaches them at practice and all that. So we have a great relationship, he’s a great guy. He definitely helped out a lot.”
Why Texas Tech?
Pfannenstiel chose the Red Raiders over a total of 16 offers, which included some notable Power 4 programs in Ole Miss, Kansas State, Vanderbilt, Kansas, Missouri, Illinois, Iowa, Louisville, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Utah, Michigan State, Iowa State, Arkansas and Duke.
He says his decision came down to the feeling he had with Texas Tech, from the coaching staff on down.
“It’s kind of like, when you get that feeling, you get that feeling,” Pfannenstiel said. “All those other places I’ve visited, they’re amazing and they had a great coaching staff, but it was like, you could really feel it. Like it was a lot different than those other places.”
Pfannenstiel has set his official visit to Texas Tech from June 12-14. He previously set official visits to Kansas from June 5-7 and Kansas State from June 19-21.
Pfannenstiel says he’s talked with Texas Tech’s staff about those other visits, and while he might still take another, nothing is set in stone.
“Yeah, I talked with Coach Blanchard,” Pfannenstiel said. “He was talking about how you can have one visit. I’m not sure if I’ll take that one visit because I mean, I’m invested for sure. If something comes up later down the road, I’m not too opposed to it, but I’m definitely going to check in with them first and see if they’re comfortable with that.”
Red Raiders should expect “a dawg”
Pfannenstiel plays edge, defensive end, wide receiver, tight end and running back for Hoisington (KS) High School. The three sport athlete also plays basketball and runs track.
He says that once he arrives in Lubbock, Texas Tech fans should expect to see “a dawg” on the field.
“Yeah, fans should expect a dawg,” Pfannenstiel said. “That’s, what my biggest thing is going into it. I want to get my body to the right point. And I think my speed’s really good right now because it’s a lot better from what it was last season. I feel a lot more explosive, hips and legs feel way more explosive, my clean went up a lot, so expect a dude off the edge.”
As a junior, Pfannenstiel was named First-Team All-State after totaling 54 tackles, four sacks, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery on defense, while also contributing offensively with 464 receiving yards and six touchdowns, plus 326 rushing yards and six more scores on the ground.
Pfannenstiel is rated by Rivals as an 87-grade three-star prospect, the No. 85 EDGE in his class and the No. 3 overall recruit in the state of Kansas.
Texas Tech currently has six commits in its 2027 class as Pfannenstiel joins blue-chippers DT Jalen Brewster, QB Kavian Bryant, DT K’Adrian Redmond, WR Benny Easter Jr and LB Jhadyn Nelson on the Red Raiders commit list.
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