Tight end Andre Tillman, linebacker Thomas Howard and inside receiver/return man Wes Welker are the newest additions to Texas Tech football's ring of honor, athletic director Kirby Hocutt announced Monday.
Tillman and Howard played on the best teams in Tech history: Tillman received First Team All-America honors from the Associated Press after the Red Raiders finished with an 11-1 season in 1973, and Howard received First Team All-America honors from the Kodak and Walter Camp Foundations after the Red Raiders finished with a 10-2 season in 1976.
Welker, who played at Tech from 2000-03, is the FBS all-time record holder for punt return yards (1,761) and is tied for second with eight punt return touchdowns. He has caught 259 passes for 3,069 yards and 21 touchdowns, which are second, third and tied for ninth in Tech history.
The three will be inducted during the home game weekend when Texas Tech plays the University of North Texas on Sept. 14. All three are scheduled to be in attendance, and their uniform numbers and names will be added to a wall in the west wing of Jones AT&T Stadium.
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“The Ring of Honor is presented to the greatest players in Texas Tech football history,” Hocutt said in the release. “Thomas Howard, Andre Tillman and Wes Welker certainly belong in this category and are worthy of being selected for the Ring of Honor. We are excited to welcome them and their families to campus this season and have their names immortalized in Jones AT&T Stadium.”
The three were previously inducted into the Tech Athletics Hall of Fame – Tillman in 1992, Howard in 1993 and Welker in 2016. Tech's football ring of honor is a more exclusive circle that was established in 2012.
The three new additions bring the total number of members on Tech's football ring of honor to 11, six of whom are in the College Football Hall of Fame: center linebacker EJ Holub, running back Donnie Anderson, end Dave Parks, defensive tackle Gabe Rivera, linebacker Zach Thomas and wide receiver Michael Crabtree.
Also in the ring of honor are running back/defensive back Elmer Tarbox and quarterback Patrick Mahomes II.
Tillman was a second-round draft pick by the Miami Dolphins and had a four-year NFL career that was cut short by injury. Howard was a third-round draft pick by the Kansas City Chiefs and played nine years in the NFL with the Chiefs and St. Louis Cardinals. Welker, an undrafted free agent, played 12 years in the league with five teams.
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