Texas Tech’s Defense Is Awful … But It Has Some Talent

We already looked at the immense Texas Tech offense, but now we need to take a look at that beleaguered Red Raider defense as well. *Whispers* it actually made some plays against TCU and Texas. Let’s take a look.

Defense

While this side of the ball hasn’t been very pretty this year (last in the conference in total, passing, rushing and scoring defense), there’s room for optimism as young players are maturing.

Coach Gundy always talks about how players develop in a season and get a grid for what to expect in conference play, you’re starting to see some players emerge in this unit.

Former University of Houston defensive coordinator David Gibbs is in year two of his rebuild of the unit, and the 4-2-5 has done a good job of getting some key stops lately. As Oklahoma State fans know, playing an up-tempo style of football can sometimes put defenses in difficult positions so let’s investigate some personnel.

Defensive Line

On the interior are a pair of four star high school All-Americans in big Michigan transfer Ondre Pipkins at nose tackle and touted sophomore Breiden Fehoko at tackle that form a strong point for the line. Kolton Hill, a Notre Dame transfer, is the lone threat at the end position, admittedly a serious weak point in the defense.

The other rush end is senior Kris Williams who leads the team with five sacks. Gary Moore is second on the team with four tackles for loss but Coach Kingsbury wouldn’t confirm this week if Moore was still a part of the time as he’s sat out the past few weeks with apparent discipline issues.

Linebackers

Led by true freshman linebacker Jordyn Brooks, this is likely the strongest part of the defensive side of the ball. Brooks is solid in run support and senior Malik Jenkins is a bit lighter and does a good job of covering from sideline-to-sideline from the strong side spot.

The position takes a hit each week that the physical D’Vonta Hinton is out with an ankle injury, something Kingsbury mentioned could be the case for this week’s game (day to day). Hinton comes from a talented bloodline, as he’s first cousins to the Foreman brothers (Texas running back D’Onta and receiver Armanti).

My son's and my nephew D'Vonta Hinton.Texas vs Texas Tech. So proud of these young men living out there collegiate dreams.#ReppinTC ?'s UP ? pic.twitter.com/vzPdYi9eff

— Derrick Foreman (@DayDay409) November 4, 2016

Defensive Backs

There are a few solid players on the back end here and they’re going to have their hands full with the Cowboy receiver core (James Washington averages 34.7 yards per catch against Tech!).

Inspiration is provided by budding freshman Douglas Coleman who has forced turnovers in consecutive games and senior captain Justis Nelson leads the unit, the veteran cover corner who’s considered the best defender on the field.

Nelson leads the team with 11 pass breakups, look for him to have first dibs covering The President. Sophomore Jah’shawn Johnson turned down an offer from the good guys to play safety at Tech and he does a solid job in run support but is in a bit of a sophomore slump after a solid freshman year.

Juco corner Paul Banks brings depth and experience to the position in his last year of eligibility out of Navarro Junior College.

In conclusion, objectively the unit has struggled (3.33 points per drive good for 126th in the FBS), but in the Big 12 it’s all about forcing turnovers and getting key stops when you have to.

Tech forced a turnover in each half against Texas last week and shut down the 18-Wheeler on a 4th and 1 in the fourth quarter to give their offense a chance to tie up the game.

A unit loaded with sophomores and freshman will struggle at times but is quite capable of playing well, just ask TCU who was held 13 points below their average in an overtime loss to Tech in Fort Worth a couple of weeks ago.