Kingsbury says all of the 2016 DL signees will play next year

On Wednesday’s National Signing Day, the Texas Tech Red Raiders signed eight defensive linemen (7 from the high school ranks) and according to head coach Kliff Kingsbury, fans will not have to wait long to see all eight in action.

After losing four defensive linemen to graduation after the 2015 season and lacking adequate replacements on the current roster, Kingsbury and defensive coordinator David Gibbs made reinforcing the defensive line a priority with the 2016 recruiting class. Unlike most first-year players, the new Texas Tech defensive linemen will not have the luxury of developing for a year to two before being called upon to play significant snaps.

"“I think defensive line-wise, just based on our numbers, we expect to throw all of them out and let them play,” Kingsbury told the media Wednesday. “We wanted to bring in guys that could hopefully play right away and push any other returning starters we have coming back based upon we weren’t as good as we needed to be. It was definitely an emphasis to go heavy on the defensive side and try to create competition and depth for the defense.”"

Of the returning starters on the defensive line, only sophomore defensive tackle Breiden Fehoko and fellow sophomore defensive end Gary Moore have meaningful experience in the Big 12. Two transfers, sophomore defensive end Colin Hill (who transferred from Notre Dame) and senior defensive tackle Ondre Pipkins (a transfer from Michigan) will hopefully bring some stability to the front seven but even with their presence, Texas Tech will rely heavily upon this year’s signees.

Fans may be fretting over the idea of relying on so many true freshmen but the question must be asked, “How much worse can the defense be?” In 2015, Texas Tech’s defense ranked No. 126 out of 127 teams in the nation in total defense.

Even with the four senior defensive linemen in the rotation, Gibbs’ defense gave up an embarrassing 547.7 yards per game including 279.9 rushing yards per contest. There is nowhere for the Red Raider defense to go but up.

So why not let the seven high school defensive linemen get their feet wet right away? With the 2014 signing class, Kingsbury and staff tried to fix the defensive line with four junior college players and that plan did not work.

Now Kingsbury and Gibbs have hit the rest button and committed to building a defensive line around high school players that will be with the program for four years. New defensive line coach Kevin Patrick will have plenty of time to mold these young players into what he wants them to be without having to worry about the quick fix of having to rely on JUCO players that will be around for only two seasons.

"“When I first got here, I mentioned earlier we went the junior college route, and we needed to start from the high school level and develop these guys with this class.” Kingsbury said."

While returning defensive ends like redshirt freshmen Lonzell Gilmore and junior Taylor Nunez will get the chance to earn playing time along with sophomore offensive lineman turned defensive tackle Broderick Washington, they will be pushed by the incoming crop of young players.

"Kingsbury reiterated, “It was definitely an emphasis to go heavy on the defensive side and try to create competition and depth for the defense.”"

Meanwhile, the team also hopes that consistency at the defensive coordinator position will help speed up the improvement of the young defenders. Assuming that Gibbs finishes next year as the Texas Tech defensive coordinator, he will be the first Red Raider defensive coordinator to complete back-to-back seasons in Lubbock since Ruffin McNeil in 2008-09.

Kingsbury is banking on Gibbs’ steady hand to be part of the solution on defense.

"“…that hasn’t happened very often, to have back-to-back seasons [with the same defensive coordinator]. He’s a great evaluator of talent. This is his first class that he’s really been able to put his hands on throughout the entire year. We brought Coach Gibbs in to improve turnover margin; that improved dramatically. I think as he stacks his classes together, I think you’ll continue to see our defense improve.” he said."

When a team is coming off of a 4-8 season as Texas Tech was in 2014 as the staff was recruiting the majority of the 2016 class, it can be tough to lure top recruits to town. Kingsbury and Gibbs don’t have trophies, championship rings or a plethora of current NFL defenders from Texas Tech to impress recruits.

Next: Texas Tech adds lengthy receives on signing day

However, they were able to offer the 2016 defensive recruiting class the opportunity for immediate playing time and that is what drew most of the defensive line signees to Texas Tech. Now that the class has been inked, the defensive line newcomers have seven months to prepare to be significant contributors for a team that has aspirations of competing with the elite of the Big 12.