Texas Tech Football: Transfers Key To 2017 Defensive Improvement

The Texas Tech football team is counting on an unusually large number of transfers to fill key roles and provide depth (especially on defense) this year. How quickly they adjust will be a huge component of the team’s success in 2017.

Desperate times call for desperate measures. And such is the case for a Texas Tech football program coming off of a 5-7 season and which has missed qualifying for a bowl game in two of the past three seasons.

It is no secret that the Achilles heel of the Red Raiders has long been the defense. Tech finished last in the nation (128th overall) in total defense last year. Now, with the future of the program and the job security of the current coaching staff in serious doubt, the Texas Tech football team is pinning its hopes on a substantial number of transfers to help hasten the defense’s resurrection.

The current roster lists ten defensive transfers that either sat out last season per NCAA rules or were not part of the program a year ago. Moreover, most of these players are going to be counted on to play significant roles in the two-deep rotation.

The position group that will be most impacted by transfers is the secondary. Defensive coordinator David Gibbs has built his reputation around coaching defensive backs in college and the NFL.

Last year, his group of DBs was woefully undermanned. Roster attrition and injuries left the Tech secondary in a vulnerable position. In fact, two true freshmen, Desmon Smith and Douglas Coleman, were each forced to make multiple starts in Big 12 play.

To help reinforce the secondary, Gibbs inked four JUCO defensive backs in 2017. Of that group, safety Octavius Morgan and corner Jaylon Lane carry the most expectations. Morgan was rated the No.4 JUCO defensive back in the 2017 class while Lane is a former 4-star high school prospect.

In addition to JUCO transfers, three defensive backs with experience at Power 5 schools could be factors for Texas Tech this year. Former Arkansas DB Willie Sykes, former Washington DB Trevor Walker and former LSU walk-on DB Abraham Wallace will add quality depth to the Red Raider defense.

Sykes is a redshirt sophomore that appeared in 12 games for the Hogs in 2015. Wallace is a graduate transfer but has two seasons of eligibility remaining. Meanwhile, Walker is a senior that is making an impression on head coach Kliff Kingsbury.

"“A real savvy guy, old wily veteran, has been around a lot of football…He just had an interception out there today, or he’s in the right place, one of those guys.” Kingsbury told the “Daily Toreador”."

While it would be overly optimistic to project any of these additions to be all-conference performers this year, their presence on the roster leaves the group in a stronger position to overcome injuries should the arise. Plus, the secondary will have more players the coaches trust to handle meaningful snaps in Big 12 play which should keep the entire back end of the defense fresh throughout the game and the season.

Another area where the defensive back transfers can make an impact is on special teams. Kick coverage units are largely comprised of defensive backs and linebackers. Texas Tech should finally have the luxury of being able to populate its special teams with reserve defenders which means that starters will not be forced to play extra snaps on the third side of the ball.

Along the defensive front, three more key transfers are providing hope for a defensive renaissance. JUCO linebackers Dakota Allen and Tony Jones and former North Texas defensive end Eli Howard are expected to see plenty of snaps.

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Almost everyone is familiar with the story of Dakota Allen and his return after a year at East Mississippi Community College. He is almost certain to penciled in as a starter and is an immediate upgrade at the position.

Jones was a disruptive force at the JUCO level. He recorded 101 tackles and 5.5 sacks last year. Plus, he has three years of eligibility remaining. He will play a hybrid type role that will have him lining up as an end with his hand on the ground in some formations while at other times he will be more like an outside linebacker in a 3-4 scheme.

Howard has impressed the coaching staff in his year on campus. He has yet to play in a college football game but was recognized as the scout team player of the year in 2016. With the lack of experienced pass rushers on the team, the sophomore will receive ample opportunity to earn a spot in the defensive end rotation.

Now that these players are on campus and are gearing up for the season, we are about to see if this experiment will work. The Texas Tech football team is trying to retool a broken defense on the fly by giving transfers important snaps that would otherwise go to younger developing players.

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Though this approach rarely works on a large scale (except for when employed by Bill Snyder at Kansas State), the Texas Tech coaches seem confident that these new players will make a positive impacts in their first seasons. Whether or not that hope comes to fruition will go a long way in determining the fate of the 2017 Texas Tech football team.

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