Texas Tech football: Matt Wells tries to bridge roster gap with grad transfers

LB – Evan Rambo; Cal

If there is one position where Texas Tech seemed to be set this offseason, it would have been at linebacker.  Senior Jordyn Brooks is coming off a 78-tackle season that saw him pick up 2.5 sacks.  He will be the heir apparent for Dakota Allen at middle linebacker.

https://twitter.com/TexasTechFB/status/1118635699178229761

Flanking him will be junior Riko Jeffers.  Oozing talent, the Garland, TX native is primed for a breakout season after 68 tackles and two sacks in 2018.  What’s more, Tech brings senior Brayden Stringer (who at some points in recent Texas Tech football history would have been more than talented enough to be a starter) back as a quality backup.

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But Tech is transitioning to a 3-3-5 scheme that will employ a hybrid linebacker/safety player who will be asked to both rush the passer and drop into coverage.  Perhaps Rambo, who played safety at Cal his first two years, will get a shot to fill that role.  At 6-foot-4, 215-pounds he appears too slight to be counted on as a inside LB where both Brooks and Jeffers weigh at least 240-pounds.

Still, despite his slight build, last year Rambo played inside linebacker for the Golden Bears.  But the fact that he missed two years with a knee injury makes one wonder if he has the quickness and lateral mobility to play on the edge.  What’s more, he has yet to play more than six games in a season meaning it may be unwise to rely on him as anything more than a situational player or a key backup.

But players with the skills to play safety and linebacker can be valuable to a team, even it if is just as a special teams contributor.  Rambo will not unseat either Brooks or Jeffers atop the depth chart but should either be lost to injury, he could prove to be a valuable asset to the Red Raiders.  And he may find that life on the edge of the Texas Tech defense is exactly what he’s been looking for.