Texas Tech football: 5 best defensive players Red Raiders face in 2019
Iowa State DT Ray Lima
We begin by taking a look at the key to what most believe will be the best defense in the Big 12 this fall. At the heart of Iowa State’s 3-5-3 defense is senior nose tackle Ray Lima, who is a preseason All-Big 12 selection.
His stats are somewhat pedestrian. Last year, he had 35 tackles, a nice number but far from eye-popping. But what he allows the Iowa State defense to do is why he is so valuable.
ISU has a defense that drops eight players into coverage with the intention of making teams complete passes in front of the linebackers so that the second and third levels of the defense can pursue to the ball. To combat the Cyclone defense, teams have to be willing to run the ball between the tackles with regularity, which is something that most Big 12 teams simply do not have the patience to do, thus playing right into the Cyclone’s hands.
But though ISU has only three defensive linemen on the field and drops its linebackers eight yards deep at the snap, it is incredibly tough to run on them. ISU led the conference in run defense last fall giving up an average of just 115 yards per game and 3.3 yards per carry.
Tech was held to just 30 yards on the ground last year an October loss in Ames. And the Reason that ISU can attack the run so effectively is because of the 6-foot-3, 310-pound tree stump that is nearly impossible to uproot from the middle of the defensive line.
By commanding double-teams, Lima helps keep the ISU interior linebackers free to pursue the ball. Given that almost no team in the Big 12 runs any type of lead play with a fullback clearing the way for the ball carrier, when Lima keeps interior blockers from getting to the second level of defenders, it is almost impossible to run on Iowa State.
When ISU comes to Lubbock on October 19th, Tech’s new-found dedication to running the ball under offensive coordinator David Yost will be put to the ultimate test. Making that task especially difficult will be the fact that the Red Raiders will likely be relying on a first-year starter at center who will be tasked with trying to handle one of the strongest run-stoppers in college football.
Some might argue that ISU defensive end JaQuan Bailey deserved to be on this list after a 47-tackle, 8-sack season last fall. But while he is a key to the Cyclone defense, he is not the one who makes the entire scheme function properly. That is the big man, Ray Lima.