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Texas Tech football: 5 best defensive players Red Raiders face in 2019

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 10: Jett Duffey #7 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders tries to get past Caden Sterns #7 of the Texas Longhorns during the first half of the game against the Texas Longhorns on November 10, 2018 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX - NOVEMBER 10: Jett Duffey #7 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders tries to get past Caden Sterns #7 of the Texas Longhorns during the first half of the game against the Texas Longhorns on November 10, 2018 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images)
(Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

Texas S Caden Sterns

The best defensive back in the Big 12 looks to be Texas sophomore safety Caden Sterns.  The 6-foot, 205-pounder was recently voted the top defensive player in Texas by The Dallas Morning News as well as earning preseason first-team All-Big 12 honors.

Last year, the Cibolo, Texas product had 62 tackles, four interceptions, and a sack as he earned conference defensive freshman of the year and first-team All-Big 12 recognition.  This year, he will be tasked with leading a secondary that lost both 2018 starting corners to graduation.

Steady would be the best way to describe Sterns’ work last season.  Though he didn’t have a double-digit tackle game, he had multiple stops in all but one outing and seven times he finished with five or more.  Against the Red Raiders, he came up with seven tackles, tied for his second-most in any game.

Overall, Sterns and the Longhorn defense finished 2018 No. 7 in the Big 12 in pass defense by allowing 261 yards per game.  That included allowing Jett Duffey, who began the year as Tech’s third-string QB, to throw for a career-high 444 yards and four touchdowns.

This year, UT is going to have to replace nine defensive starters, including the entire defensive line and linebacking corps.  But at safety, the Horns should have the Big 12’s best duo in Sterns and Brandon Jones.

Still, expect teams to try to throw the ball quite often on the Longhorns, especially early, until the new corners prove their worth.  But by the time the Red Raiders and Horns meet in the season’s final week, experience should not be an issue for the revamped UT defense.

In the Big 12, life as a defensive back is next to impossible.  That’s why none of the preseason all-conference corners made this list.  All are going to get torched with some frequency this year.

But there is a general consensus around the league that Caden Sterns is not only the best safety in the Big 12, but that he is in the conversation as the best in the nation.  Whether or not he is able to help UT’s defense rebound from a sub-par 2018 despite massive losses will be a key in this year’s league title race.

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