Texas Tech football: Douglas Coleman looks to be one answer at safety

At Big 12 Media Days this week, senior defensive back Douglas Coleman said that he has been working exclusively at safety, one of the biggest positions of need for the Texas Tech football team.

Quite often this summer we have discussed the questions facing the Texas Tech football team at safety where the new coaching staff is tasked with replacing three significant contributors from last season including both starters, Jah’Shawn Johnson and Vaughnte Dorsey. This week, we received some insight into how Matt Wells and his defensive coaches are planning to fill that sizeable hole at the back end of the defense.

Speaking to Inside the Red Raiders at Big 12 Media Days this week, senior defensive back Douglas Coleman said that he has been working strictly at safety this offseason. Thus, it would seem like he is going to be one half of this year’s starting duo.

"“Strictly safety,” Coleman said when asked where he’s been playing in the Red Raider secondary."

He added that he has been in that position since spring practices but the key is his use of the word “strictly”. We assumed that defensive coordinator Keith Patterson would move several of his corners around the secondary to see where each fit best and now it appears that Coleman has found a new home.

Given that the Red Raiders already have two corners that have earned All-Big 12 first-team honors in the past two years, Damarcus Fields in 2017 and Adrian Frye in 2018, it seemed unlikely for either of those players to move to a new spot on the field. That left either Coleman or fellow senior DB Desmond Smith as the likely candidates to play safety.

Last season, that pair made a combined 14 starts in the secondary with Coleman starting six games at the nickel corner where he was lined up over an inside receiver. But given that he is more fluid of an athlete with better coverage skills, Coleman seems to be the more natural fit at safety rather than Smith, who is more of a press corner type of player who is best when he can get his hands on a receiver at the line of scrimmage.

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"“I can see the whole field so it allows me to use my instincts and my ball-seeking ability to see everything at one time,” Coleman said. So it really helps me create turnovers.”"

Turnovers have been part of Coleman’s game as a Red Raider. He’s had an interception in each of his three seasons including one last year against Kansas in Lubbock. He has also recovered three fumbles, two of which he caused and took to the endzone including the famous 99-yard strip and score against Texas in 2016.

That is an area that the Red Raiders will look to improve upon this fall. Last year, Tech ranked just 78th in the country and 6th in the Big 12 by coming up with 18 takeaways. If Patterson’s defense can increase that number this fall, the defense could take a significant step forward.

Patterson is banking on a more aggressive approach to help his team create move havoc and force more turnovers. And Coleman has already noticed some differences in the new plan of attack.

"“It’s really a big difference,” Coleman said. “Way more aggressive in the front and at safety. So it allows me to I guess be more free. Like if I see something I can attack, I can make plays.”"

At the other safety position, keep an eye on junior Thomas Leggett. The Florida native and former JUCO transfer started the first two games of last season in place of Johnson who was recovering from offseason shoulder surgery.

The 6-foot, 185-pounder has been impressive in each of the last two springs by making big hits and forcing turnovers in the spring scrimmages and after seeing time in all twelve games last year (mostly on special teams) he could be poised to seize the starting role at strong safety where he will be playing closer to the line of scrimmage to help support the run defense. That will leave Coleman to patrol the back line of the Red Raider secondary and try to keep the lethal Big 12 passing attacks from getting behind the Tech defense.

In a somewhat related note, we had also talked about how senior DB Justus Parker may have been playing at safety this fall as well after spending the last two years at corner, playing mostly in the slot. Unfortunately, that will not happen as his career is over following a one-year suspension handed down by the NCAA.

Parker took to Twitter this week to discuss his suspension and thank the Texas Tech community for its support. It was a nice gesture during a tough time for the young man.

But what was interesting from a football perspective was that Parker said he was playing more of a linebacker role in this defense. That was likely the fifth defensive back spot in Patterson’s 3-3-5 scheme that deploys a hybrid safety/linebacker to roam the field and do a number of different things for the defense.

Now, we are left to wonder who might fill that role for Tech this fall. There do not appear to be any no-brainer candidates on the roster so that will be a position worth keeping an eye on as fall camp begins next month.

But it appears that we have answers at one of the two most crucial spots that Tech needed to fill this year. With Douglas Coleman’s move to safety, the 2019 Red Raider defense, which will look much different than what we have seen on that side of the ball in recent years, began to come into focus just a little bit.