Texas Tech football: Ranking the defensive position groups for 2019
The Red Raiders must find a way to replace both starting safeties from 2018
The last line of the Texas Tech defense is going to be worth paying close attention to in preseason camp and early in the schedule. That’s because there will be two new starters at the position after both Jah’Shawn Johnson and Vaughnte Dorsey exhausted their eligibility last season.
Last week, we learned that Douglas Coleman has been playing exclusively at safety since the spring giving us a hint at who will likely be the team’s starting free safety. The three-year corner has made 74 career tackles while intercepting three passes and those coverage skills should translate well to free safety. He has made 13 starts at corner but will enter this year with no experience at his new position.
The most experienced safety on the roster is junior Thomas Leggett. His two career starts at the position are the most of any Red Raider. Though he’s been impressive in each of the last two springs, he’s made just eight total tackles in his career thus far. The biggest play he’s made was last year in Ames when he blocked a punt against Iowa State.
Redshirt sophomore Adam Beck could also be in the mix at safety. After redshirting in 2017 at Minnesota and sitting out last season upon transferring to Tech, Beck has yet to appear in a college football game but the once highly-rated high school prospect could work his way into the defensive two-deep this fall.
Sophomores Quincy Addison and John Davis Jr. have impressed at times on the practice field but neither has made a start at the college level. As you can see, there just simply is not much experience or production at the safety position this year.
That depth took a hit last week when Justus Parker, who was transitioning to the third safety role (which is a type of hybrid safety/linebacker position), was suspended by the NCAA after testing positive for a banned supplement. Being as he is a senior with no redshirt year left, Parker’s career is now over.
This is a position that fans will be watching closely this fall because safety is perhaps the roster’s greatest unknown at this point. Effectively, Patterson is going to need to find three new starters (depending on how you classify the hybrid position) from a group of players with only two combined starts at safety.
Fortunately, Coleman’s move means that there will be some experience at the back of the defense this year. Still, this is certainly a group that is concerning as we look towards 2019.