Texas Tech football: Ranking the offensive position groups
The offensive line returns four of five starters
Most people believe that Tech’s best position group on either side of the ball will be the offensive line. While I’m not as bullish on that unit as many others, it is clearly the second-best group that Tech will feature.
Four of the five 2018 starters return with all being upperclassmen. The star of the group is junior right guard Jack Anderson who could very well be a 2020 NFL Draft pick.
One of only two Red Raiders to earn preseason All-Big 12 honors, Anderson is the best player on the roster and one of the best offensive linemen in the history of Red Raider football. He’s started all 25 games of his Texas Tech career and is an Outland Trophy watch list member as one of the best interior linemen in the nation.
At tackle, seniors Travis Bruffy and Terence Steele have switched sides with Bruffy moving to right tackle and Steele set to protect Bowman’s blindside. That duo has a combined 59 career starts with Steele making 37-consecutive as a 3-year starter.
Additionally, Madison Akamnonu returns at left guard where he had an inconsistent 2018. Still, with 27 career starts under his belt, the senior is another battle-tested veteran along the Red Raider offensive front.
However, there remains a huge question with this position group; who will replace Paul Stawarz at center? With the position that makes all the calls and adjustments for the line far from settled, it feels wrong to rank this position group ahead of the QBs where we have no questions.
What’s more, I simply can’t get out of my head the abhorrent performances the Tech o-line had in the second half of last year. Against Iowa State, the Raiders ran for just 30 yards and against Kansas State, they ran for just 31. What’s more, Tech ran for just 100 yards against one of the worst rushing defenses in the Big 12, Baylor, in the season finale.
On top of that, the Red Raiders allowed 14 total sacks in the season-ending five-game losing streak. That included giving up four sacks to both Texas and Kansas State. Because of that terrible finish to 2018 and the questions at center, the o-line checks in behind the QB spot for me.