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Texas Tech football: 5 greats we wish we could add to 2019 offense

By Matthew Conner

26 Oct 1996: Running back Byron Hanspard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders moves the ball during a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Lyons Field in College Station, Texas. Texas Tech won the game, 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport
26 Oct 1996: Running back Byron Hanspard of the Texas Tech Red Raiders moves the ball during a game against the Texas A&M Aggies at Lyons Field in College Station, Texas. Texas Tech won the game, 13-10. Mandatory Credit: Stephen Dunn /Allsport /
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(Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images)
(Photo by Justin Edmonds/Getty Images) /

Center Manny Ramirez

The biggest question on the Red Raider offensive line, in fact, the only real question, is the center position.  Fighting to replace 3-year starter Paul Stawarz is senior Bailey Smith and sophomore Dawson Deaton, neither of whom are proven commodities.

That’s why adding former Red Raider Manny Ramirez to the 2019 roster would be ideal.  Though Ramirez played primarily guard as a Red Raider, he played center in the NFL where he started for the Denver Broncos in Super Bowl XLVIII.

In 83 career NFL games with the Broncos and the Detroit Lions, Ramirez made 65 starts.  With Denver, he was part of four-consecutive playoff teams and at Tech, he was named to the All-Big 12 second team in 2005 and was a two-time all-conference honorable mention honoree.

If you want to be a stickler for college positions and add a player that played center for the Red Raiders, you could turn to Toby Cecil who started 50 games at center in his career from 2000-2003.  Cecil is the most experienced center in the modern era of the program and would solidify the only unsettled spot on the 2019 line.

Still, giving the nod to a 9-year NFL veteran who started in a Super Bowl seems like the smart way to go.  If Manny Ramirez could play center in front of  Peyton Manning, he could certainly slide in at center for the Red Raiders this fall.

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