Texas Tech football makes cut for 3-Star Louisiana linebacker

The Texas Tech football program has made the cut for 3-star outside linebacker Jabar Triplett from Louisiana.

As the Texas Tech football program transitions to its new and more aggressive 3-3-5 scheme under defensive coordinator Keith Patterson, finding edge rushers capable of getting to the QB is going to become an even greater priority than it always has been. One such target that might help in that regard is Jabar Triplett from Louisiana who has included Texas Tech in his top-8 schools.

The 6-foot, 215-pounder is also still considering Oklahoma State, Arizona, Colorado State, Louisiana Tech, McNeese State, South Alabama, and Southern. In the video announcing his top-8, he revealed that he will be making his final decision on October 13th.

https://twitter.com/PrimetimeJ9/status/1161089061257392128?s=20

Rated by the 247Sports’ composite rankings as a 3-star player and the No. 100 outside linebacker in the nation, the 2020 prospect took an official visit to Tech in June, one week after visiting Oklahoma State, after which visit he named the Cowboys the leader for his services at the time. For what’s its worth, 247Sports gives the Cowboys a 67% chance in this race while giving Tech a 33% shot.

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Given that he had eleven sacks five interceptions and two INT returns for touchdowns, it is easy to see why Tech is interested in bringing Triplett into the fold. That is exactly the type of disruptive force Patterson wants for his defense, which he says will rely on taking the ball away and putting pressure on the QB.

Assuming that Triplett plays at around 220-240 pounds in college, he would be a perfect fit in either Patterson’s Raider (60% defensive end/40% linebacker) or Spur (60% linebacker/40% safety) hybrid positions. He has played both safety and outside linebacker in high school starting out in the secondary when he was smaller and moving into the box as he matured physically.

Right now, Tech could be losing two players at those positions as senior DE Lonzell Gilmore is in his final year and grad transfer outside linebacker Evan Rambo will need an NCAA waiver to be extended another season next fall (which most expect to happen). Regardless, the Red Raiders need to add players like Triplett to the roster and prepare them to be ready to contribute in the near future.

Fortunately, redshirt freshman Xavier Benson and true freshman Tyrique Matthews appear to have already proven ready to play key roles. Benson is expected to start at the Raider position and Patterson has said that he expects Matthews to play significant snaps this fall as well.

What’s more, Tech has already secured the commitment of another edge rusher, L.B. Moore from Amarillo. The 3-star prospect is the No. 31 weakside defensive end in the nation and the No. 103 player in Texas.

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Currently, the Red Raiders’ 2020 class is ranked No. 7 in the Big 12 and No. 45 in the nation by 247Sports. There are 15 players verbally committed to Tech in this signing period but only three are considered edge rushers (either at defensive end or outside linebacker). Hopefully, the Red Raiders can add another athletic and talented player to that group in Triplett as the remodel of the roster continues in the hopes that Patterson can fully implement his style of football as soon as possible.

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