Texas Tech football: Red Raiders welcome Utah State DB as grad transfer

Tuesday, the Texas Tech football program added a late addition to the roster in Utah State defensive back Ja’Marcus Ingram.

Though the Texas Tech football team already has some quality depth in the secondary, the Red Raiders added another potential contributor Tuesday when Utah State graduate transfer Ja’Marcus Ingram joined the program.  Ingram redshirted in 2016 after walking on with current Tech head coach Matt Wells and the Aggies meaning that he still has two years of eligibility remaining.

The Dallas native was productive for Utah State.  Starting 15 of the 19 games he played over the last two years, he has amassed 61 career tackles and an interception while being credited with 11 pass defenses. Last season, he had 19 tackles and five pass defenses in six games before a turf toe injury caused him to miss the second half of the season.

https://twitter.com/TexasTechFB/status/1163955618379468801?s=20

Back in June, Brian Phillips of Utah State’s 247Sports page had the following observations about Ingram.

"“Ingram has shown an ability to read the quarterback and make a great break on the football. Ingram has great length and is becoming a very mobile player with great footwork. Ingram loves to use his physical nature to his advantage. Ingram has developed into one of the Aggies most versatile and most promising young players in the program.”"

The 6-foot-1, 185-pound former high school receiver has put up a career-high six tackles on three occasions, the most recent coming in Last October’s win at BYU.  In that game, he also had a career-best three pass breakups.

Most Utah State roster breakdowns seem to have been counting on Ingram as a starter at one of the corner positions this fall, which makes his decision to transfer so deep into fall camp unusual.  Of course, there could be personal reasons that are drawing him back to Texas and closer to home.

But whatever the reason for his arrival, this is a player that looks like he can contribute for the Red Raiders this year, especially given that he should have a firm grasp of the defense since he played for Tech defensive coordinator Keith Patterson last season.

This makes the race for the starting jobs at corner even more interesting.  Another grad transfer, Zech McPhearson, has made tremendous waves since arriving this summer and appears to be in line for a starting spot.  Junior Demarcus Fields and senior Des Smith also figure to be in the conversation with most believing Fields is better suited to play on the outside with Smith’s strength and size making him more equipped to cover receivers in the slot.

We also must not discount sophomore John Davis, who has been in the mix during fall camp and has the look of an eventual starter at some point in his career.  How Ingram fits into that rotation is yet to be seen.  After all, he has had just one practice with his new team.

Unfortunately, Ingram has had some off-field issues.  According to Don Williams of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal, he found himself in legal trouble in 2017.

"“Ingram was one of five Utah State players arrested in July 2017 for his alleged involvement in an apartment burglary of video game consoles and games,” Willians writes. He was charged with tampering with a witness, a third-degree felony.“The Cache Valley Daily reported at the time that Ingram’s attorney negotiated a plea agreement, details of which were not made public.”"

Tech is just thirteen days away from the season’s first game on December 31st.  While it might be a bit quick for Ingram to jump to the top of the depth chart in such a short time, this is a name and a player that Matt Wells obviously believes in thus making him worth keeping an eye on.