Texas Tech football: The all-time Red Raider NFL offense
OL: E.J. Holub, Louis Vasquez, Manny Ramirez, Joe Walter, LaAdrian Waddle
One of the more surprising revelations from this look into Red Raiders in the NFL is how few Texas Tech football alums have had success on Sundays when playing along the offensive line. So while the names along the all-time offensive line represent some of the best players in Red Raider history, they don’t carry the same weight in the NFL.
One exception though would be E.J. Holub. The legendary Lubbock native was a two-way player in college and the NFL who started Super Bowl I at linebacker for Kansas City and Super Bowl IV for the Chiefs at center making him the only player ever to start two different Super Bowls on opposite sides of the ball.
Though most of his AFL All-Star (there was no Pro Bowl when he played) nods came in the first part of his career when he played linebacker, he was a second-team All-AFL selection as a center in 1969 and he’s a member of both the Texas Tech Football Ring of Honor and the Kansas City Chiefs Hall of Fame.
A pair of players who played in the Super Bowl for the Denver Broncos would flank Holub on this team. Guard Louis Vasquez was a 2013 Pro Bowler and first-team All-Pro honoree who also helped the Broncos win Super Bowl L. He made 101 starts in his seven-year career.
Meanwhile, Manny Ramirez played both guard and center over the course of his nine-year career while making 65 starts, including one at center in Super Bowl XLVIII for Denver. He was a fourth-round pick in the 2007 draft who carved out a nice career for himself but who never developed into a Pro Bowl player.
At tackle, Joe Walter would man one spot. The Dallas native spent 13 years in the NFL (1985-97), all with Cincinnati. He started 77 of his 166 career games.
Opposite him would be LaAdrian Waddle. Spending 2019 with the Buffalo Bills, he’s a seven-year veteran who has made 31 starts in 61 career appearances for the Bills, New England Patriots, and Detroit Lions.
Many people think that next year, current Red Raider right guard Jack Anderson will be in the NFL as he is one of the top interior offensive linemen in the nation. Hopefully, he will help boost the profile of Texas Tech football alums along the OL because it’s been an area where the program has struggled to produce top-tier NFL talent.