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Texas Tech football: The best one-hit-wonders in Red Raider history

By Matthew Conner

LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: The Will Rogers and Soapsuds statue is pictured before the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Iowa State Cyclones on October 19, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TEXAS - OCTOBER 19: The Will Rogers and Soapsuds statue is pictured before the college football game between the Texas Tech Red Raiders and the Iowa State Cyclones on October 19, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /
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Dwayne Slay of Texas Tech makes a tackle on Matt Miller of Alabama during the AT&T Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas  (Photo by G. N. Lowrance/Getty Images)
Dwayne Slay of Texas Tech makes a tackle on Matt Miller of Alabama during the AT&T Cotton Bowl in Dallas, Texas  (Photo by G. N. Lowrance/Getty Images) /

Safety Dwayne Slay

No defensive player in Texas Tech football history became more of a legend in one season than Dwayne Slay.  The 2005 Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and first-team All-American according to Sports Illustrated remains a fan-favorite despite being just a one-year phenomenon.

After being mainly a special teams contributor as a junior after coming to Lubbock as a JUCO transfer, the safety amassed 101 tackles as a senior, third-most in the Big 12.  He also set a conference record with eight forced fumbles that season.

Of course, his greatest moment was his obliteration of Kansas State QB Alan Evridge in Lubbock.  The second of two forced fumbles in that game for the Georgia native, it is a play that has become one of the most unforgettable in Red Raider history and one that is featured in just about every pre-game hype video played at Jones Stadium.

Though it has become common for Tech fans to say that Slay would not be able to play in the modern era of that game where helmet-to-helmet hits have become outlawed in the name of player safety, his hit on Evridge, while amazingly violent, was one that would be legal today as he led with his shoulder and never struck the ball carrier with his helmet.

As Tech’s first All-American since Montae Reagor in 1998, Slay was a superstar in Lubbock and remains a legend because he was one of the few defensive game-changers to come through the program during the last two decades.

In 2005, all but two of his forced fumbles came in conference play.  Against Texas A&M, he opened the second half by forcing a fumble in a 14-10 game.  That would spark Tech to 21-unanswered points as the Red Raider offense would rattle off scores on six-straight drives in a 56-17 win.  That was the type of impact Slay could make on a game and one of the reasons he has become a Texas Tech football legend despite only being a one-year starter.

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