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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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LUBBOCK, TX – SEPTEMBER 21: Will Smith #7 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders recovers a fumble  (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)
LUBBOCK, TX – SEPTEMBER 21: Will Smith #7 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders recovers a fumble  (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

Linebacker Will Smith

Linebackers are supposed to be tackling machines.  That’s exactly what Will Smith was in 2013 when he almost tripled his tackle total from the previous season.

As a senior, the light came on for the former JUCO transfer who ended his last season in Lubbock with 120 tackles.  That was quite the jump from the 55 he amassed in 2012.

What’s more, his 4.5 sacks and 10.5 tackles for loss were significant increases over his junior year when he had just 1.5 tackles for loss and no sacks.  He ended the year as the defensive MVP of the Holiday Bowl thanks to his 14 tackle (2 for loss) showing.

It wasn’t that Smith was useless in 2012 but the jump he made after that season was beyond substantial.  That’s common among JUCO players because the jump to the FBS level is often overwhelming for players that have spent their first two years in JUCO programs that may have poor weight training programs and that often have no nutritional support for their athletes.

Coming out of the JUCO ranks, Smith had only one offer from a Power 5 program (Tech) and had additional offers from only Nevada, New Mexico, New Mexico State, and San Jose State.  Thus, it would be fair to say that the Red Raiders got quite the steal.

Smith finished 2013 on a tear.  He had no fewer than 14 tackles in any of the last three games of the season.  That included 16 against Baylor and a career-high 18 against Texas.

Amazingly, in such a prolific season, those were his only double-digit tackle games.  However, he was remarkably consistent throughout the year with only one game in which he came up with fewer than six stops.

Next. The all-time Houston Red Red football team. dark

Smith isn’t going to be held in the same regard as other Texas Tech LBs such as Jordyn Brooks or Dakota Allen but his 2013 season was more prolific from a tackle perspective than any that Brooks or Allen ever amassed.  But because he was only a difference-maker for one season, Smith will go down as more of a one-hit-wonder than an all-time great.

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