Texas Tech football: Red Raiders with opportunities to shine in 2020

DB Adam Beck

Junior Adam Beck proved last season, his first as a Red Raider, that he has the versatility that his defensive coordinator, Keith Patterson, covets.  The Minnesota transfer played in eleven games and was asked to be at times a safety and at other times be an outside LB or “spur”, which is what Patterson calls the hybrid LB/DB position that he likes to use.

That could change this season with the addition of defensive backs coach Derek Jones, who has said that he’d prefer to have an extra coverage player on the field most of the time.  That might be where Beck, who is 6-foot-2, 205-pounds might excel.

Coming out of high school in 2017, the Texas native was a rather highly-regarded corner.  When he signed with Minnesota, he was the No. 85 cornerback in the nation and the No. 119 overall player in Texas according to 247Sports.com.  Thus, he has a background that would suggest he could handle a nickel corner role, which often goes to bigger DBs who can match up with tight ends while also coming up to support the run defense.

Most Red Raider fans didn’t notice that Beck racked up 39 tackles last season.  That’s not a bad total for a player who was seeing action for the first time at the collegiate level after he redshirted in 2017 and had to sit out in 2018 per NCAA transfer rules.

Beck moved to LB when All-American Jordyn Brooks was banged up but now, he will likely return to the “spur” position where his versatility will give Patterson options.  If he comes on this fall the way he ended last year when he had 21 tackles in his last three games (including a season-high 12 against TCU), he will become a player that Red Raider fans know by name and one that we count on to help turn the defense around.