Texas Tech football: The top Red Raider from each season of the Big 12 era
![ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 25: Patrick Mahomes II #5 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders warming up before the game against the Baylor Bears on November 25, 2016 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Baylor 54-35. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) ARLINGTON, TX - NOVEMBER 25: Patrick Mahomes II #5 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders warming up before the game against the Baylor Bears on November 25, 2016 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Baylor 54-35. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)](https://images2.minutemediacdn.com/image/upload/c_fill,w_720,ar_16:9,f_auto,q_auto,g_auto/shape/cover/sport/d6bf9fad347fe09fddd1cbf72779c6a2055a86189c4ccae97cddfcf581d00728.jpg)
2014: Pete Robertson
For the vast majority of the “Air Raid” era of Texas Tech football, getting to the QB has been a struggle. But that wasn’t the case for DE Pete Robertson in 2014.
On his way to second-team All-Big 12 honors, Robertson was able to put up 13 sacks while forcing two fumbles and recovering one. That sack total is tied for fourth-best in a season from a Red Raider.
Four times that season, Robertson got to the QB twice. And he had six outings with eight or more tackles on his way to 81 total.
This was by far Robertson’s best year in Lubbock. Outside of 2014, his best season was 66 tackles and 5 sacks in 2015.
The 2014 season was an unmitigated disaster for Kingsbury. Going just 4-8 in a season that began with as much hype as any since 2008, he saw QB Davis Webb regress as a player before the sophomore was lost for the final four games of the year with an ankle injury.
This was also the year that Kingsbury had to fire defensive coordinator Matt Wallerstead after just three games because he reportedly showed up to the team facility inebriated. As a result, Tech won just two Big 12 games and finished in 8th place in the league standings.
Of course, the emergence of Pat Mahomes over the last three games helped salvage this awful season but in the end, Robertson was Tech’s brightest spot in a dark year. And in a career year, Robertson was able to be one of the Big 12’s most disruptive pass rushers.