Texas Tech football: Time for Nelson Mbanasor to be difference-maker

Now into his junior season for the Texas Tech football team, it’s time for DE Nelson Mbanasor to finally become the type of difference-maker that we’ve been waiting for him to be.

By the time a player hits his junior season, it’s typically expected for him to either fish or cut bait. That’s the point when any player that is not a JUCO transfer has been in the college ranks long enough to have sufficiently developed both physically and mentally to the point that he should be an impact player if he is going to ever become one at all.

One junor Texas Tech football fans want to see finally make a difference in 2020 is DE Nelson Mbanasor. A fourth-year player, he will have an opportunity to finally make his mark this year and if he doesn’t, he could find himself passed over on the depth chart as this program is suddenly in great shape in terms of depth at defensive end.

From the moment the Pflugerville native arrived, Red Raider fans have been monitoring his progress. He was the No. 34 strongside defensive end in the nation in the class of 2017 and the No. 111 player in Texas making him one of the more highly-regarded DE signees of the Kliff Kingsbury era. Also adding to the significance of his arrival was the fact that that year, he was Tech’s only defensive line signee.

He was redshirted as a true freshman but the expectations for him were only ramped up when during that 2017 season, then defensive coordinator David Gibbs said that Mbanasor could have played the moment he stepped on campus.

But his story took an unusual turn in 2018 when he announced his intentions to enter the transfer portal before the end of the season. Of course, that was the year Matt Wells arrived and his first recruiting battle was to convince Mbanasor to stay which is what he did.

That was deemed a rather significant development at the time but in 2019, Mbanasor did not make much of a splash. Seeing action in 11 games, he registered a mere 15 tackles with 2.5 of those being for a loss. What’s more, he had just one sack. That’s not up to the level of productivity that his size and athleticism suggest he should be giving the Red Raiders.

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But the good news is that he has two more years to be an impact player at Tech. However, this year, there will be significant competition for playing time.

That’s because this looks to finally be the year that Tech has more than enough options at defensive end. First of all, senior Eli Howard is back for one last ride and being as he is Tech’s leading pass rusher (he led the team with 5.0 sacks a year ago), he will get all the snaps he can handle.

Then there is sophomore DE Tony Bradford Jr who as a true freshman had only one fewer tackle and who had a half-sack more than Mbanasor did last year. What’s more, Tech has brought in JUCO All-American Devin Drew, who had an impressive 9.5 sacks in 2019. Also, don’t forget that former 4-star signee Gilbert Ibeneme will be back in the mix after missing all of his true freshman season with an injury.

In other words, if Mbanasor is going to stand out, he’s going to have to earn his opportunities. This isn’t the typical year in the sense that the Red Raiders are not simply looking for warm bodies to play defensive end.

Perhaps the key to his success will be in how he is deployed. With all of those pass-rush options, it wouldn’t be a shock to see DC Keith Patterson put three defensive ends on the field at the same time in obvious passing situations. And at 275-pounds, Mbanasor has the size to slide into the DT spot in those scenarios. Maybe then we will see this upperclassman make a splash going up against interior lineman who are not necessarily as equipped to pass protect against defensive ends.

But if he doesn’t make serious strides this year, we may not see that happen at all. That’s because a new wave of talent is on the way.

This year, Wells and Co. signed two talented ends, L.B. Moore of Amarillo and Philip Blidi of Portales, NM the latter of whom has the size to suggest he will be playing a similar role to the one that Mbanasor is currently fulfilling. Though both freshmen are likely redshirt candidates in 2020, they could easily figure into next year’s rotation and take some snaps away from older players.

Also, Tech has two DEs currently committed in the class of 2021, E’Maurion Banks of Wichita Falls is the No. 81 player in Texas while Charles Esters of Cedar Hill is the No. 165 player in the state. Both have the type of talent that might warrant playing time next year or at least put them in the mix.

In other words, this might be now or never for Mbanasor. We have heard for years about his talent and potential but it is now time for those terms to give way to productivity and impact. If they do, the 2020 defensive line will be primed to be one of the strengths of the team.