Texas Tech football: Five seniors we hope return in 2021

Riko Jeffers

Last year, Riko Jeffers came into his own as a middle linebacker.  This year, he’s expected to be the leader of the Texas Tech defense.  Next year, could he return to cement his Red Raider legacy?  We certainly hope so.

Jeffers has the size and the skill of an NFL linebacker and there’s a chance that with a huge 2020, he could be drafted next offseason.  In fact, he could be the next version of Jordyn Brooks.

It’s not fair to expect him to become a second-team All-American and first-round draft pick next year to follow Brooks’ path from a year ago but he could be the next Red Raider LB to break out as a senior.  Remember that Brooks 78-tackle season as a junior in 2018 was just two more than Jeffers had a year ago when he was a junior.  So perhaps Jeffers could see his tackle totals skyrocket this year as Brooks’ total did a year ago when he had 108 stops in just 11 games.

Jeffers will be playing inside LB this year after being more of an outside LB last year.  That’s the same position Brooks played last year when he broke out and Jeffers could be the same type of defensive star for Tech this season.

So don’t be surprised to see Jeffers ply his craft in the NFL in 2021.  But think about what the LB corps will look like if he comes back to Tech for one more season.

He would join seniors Krishon Merriweather and Brandon Randle to give Tech tons of experience.  Also, Xavier Benson could be back after a leave of absence from the team this year.  That foursome would be the best overall linebacking collection that this program has had since the 1990s by a significant margin.  So let’s hope that Jeffers comes back as part of the 2021 team, though if he decided to cash in and take his talents to the NFL, no one would blame him.