Texas Tech football: Five seniors we hope return in 2021

Eli Howard

Eli Howard comes across as an old soul.  And given the numerous injuries he’s had to fight through during his Texas Tech football career, he’s also got an older body than most college football players.  So one has to wonder if he will be up for another round of pain and injury in 2021.

We certainly hope so because he’s a quality pass rusher and those have been tough for Tech to come by over the years.  So far in his career, he’s racked up 12 sacks.  That includes five last year, a new career-high.

What’s more, he could be ready to surpass that total in 2020.  That’s because he will not be asked to play as many snaps this fall given the fact that there is far more depth at DE than there was last year.

Howard is an effort guy.  He gets his sacks not because of overwhelming athleticism but because of relentlessness and all-out effort.

But when he’s been struggling with nagging injuries, it’s been tough for him to be able to play up to the level that he’s wanted to.  Thus, by being asked to play a more reasonable number of snaps this year and by being surrounded by better pass rushers to take some of the focus of the offensive line off of him, he could be ready for an excellent season.

Hopefully, he will stay healthy this fall and that will show him what life is like when he is surrounded by a stable of Big 12-caliber players.  And that could be enough to entice him to come back for another ride on the South Plains.