Texas Tech football: Takeaways from the first official depth chart of 2020

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Safety Thomas Leggett #16 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders signals “Guns Up” after the college football game against the Iowa State Cyclones on October 19, 2019 at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. (Photo by John E. Moore III/Getty Images) /

Leggett and sophomores earn starting jobs in the secondary

We’ve spent a healthy bit of time this fall camp discussing the situation at safety where Tech will break in a pair of new starters. But while one spot will be manned by LSU transfer Eric Monroe, just as expected, the other starter, Thomas Leggett, is a bit of a surprise.

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The senior from Florida appeared in all but one game last year and made seven starts so it isn’t a huge shock to see him atop the depth chart. But at times, he struggled last year, especially in coverage.

What’s more, other players, such as JaMarcus Ingram, had received more preseason buzz in recent weeks. But Leggett has the look of a steady player and he’s a hard hitter who is more than willing to be a factor in the rush defense. Last year, he had 42 tackles, including 6.0 for a loss and it appears like he will be an even larger factor this fall.

Meanwhile, at the first corner spot is Zech McPhearson, who was expected all along to hold down one starting job. But in a somewhat surprising development, a pair of sophomores are listed as the co-starters opposite of him.

Both Alex Hogan and Dadrion Taylor experienced a bit of a baptism by fire last year as true freshmen but they each competed well enough to show that they belong at the Big 12 level. Now, they sit together atop the depth chart after beating out some more experienced players for the job.

Hogan is a tough corner who does not shy away from contact and who plays solid positional defense. Meanwhile, Taylor, a converted high school running back has the top end speed that teams covet in the secondary.

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Of course, this year’s depth chart is a living document that may change more from game to game than in normal years given the COVID-19 testing that the players must endure before being able to play each week. Thus we had better become familiar with the names on the second and third lines because they too will factor heavily into the mix. But for now, we have an idea of who we will see the most on Saturday and that’s exciting because it means that football is back in our lives.

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