It doesn’t take a genius to know that a pass rush is of critical importance in football. But unfortunately, it might take one to figure out how to bring that aspect of the game to the Texas Tech football program on a consistent basis.
The simple reality is that this program has struggled to find pass rushers for most of the “Air Raid” era. That’s one area where Tech has to be better in 2021.
Last season, Tech was just No. 93 nationally and No. 8 in the Big 12 with a mere 1.7 sacks per game. It was a continuation of the program’s recent struggles in getting to the QB.
The year prior, Tech was only slightly better with 2.0 sacks per game to rank 72nd nationally and 7th in the conference. And going back to the 2012 season, the only year in which Tech has been top 50 nationally and top 5 in the conference in sacks was 2018 when they were No. 50 in the country and No. 5 in the Big 12 with 2.33 per contest.
What’s concerning about this season is that no member of the defensive line has yet to prove capable of being a constantly disruptive force in the backfield. In fact, no returning defensive lineman had more than defensive tackle Jaylon Hutchings and defensive end Tyree Wilson’s1.5 sacks in 2020.
Additionally, no current Red Raider defensive lineman has more than 2.5 career sacks to his name. That is the number that both Hutchings and Tony Bradford Jr. have as we enter 2021.
Thus, it might not come as a surprise that the player who led last year’s team in sacks was a linebacker. In his first season as a Red Raider after transferring in from Arizona, Colin Schooler was the Red Raiders’ best pass rusher with 3.0 sacks a season ago.
But even in a 10-game season, that’s a paltry number for a team leader. That’s why this year’s pass rush remains a concern as we near the beginning of the 2021 season.
In fact, it could be argued that getting to the QB is this greatest question facing this year’s defense. That’s because the linebacking corps and secondary are loaded with talent the likes of which this program hasn’t seen since in well over a decade. And much of that talent has come from the transfer portal.
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Yet, the pass rush is the one component of the defense that the Red Raiders have least addressed through the transfer portal over the past two offseasons. While linebackers such as Schooler, Jacob Morgenstern, Brandon Randle, and defensive backs such as Rayshad Williams, Malik Dunlap, Reggie Pearson, Eric Monroe, and Marquis “Muddy” Waters have helped bring a significant and much-needed talent upgrade to the Red Raider defense, the only transfer of importance that has joined the defensive line in the last two years has been Wilson. (This year, the Red Raiders added freshman DE Robert Wooten from Virginia Tech but he will have to be granted waiver by the NCAA if he is to play this season.)
Therefore, Tech will have to figure out a way to get after the passer this season by trusting the improvement of the players on the roster. Many expect Wilson to take a significant step forward after an offseason with the Red Raiders. He has the size and athleticism to be a truly disruptive player in the Big 12 but he is going to have to be more consistent than he was a year ago when he amassed only ten tackles in seven games played.
Perhaps a healthy Nelson Mbanasor will also boost the Red Raider defensive end rotation. A senior who has yet to live up to the hype that surrounded his arrival in the signing class of 2017, the Pflugerville native missed all of last season with an injury but is back to full health this year. Could his return help bolster a Red Raider defensive line that is desperate for talent at the end position?
Meanwhile, fellow senior Devin Drew could also take a step forward in his second season in Lubbock. After registering 21 tackles but no sacks a year ago as a JUCO transfer, the former JUCO All-American could be in for an improved 2021 given how most JUCO players take steps forward in their second year at the FBS level.
Of course, we can also expect the linebackers to be a big part of the pass rush this year. Look for defensive coordinator Keith Patterson to unleash players like Schooler, Randle, and Morgenstern quite often this fall and that could help bolster Tech’s pass rush.
And maybe that will be the key to Tech’s pass rush, strength in numbers. There doesn’t appear to be any player on this year’s team ready for a 10-sack season but there could be plenty who amass a handful of sacks and that could make the Red Raider defense more effective than it has been in quite some time.