Texas Tech football: 5 Red Raiders that might surprise in 2021

We are just weeks away from the start of the Texas Tech football season and as talk about realignment has cooled off in the past few weeks (due not to a decrease in fan interest but more due to a lack of new information on the topic) anticipation is starting to ramp up for actual games.

When those games begin, the fan base will have a pretty decent idea of what to expect from a large portion of the team given that there could potentially be eight returning starters on each side of the football.  Thus, we might feel as if we have a fairly decent handle on what this team could be.

For instance, we are fairly certain that Erik Ezukanma will be one of the Big 12’s best receivers.  After all, he is a preseason All-Big 12 selection who finished last year second in the league in receiving yards per game.

Also, so long as he can remain healthy (something that isn’t a given due to the position he plays), we also can be comfortable in assuming that SaRodorick Thompson will be one of the toughest and most impactful running backs in the Big 12.

On defense, we all expect linebackers Riko Jeffers, Colin Schooler, and Krishon Merriweather to anchor one of the best linebacking corps in the nation.  All three were among the top four tacklers on the 2020 Red Raider squad and each will have a critical role to play in 2021.

However, there will always be some surprises when the season starts and this year will be no exception.  So let’s take a look a five Red Raiders who might surprise this season.

Nelson Mbanasor

We’ve been waiting for a breakout from defensive end Nelson Mbanasor for four years.  Being as he was the only DE that Tech signed in the class of 2017 and that he was fairly highly regarded when he arrived as a true freshman, the expectation was that he would be an impact player by now.

Of course, that hasn’t been the case.  In fact, after missing all but one game of last year due to injury, he’s amassed just 27 total tackles and one sack in his college career.

But this year, the Pflugerville native is turning heads in camp and is playing at full strength.  That could signal that he’s finally ready to become an impact member of the defensive line rotation.

As we recently discussed, Tech enters 2021 with no clear answers as to where this year’s pass rush will come from.  What’s more, this program has to figure out a way to break out of its nearly decade-long struggle to find a consistent pass rush.

While no one is predicting that Mbanasor will have a double-digit sack season, it is conceivable that he will work his way into the two-deep rotation and that he will be a noticeable contributor on Saturdays.  Could he give this team five sacks?  If so, that would be a huge step forward for both the player and the team.

Often, in years past, late bloomers have come from out of nowhere to help the Red Raiders in a big way.  That was the case with such players as wide receiver Antoine Wesley in 2018 and defensive end Brandon Sharpe in 2009.

While those two players put up seasons that re-wrote portions of the Texas Tech record books, no one is asking for that from Mbanasor in 2021.  But it would be fantastic to see a full season out of him and for that season to be one in which he’s a key contributor to the Red Raider defense.