Texas Tech football: Positions where Red Raiders will be better in 2021

Safety

At the safety position, Matt Wells has added yet another talented and experienced veteran transfer.  If you see a pattern developing here, you would be right.

Marquis “Muddy” Waters has arrived from Duke where he played for current Texas Tech secondary coach Derek Jones and his presence should make the safety position one of Tech’s strengths.  After all, Waters was one of the most accomplished players in this year’s transfer portal.

Already, the Florida native has 49 career appearances and 35 starts to his name.  During that time, he’s racked up 234 tackles,18 pass breakups, and three interceptions.

He will replace Thomas Leggett who left the Red Raiders last offseason despite having an extra year of eligibility remaining.  And make no mistake, Waters is a significant upgrade over Leggett.

Leggett was a suitable run defender who was always willing to stick his nose into the fight.  But as a pass defender, he was…lacking…to be kind.

That shouldn’t be the case for Waters, who will have the duty of patrolling the back end of the secondary while returning starter Eric Monroe plays closer to the line of scrimmage.  That duo is a nice compliment to one another and they should help steady a secondary that was abused by the deep ball quite frequently in 2020.

Also, don’t overlook the addition of Wisconsin transfer Reggie Pearson.  All he did for the Badgers was appear in 18 games and make 65 stops over the course of the 2018-19 seasons before injury cost him the 2020 campaign.  He too is a tough-nosed defensive back who isn’t afraid to come up and make a hit when asked to.

Life in the Big 12 requires solid play from the secondary and that’s what Tech should have this year thanks to the transfer portal.  And at the safety spot, this year’s crop of players will be as strong as Tech has had in recent memory.