Texas Tech football: Players that must step up in 2021

DB Adrian Frye

The next player on our list needs to step up as much for his own sake as for that of the team.  That’s because Adrian Frye is part of an incredibly deep secondary that is full of talent and possibilities and if he doesn’t perform well early on, there are plenty of other players the Red Raiders can trot out there.

If it is true that competition is the key to improvement, as many coaches would have you believe, then the Red Raider secondary should have taken a significant step forward this year.  Remember that the defensive backfield has added four key transfers to the mix in safeties Maquis “Muddy” Waters from Duke and Reggie Pearson from Wisconsin as well as corners Malik Dunlap from N.C. State and Rayshad Williams from UCLA.

Those additions might make it harder for Frye to find his way onto the field this season.  Especially if he isn’t any better than he was a year ago.

Playing at corner, Frye managed just 17 tackles and one pass breakup in nine games played last fall.  Those numbers were rather disappointing given that expectations were high being as Frye had returned to corner after a disastrous 2019 spent playing safety.

It’s hard for most fans to remember but there was a time when Frye was one of the best cover men in the Big 12.  As a redshirt freshman in 2018, he came up with five interceptions and 13 pass breakups.

However, since then, he’s failed to return to that type of form.  Some of that has to do with injuries and some has to do with moving positions and changing defensive schemes.

Still, Frye has shown that he can be an effective football player and he will likely get a shot to play meaningful reps this year.  And if he wants to maintain his role as a regular in the Tech secondary, he’d better make the most of his chances.