Texas Tech football: The 5 most indispensable Red Raiders in 2022
No. 4: Jaylon Hutchings
Perhaps the player on the roster we most take for granted is defensive tackle Jaylon Hutchings. After all, it is tough for an interior defensive lineman to stand out unless he is a generational talent like Gabe Rivera was back in the day.
But Hutchings is integral to what Tech plans to do on defense this year and living life without his services is something that McGuire and Co. certainly don’t want to experience.
Last season, the 310-pounder who played running back in high school racked up 47 tackles, eighth-most on the team and most among defensive linemen. But he wasn’t just a tree stump of a DT. Rather, he was a disruptive force with 6.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks.
This year, Tech is hoping for an even better season from the senior. But imagine what life would be like without Hutchings in 2022.
Behind him on the depth chart is junior Philip Blidi who is a promising young player. But the Portales, N.M. product has amassed only 21 total tackles in his two years as a Red Raider. What’s more, Blidi has only two tackles for loss and 0.5 sacks to his credit as a Red Raider.
Arkansas State transfer Vidal Scott is also listed behind Hutchings on the depth chart. However, the super-senior transfer from Arkansas State is only listed at 285 pounds on the team roster. That’s a whole 25 pounds lighter than Hutchings. Certainly, it would be tough to expect Scott to take on more than a small role in the Red Raider defense this year.
The same could be said for Myles Cole, the senior transfer from Louisiana-Monroe. Also significantly lighter than Hutchings (290 pounds) and having never played at the Big 12 level, it would likely be too much to ask him to fill Hutchings’ shoes.
Don’t forget that the Big 12 is experiencing a running game renaissance these days and that makes controlling the line of scrimmage essential for defenses. No Red Raider does that quite like Jayon Hutchings and that’s why he’s No. 4 on our list.