Texas Tech football: Make-or-break Red Raiders for 2023

Is Steve Linton ready to be a star?

To the casual fan, the name Steve Linton is not going to be familiar.  However, die-hard Texas Tech football fans have been salivating over the off-season reports about what the Syracuse transfer could become in 2023.

Arriving from a program where the strength and nutrition program was apparently lacking and having added as much as 20 pounds of muscle this offseason, Linton is projected to be Tech’s best pass rusher this fall.  But is he ready to be a star in the Big 12?

Last year, he made 22 tackles and had 3.5 sacks in 11 games making only one start.  This year much more than that is expected of the Georgia native.

In fact, some believe that he could play his way into the 2024 NFL Draft despite having two years of eligibility remaining.  That would be a best-case scenario for a Red Raider team looking to replace Tyree Wilson’s pass-rush abilities.

Make no mistake, Tech’s coaching staff is confident that the impressive depth that the program has amassed along the edges of the D-line will be enough to help cover for Wilson’s absence.  What’s more, there is no thought that just one player will bring to the field what the best defensive player in the Big 12 did last year.

Still, someone is going to have to step forward and be a consistent disruptor on passing downs and the hope is that Linton will prove ready to be that guy.  Some are even projecting that he could be a double-digit sack performer for the Red Raiders.  Should that come to pass, this defense is going to be the best Tech has fielded since the final years of the Leach era and Linton will get a shot to play on Sundays.