Texas Tech football: Red Raiders that might surprise in 2023

Defensive end Isaac Smith is a promising young pass rusher

Last season could have taken a turn for the worse when star defensive end Tyree Wilson broke his foot against Kansas causing him to miss the final three games of the year.  However, the depth of the Red Raiders’ defensive line was able to make up for that massive loss as Tech would go 3-0 without Wilson on the field.

One of the players who saw a huge uptick in his playing time over those three games was redshirt freshman, Isaac Smith.  The Wagoner, Oklahoma native flashed some massive potential down the stretch and could make quite the splash for himself in 2023.

The lanky 6-foot-6, 260-pounder was able to rack up at least three tackles in each of 2022’s final three games including four apiece against Oklahoma and Ole Miss.  What’s more, he registered his first career sack while also recovering a fumble against the Rebels in the Texas Bowl.

Now, it is expected that he will be a central component of Tech’s pass-rush rotation this fall.  However, he is not getting a ton of publicity because he isn’t in line for a starting job with Myles Cole and Syracuse transfer Steve Linton penciled in as the starting edge rushers for Tim DeRuyter’s defense, thus, he might still be a relative unknown to many fans.

Don’t sleep on Smith though.  He plays with a relentlessness that makes him a pest for opposing offenses and once he refines this technique and grows into a more well-rounded rusher, he could become the next star for the Red Raider defense.