One benefit of playing a tough game early in the season is that it reveals where a team needs to improve. For the Texas Tech football team, last Saturday's narrow win over Oregon State showed that the secondary must take a step forward. That progress had better come quickly, though, because this week's opponent, the Houston Cougars, can also threaten teams through the air thanks to a speedy wide receiver.
Since the game in Corvallis, Texas Tech fans have likely had nightmares about true freshman wide receiver Jessee Legree running wild through the Red Raider secondary. The 5-foot-10, 172-pounder terrorized Tech to the tune of 240 yards and two TDs on just eight catches.
As a result, head coach Joey McGuire saw his secondary become the biggest questionmark on the defensive side of the ball. Now, that weakness will again be put to the test in week three.
Houston's top receiver, Amare Thomas, is similar in size to Legree. At 6 feet and 205 pounds, he is not going to win battles because of his size.
Rather, he is an explosive athlete who uses his shiftiness and speed to win. However, he is not as fast as Legree, at least in the open field. Still, he is dynamic enough to threaten the Red Raider secondary. What's more, as you can see in the clip below, he can also be a threat to make contested catches downfield.
Amare Thomas MOSSES a man
— NFL Draft Files (@NFL_DF) September 5, 2026
My preliminary 4th round grade might not be high enough… pic.twitter.com/8hsYEoK9ro
So far in 2026, Thomas has 11 catches for 162 yards and a pair of TDs. He's the only Houston receiver with more than eight receptions, and he has a streak of seven consecutive games with a TD grab. He's off to a strong start after catching 67 passes for 966 yards and 12 scores last fall.
Against Oregon State in the season opener, the Birmingham, Alabama native posted 133 yards and a TD on eight receptions. That's a far better outing than any Red Raider receiver had against the Beavers last week.
Tech also must be aware of tight end Patrick Overmyer. The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder is averaging 12.5 yards per catch this year. He's hauled in eight balls for 100 yards and a score through two games, and often, he's Houston's go-to option to move the chains on third down.
That means that the Red Raider secondary will be tested again this week, especially now that its weaknesses have been exposed. However, there is good news for that unit heading into Friday night.
Texas Tech is set to get a key piece of the secondary back
One reason to believe that Tech's secondary will improve this week is the return of starting safety Brenden Jordan. The Mansfield, Texas native was suspended for the first two games of the season, but with that team-imposed penalty behind him, he's now ready to rejoin the Red Raider secondary.
Jordan is a critical component of the defense. He's not only an excellent player, but he's also an experienced one as well.
Having made 16 starts in his college career, the fourth-year senior is expected to be the quarterback of the secondary. His presence should help with communication, which head coach Joey McGuire and defensive coordinator Shiel Wood both said this week were issues on the back end of the defense against Oregon State.
Also potentially helping the secondary could be the season debut of pass rusher Trey White. The transfer from San Diego State has yet to play this season due to a knee injury sustained in fall camp.
However, McGuire said earlier this week that White is trending towards playing this week. However, he is officially a game-time decision.
White is expected to be Tech's best pass rusher, so getting him into the mix could be critical for a team that only had two sacks against Oregon State despite having over 50 pass-rush opportunities in the game.
While no one should expect White to be at 100% if he plays on Friday, he could provide enough of a boost to the pass rush that the Red Raider secondary is protected by diminishing the time Houston QB Connor Weigman has in the pocket.
Tech will need all hands on deck this week against a dangerous Houston offense that is averaging 55 points per game thus far (though their 77 points against FCS weakling Southern in week two skews that number quite a bit). Hopefully, Jordan's presence will help solidify the secondary and White can return to bolster the pass rush because this will be a stiff test for a Texas Tech defense that was humbled a week ago.
Add us as a preferred source on Google