It shouldn’t surprise anyone that the Texas Tech Red Raiders had a talented roster this season.
If you weren’t paying attention to what the Red Raiders were doing during the regular season and just got to watch Texas Tech make it to the Big 12 championship game and the College Football Playoff, you might have overlooked the sort of dominance and control that Texas Tech had in each of its wins throughout the year.
But if you have been paying attention to Big 12 football and got to witness what the Red Raiders accomplished all throughout the season, then you’re certainly not shocked that Texas Tech is sending five players to the Senior Bowl.
Texas Tech was one of a handful of programs to send five or more players to the Senior Bowl this year. And so, let’s go ahead and meet the Red Raiders representing Texas Tech as they try to boost their NFL Draft stock.
Jacob Rodriguez leads the way for Texas Tech in grabbing headlines
While he wasn’t the guy to get the Heisman Trophy, anyone who got to watch the Red Raiders this season probably thoroughly enjoyed getting to see Jacob Rodriguez thrive in just about everything he did in every game for Texas Tech.
A Heisman finalist and the winner of the Bednarik, Butkus, Lombardi, and Nagurski awards, Rodriguez was unstoppable this season. In addition to the 128 tackles, Texas Tech’s leading linebacker also forced seven fumbles and picked off four passes AND scored a couple of rushing touchdowns.
Jacob Rodriguez was dominant all season long.
Lee Hunter gets a chance to return to his hometown for the Senior Bowl
This is a cool sort of homecoming opportunity for Lee Hunter, who did such a phenomenal job of plugging gaps and causing problems for opposing offensive linemen this season. Hunter got his career started with the Auburn Tigers but left his home state to continue things with the UCF Knights.
After ending up with the Red Raiders, Hunter recorded 41 tackles, 10.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, and one forced fumble. Lee Hunter absolutely earned his chance to improve his NFL Draft stock at the 2026 Senior Bowl.
Reggie Virgil boosted Texas Tech’s offense with routine explosive plays
After getting his career started in the MAC, Reggie Virgil made his way to Lubbock and had a phenomenal season where he managed to lead the Texas Tech Red Raiders when it came to receptions. That’s a feat to be proud of and Virgil managed to catch 57 passes for 705 yards and six touchdowns.
In addition to the half dozen touchdowns that Virgil caught, Mack Leftwich carved out the opportunity for the dynamic receiver to use his speed and he turned two carries into two rushing scores. Reggie Virgil has been a delight to watch in Texas Tech’s offense this season.
Romello Height was a terrifying force for Texas Tech’s defensive front
Like Lee Hunter, Romello Height is a talented and disruptive defensive force who didn’t start his college football career with the Texas Tech Red Raiders. Instead, also like Lee Hunter, Height got his college football career underway by playing for the Auburn Tigers.
And then he left them. Ended up with the USC Trojans. Left them. Ended up with the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Left them. Finished his career with the Texas Tech Red Raiders and exploded against opposing offensive lines.
Romello Height’s final college season included 38 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks. That’s incredible.
Caleb Douglas continued to dominate opposing defenses for Texas Tech’s offense
Douglas is another star who ended up with the Texas Tech Red Raiders after starting his career with another team, but it’s clear that the Texas Tech football team helped Douglas improve in considerable (and impressive) fashion.
This season, Douglas has 846 receiving yards (which led the Texas Tech football team) and seven receiving touchdowns (which was also a team high). It really seems like the decision to transfer away from Florida and to Texas Tech was absolutely the right choice for Caleb Douglas.