Texas Tech football releases concerning injury report ahead of week two
As if the tone surrounding the Texas Tech football program wasn't negative enough after Saturday's close-call vs. Abilene Christian, things are continuing to trend in the wrong direction as the Red Raiders prepare for Washington State. That's because that program released a rather concerning injury report on Monday.
The first major blow is that outside linebacker Joseph Adedire has been ruled out for the season with a knee injury. That's not what Red Raider fans want to hear after seeing their team fail to apply any pressure on the quarterback against ACU.
Though the junior has only two career sacks, he does have 7.5 career tackles for loss in two seasons. What's more, he was expected to be one of this team's best pass rushers this fall.
Adedire did not play against ACU and now he won't step onto the field at all this year. However, that's not the only troubling bit of news from the injury report.
Star running back Tahj Brooks is listed as "questionable" with an arm injury. If he is unable to play on Saturday night, it will dramatically alter the look of the offense given that his two backups, junior Cam'Ron Valdez and redshirt freshman Cam Dickey, are unproven. In fact, on Saturday night, Brooks carried the ball 27 times while Valdez and Dickey each had only one carry each.
It gets worse though. Starting safety C.J. Baskerville is listed as "questionable" as well. Dealing with a shoulder injury, he could miss this week's game and that would be devastating for a secondary that was just picked apart by an FCS team. What's more, Washington State runs its own version of the "Air Raid" offense meaning the Cougars could be perfectly equipped to attack the Red Raiders through the air.
The hits keep coming as outside linebacker Harvey Dyson is also on the injury report. Listed as "questionable" with a foot injury, he also might not play on Saturday night.
Though Dyson was ineffective against ACU while making his first career start, he was referred to as Tech's best pass rusher in fall camp so his absence would be tough to handle. What's more, the season-ending injuries to Adedire and fellow outside LB Dylan Spencer mean that the Red Raiders are getting rather thin when it comes to edge rushers.
The bad news doesn't end there, however. Starting nose tackle Quincy Ledet is now listed as "questionable" as well due to a knee injury.
He did play against ACU despite also being questionable for that game. He made two tackles in the game. So here's hoping he can tough it out against WSU.
Also on the injury list is the Red Raiders' top corner, Brayln Lux who did not play against ACU. Following the week-one win, Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire said that he expects Lux to play against Washington State but that is not guaranteed with his appearance on the injury report with a thigh issue.
Finally, backup linebacker John Curry is questionable to play with a shoulder injury of his own. That's not as frightening of a report given that Tech already has star linebackers Jacob Rodriguez and Ben Roberts manning the inside linebacker spots in front of Curry who made only one tackle against ACU.
Finally, outside LB Charles Esters, who missed the ACU game, has already been ruled out of the Washington State game with a thigh injury. That means that Tech will be without three outside linebackers for sure and could be down another if Dyson can't play this weekend.
In all, eight members of the defense's two-deep could miss the Washington State game. That's less than ideal for a defense that was gashed on Saturday night. Here's hoping that the Red Raiders' training staff can work wonders this week and get as many of these players as possible ready to go for Saturday Night.