2018 Texas Tech Defense Preview

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David Gibbs remembers laying out his vision to Kliff Kingsbury just before he arrived prior to the 2015 season. Fixing Texas Tech’s defense wouldn’t be easy. He refused to take the shortcut of scraping together a depth chart full of junior college newcomers and graduate transfers. 

They were going to dig their heels in and make it work. He had a vision of development and building his defense from scratch. Back then, Gibbs was the seventh Red Raiders defensive coordinator in seven years. It was easy to scoff. These days, it’s a lot harder.

“We’re starting to see the fruits of that labor,” Kingsbury said. “It’s really exciting.”

In Gibbs’ first two seasons, Texas Tech finished above eight total teams. 

“It was crazy. It was like we couldn’t stop anything,” safety Jah’Shawn Johnson said. 

But last year, the cracks in the glass ceiling started to form. 

“You couldn’t just hand the ball off and get 10 yards against Tech like you used to be able to,” Gibbs said. “We started to control down and distance.” 

Last year, the Red Raiders ranked higher than 52 teams in defensive yards per play, and it’s not hard to imagine that number growing when 10 starters and 20 of 22 players in last year’s two-deep return.

Eli Howard and Tony Jones combined for 15.5 tackles for loss a year ago to highlight a unit that did lose Zach Barnes and Mych Thomas. Linebacker Dakota Allen re-emerged as a leader in 2017 after returning to the program. He and Jordyn Brooks made 191 stops a year ago and should be among the league’s best linebacking duos. At safety, Johnson leads a group of defensive backs that also feature a deep stable of cornerbacks like Justus Parker, DaMarcus Fields, Desmon Smith and seniors Octavious Morgan and Jaylon Lane. Vaughnte Dorsey is another promising star at safety and sophomore Riko Jeffers emerged as a future star in the spring.

A lack of continuity cost Texas Tech defensively in its post-Leach swoon. Now, with continuity on the sideline and in between the lines, it’s time for the defense to soar.

 

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