Countdown to Kickoff: 21 Days
PREVIOUS COUNTDOWN TO KICKOFF ENTRIES: 50 | 49 | 48 | 47 | 46 | 45 | 44 | 43 | 42
41 | 40 | 39 | 38 | 37 | 36 | 35 | 34 | 33 | 32 | 31 | 30 | 29 | 28 | 27 | 26 | 25 | 24 | 23 | 22
Texas Tech's 2016 football season will begin in exactly 21 days with a Sept. 3 kickoff against Stephen F. Austin.
Today, we continue our Countdown to Kickoff series with a notable way the number 21 relates to Red Raider football.
21: Byron Hanspard rushed for 100 or more yards in 21 games during his career at Texas Tech.
Texas Tech running back great Byron Hanspard only played three seasons in college before jumping to the NFL, but in 36 career games he topped the 100-yard mark 21 times.
During his junior season in 1996, Hanspard set program records for single-season rushing yards (2,084 yards) and attempts (339). His 287 yards against Baylor that season remain the biggest single-game rushing total in Red Raider history.
That season, the Dallas product earned unanimous All-American honors, was named the Big 12's Offensive Player of the Year and won the Doak Walker Award.
Hanspard was drafted in the second-round of the 1997 NFL Draft by the Atlanta Falcons. Following a productive rookie season, a serious knee injury derailed his professional career.
Tomorrow: 20 - We look at one of the best wide receivers in Texas Tech history.