Texas Tech football saw a decline in the pass rush department last season.
After registering 238 pressures and 31 sacks in 2022, Texas Tech was credited with 199 pressures and 27 sacks in 2023.
Fast forward to 2024, and two program legends in Tony Bradford Jr and Jaylon Hutchings are out of eligibility. Myles Cole was a 7th round pick in the most recent NFL Draft, too. So how does Texas Tech find its pass rush again?
The roster is littered with talent. There aren't any other another position groups that Joey McGuire and his staff have targeted more than the offensive and defensive lines.
We take a look at the candidates to make up for Texas Tech losing some great talent up front, including returning players, some new faces and possible breakout candidates.
The Rice transfer De'Braylon Carroll is coming off of a fantastic senior season in which he started all 13 games, playing 680 total snaps as a workhorse for the Owls defense.
Carroll finished the 2023 season with a PFF grade of 81.6, which is excellent, and was credited with 31 pressures on the year (including 3 in a game @ Texas).
Carroll will be moving up a step in competition coming to the Big 12 but he has the ability to be a special pass rusher from the interior.
After three seasons at Louisiana-Monroe, Quincy Ledet Jr. was a primary rotation player for Texas Tech last season. He returns in 2024 with hopes on building what was a successful year 1 in Lubbock.
In 2023, Ledet Jr. played 370 snaps and was credited with 11 pressures. He finished the year with a PFF grade of 67.1, which is slightly above average.
Expect him to be a key cog inside this fall.
Dooda Banks was a highly-recruited player who saw his first real breakout moment in the 2022 Texas Bowl win over Ole Miss. He followed that up with a solid 2023, playing 231 snaps including earning his first career start.
He graded out with a 69.6 PFF grade, which is above average, and was credited with 7 total pressures.
Look for Banks to continue taking steps forward as he enters his fourth season on campus.
Texas Tech was on the hunt for defensive lineman in the transfer portal and a guy the staff honed in on pretty early was Nevada transfer James Hansen.
Hansen started all 12 games for Nevada last season, totaling 386 snaps, so he brings some experience to the defensive line unit.
He finished the season with 8 pressures and a PFF grade of 64.9 on the year.
One of Tech's top recruits in the 2022 class, Trevon McAlpine had a wild last few weeks of his recruitment where at the end of the day he decided to follow defensive line coach Zarnell Fitch from TCU (where he was committed) to Texas Tech.
McAlpine saw the first snaps of his career in 2023 though it was in a limited role. In total he played 124 snaps, and finished with a PFF grade of 57.6. He was credited with 3 pressures on the year.
Entering his third season on campus, it's time for McAlpine to take his game to the next level with more consistency.
Jayden Cofield was a priority for the staff as part of the 2023 class as the coaches were looking to add more size to the interior defensive line.
He has reportedly impressed this off-season after a freshman season in which he played 18 snaps and finished with a PFF grade of 64.0.
Bright future ahead for the former Rivals high three-star prospect.
Another signee as part of the 2023 class, Braylon Rigsby was a hidden gem that the coaches pulled out of Woodville, TX. Rigsby's other major offers included Kansas State, Louisiana and Washington State.
As a freshman Rigsby saw action in 1 game, vs Tarleton State, and played 11 total snaps. He finished with a PFF grade of 61.9.
Much like the aforementioned Cofield, Rigsby is a guy who has drawn high praise from the staff for his work this off-season.
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