2018 Texas Tech Red Raiders

Since 2006, Texas Tech has started 7, 9, 8, 10, 7, 8, 5, 4, 7, 5, and 6. In 2018 there will likely be 8 white starters. McLane Carter is in a position battle for QB but has the edge so far and most people in the tech community think he will win it. He started against Texas last year and had an up and down game, he also started a full season in JUCO. Zach Austin has had 2 season ending knee injuries in the past 2 years after recording 22 rec 238 yds 1 TD in 2015, he has a good chance to win a starting slot receiver job and possibly see punt return action as well. He also was a high school teammate and good friends with Baker Mayfield. Lots of white guys on the offensive line and backups as well. DE/Rush Tony Jones had a good season last year but is a rotational player. Walk on true freshman WR Caden Leggett has been so impressive in his first few months that he is already competing for a #2 WR spot behind starter TJ Vasher. Lots of white faces on the roster and hopefully some new guys can emerge this year!

QB McLane Carter (JR)/Alan Bowman (FR)
FB Tyler Carr or Mason Reed (both played last year, Reed started but had a season ending injury)
WR Zach Austin (SR)
OL Travis Bruffy (JR)
OL Paul Stawarz (SR)
OL Jack Anderson (SO)

DE Eli Howard (SO)
DB Justus Parker (JR)

Key Backups:
WR Dalton Rigdon, WR Brandt Schilling, WR Caden Leggett, OL Dawson Deaton, OL Zach Adams, OL Jack Reichel, DL Houston Miller, DE Quentin Yontz, LB/DE Tony Jones, LB Brayden Stringer

Thanks Raider.

Every year my expectations for Tech are too high and I leave disappointed at the end of the day. I never learn. Even WR Cantrell was never their main attraction the past few seasons.They just keep wheeling out black, usually small, WRs year in and year out.

The emergence of Justus Parker cheered me up some and I look forward to his continued growth as a player. Just a Junior perhaps he is NFL material and we all know here given the lack of white DBs that any DB with a shot at the NFL is a Godsend.

But Raider hits the nail on the head. If some of those white WRs emerge we could be looking at an improvement and perhaps for once I won't leave disappointed. If the teams skews more white in the key positions I just hope it happens sooner rather than later. The opportunities seem ripe but closing the deal is another story.

Certainly a team to monitor closely.

Nice write up, refreshing to see an uptick in starters at Tech!

Zach Austin won a starting slot receiver job, walk on redshirt freshman Dalton Rigdon won the backup job to TJ Vasher and beat out 2 highly regarded freshman that are both at least 5 inches taller than him. Tony Jones, Quentin Yontz, Braden Stringer all on the 2 deep for defense.

DE/LB Tony Jones has 13 tackles 4 tfl 2 sacks and a pass deflection in 2 games and isn’t even a starter! He had 6.5 tfl last year, looking for him to get at least 12 tfl and 5 sacks this year in his senior season. He backs up a black Notre Dame transfer that is decent but not as good as Jones, he had less tfl’s and sacks than Jones last year and only has 6 tackles and .5 for a loss this year. LET TONY BE THE FULL TIME STARTER

Red raider said:

DE/LB Tony Jones has 13 tackles 4 tfl 2 sacks and a pass deflection in 2 games and isn’t even a starter! He had 6.5 tfl last year, looking for him to get at least 12 tfl and 5 sacks this year in his senior season. He backs up a black Notre Dame transfer that is decent but not as good as Jones, he had less tfl’s and sacks than Jones last year and only has 6 tackles and .5 for a loss this year. LET TONY BE THE FULL TIME STARTER

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Tony Jones of course recorded the only sack for TTU against Houston and he’s now up to 17 tackles 5 tfl 3 sacks and a past deflection through 3 games, I know this is a long shot but he could be a dark horse candidate for the All-Big 12 team if he keeps playing the way he has, at least a sack in a each game so far. Also it’s been great to see Alan Bowman flourishing, hopefully he can get Zach Austin and Dalton Rigdon the ball more, they only have 10 combined catches and Austin is a starter.

Did Justus Parker play at all vs Houston?

Leonardfan said:

Did Justus Parker play at all vs Houston?

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I believe so, he hasn’t had any impact at all in any of the 3 games so far this season, which is disappointing considering our best DB has been out all 3 games and our best corner is out for the season, I thought he’d step up and prove to be the #1 DB. I’m not too worried though because he’ll have plenty of opportunities once conference play starts. He was making plays all offseason it’s only a matter of time until it happens in game. His skinny black backup has given up at least 3-4 TD’s already this season so his spot isn’t in jeopardy by any means.

i haven’t watched a single Texas Tech game, but no stats for a corner usually means he’s doing an incredible job shutting his man (or zone area) down. is that the case with Parker?

Jimmy Chitwood said:

i haven’t watched a single Texas Tech game, but no stats for a corner usually means he’s doing an incredible job shutting his man (or zone area) down. is that the case with Parker?

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Pretty much, he hasn’t done anything wrong. He just hasn’t been a playmaker yet like he was last year. But every time I’ve seen a touchdown given up it hasn’t been him

Justus Parker had a nice game last night vs. TCU; including a Key Forced Fumble; also had a Kick Return

NICE Pre-season article here...hmmm writer trying to figure out why he was Never offered??
https://247sports.com/college/texas-tech/Article/Critical-20-No-5-Justus-Parker-121054907/

Boy, sometimes you just have to wonder. Justus Parker, Texas Tech’s phenom of a nickel back, is presently a preseason first team All-Big 12 pick. And he’s only a junior.


Knowing those facts, and looking at the amazing statistics he amassed primarily over the last eight games of last season, one would think Parker would have been a high school All-American with scholarship offers from Southern Cal, Penn State, Florida, and all points in between. You would, of course, be dead wrong.


Coming out of high school Parker had zero athletic scholarship offers. Not from mid-majors. Not from FCS schools. And apparently, not even from junior colleges. His options were limited to walking on.


But walking on at Texas or Oklahoma or Texas A&M or Texas Tech, right? Uh uh. Try UT-San Antonio, Abilene Christian and Montana State on for size. Parker demurred and instead accepted an offer at Division III Texas Lutheran.


Now, after transferring to Texas Tech, he is one the premiere defensive backs, not in FCS or a mid-major conference, but in all of college football.


Perhaps Parker was overlooked because of his size? Not really. At six feet tall and 205 pounds he is practically ideal for a defensive back who plays both on the line and at safety.


Maybe Parker was snubbed because he played on a ghastly team in some wide spot in northeastern Wyoming? Hardly. Parker starred on a Texas 4A team just outside of San Antonio that went a combined 22-4 his junior and senior seasons.


Even more so than the legendary Wes Welker, it is dashedly difficult to explain the lack of interest college coaches showed Justus Parker.


Be that as it may, Texas Tech has certainly reaped the benefits.

Parker saw spot duty in the first four games of last season, but after entering the starting lineup he put on a show. Parker averaged five tackles per game during the final eight games of the season, forced four fumbles and recorded four interceptions, one of which was a game-saving pick that helped Texas Tech to a victory over Texas in Austin and may have saved his head coach’s job.

9COMMENTS
What might he do with a full season in the starting lineup? Hard to say, but defensive coordinator David Gibbs is riding Parker to become more consistent, an every-down player as opposed to one who just makes the occasional spectacular play.

At any rate, Gibbs clearly isn’t overlooking Parker, nor are the Big 12’s coaches and media. But that’s not to say Justus has finally received justice—the preseason watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award contains 35 names. Justus Parker is not among them…

TwentyTwo said:

Justus Parker had a nice game last night vs. TCU; including a Key Forced Fumble; also had a Kick Return

NICE Pre-season article here...hmmm writer trying to figure out why he was Never offered??
https://247sports.com/college/texas-tech/Article/Critical-20-No-5-Justus-Parker-121054907/

Boy, sometimes you just have to wonder. Justus Parker, Texas Tech’s phenom of a nickel back, is presently a preseason first team All-Big 12 pick. And he’s only a junior.


Knowing those facts, and looking at the amazing statistics he amassed primarily over the last eight games of last season, one would think Parker would have been a high school All-American with scholarship offers from Southern Cal, Penn State, Florida, and all points in between. You would, of course, be dead wrong.


Coming out of high school Parker had zero athletic scholarship offers. Not from mid-majors. Not from FCS schools. And apparently, not even from junior colleges. His options were limited to walking on.


But walking on at Texas or Oklahoma or Texas A&M or Texas Tech, right? Uh uh. Try UT-San Antonio, Abilene Christian and Montana State on for size. Parker demurred and instead accepted an offer at Division III Texas Lutheran.


Now, after transferring to Texas Tech, he is one the premiere defensive backs, not in FCS or a mid-major conference, but in all of college football.


Perhaps Parker was overlooked because of his size? Not really. At six feet tall and 205 pounds he is practically ideal for a defensive back who plays both on the line and at safety.


Maybe Parker was snubbed because he played on a ghastly team in some wide spot in northeastern Wyoming? Hardly. Parker starred on a Texas 4A team just outside of San Antonio that went a combined 22-4 his junior and senior seasons.


Even more so than the legendary Wes Welker, it is dashedly difficult to explain the lack of interest college coaches showed Justus Parker.


Be that as it may, Texas Tech has certainly reaped the benefits.

Parker saw spot duty in the first four games of last season, but after entering the starting lineup he put on a show. Parker averaged five tackles per game during the final eight games of the season, forced four fumbles and recorded four interceptions, one of which was a game-saving pick that helped Texas Tech to a victory over Texas in Austin and may have saved his head coach’s job.

9COMMENTS
What might he do with a full season in the starting lineup? Hard to say, but defensive coordinator David Gibbs is riding Parker to become more consistent, an every-down player as opposed to one who just makes the occasional spectacular play.

At any rate, Gibbs clearly isn’t overlooking Parker, nor are the Big 12’s coaches and media. But that’s not to say Justus has finally received justice—the preseason watch list for the Jim Thorpe Award contains 35 names. Justus Parker is not among them…

Click to expand...

Reading that article on Parker is enraging. The writer can only be one of two things. An NPC who goes through life not thinking critically about anything or without questioning any orthodoxies. The other possibility is the author knows exactly the reason but is not willing to risk his reputation to say something he deems “controversial” in this dangerous PC world.

It's possible that some writers know the racial score but know they can't say it. So they opt to simply ask the question hoping the reader will start thinking... For example, Why didn't this player get a Division I offer? What could be the reason?

Extra Point said:

It's possible that some writers know the racial score but know they can't say it. So they opt to simply ask the question hoping the reader will start thinking... For example, Why didn't this player get a Division I offer? What could be the reason?

Click to expand...

Good point. In one of Limbaughs' shows this week, some woman called in and mentioned how she felt the need to be very careful about what she said and to whom regarding her support for Trump, etc. Drawing parallels to the former USSR, Limbaugh brought up the fact that in the former Soviet Union people would have to go into a bathroom with no one else around if they wanted to speak to each other about what the regime in power was doing so that they wouldn't be overheard and reported to the authorities. Writers in oppressive regimes would often have to write in a particular way to communicate the hidden truth between the lines...and it would seem we are at or near that point now.