It’s no secret that Texas Tech’s defense has been a glaring weak point for the better part of this century. Furthermore, the defensive struggles usually begin up front with an inability to stop the run or rush the passer.
This season, there seems to be an air of optimism surrounding the defensive line unit. How much they improve remains to be seen, but many expect that this unit will look much better than it has in recent years.
Texas Tech DL Broderick Washington (Photo via Tim Heitman-USA Today Sports)
Starting on the interior, redshirt sophomore Broderick Washington and senior Mychaelon Thomas are projected to start at the defensive tackle spots. For starters, they look the part like Texas Tech defensive linemen haven’t in the past. Washington and Thomas are listed at 6’3″ 295 and 6’2″ 315, respectively. Washington showed promise in his first season of action in 2016, emerging as arguably Tech’s best defensive lineman overall.
Providing depth on the interior are sophomore Joe Wallace (6’1″ 315), senior Talor Nunez (6’2″ 275) and a group of freshmen fighting for playing time such as Houston Miller, Nelson Mbanasor and Nick McCann.
While the interior appears to be strong, the defensive end spots were the root of many of Tech’s defensive woes in 2016. They failed to pressure the quarterback, and don’t return a single player who recorded more than one sack last year. Some fresh faces will be in the rotation in 2017, providing a feasible opportunity for improvement.
Texas Tech freshman Nelson Mbasanor (Photo via 247 Sports)
Redshirt sophomore Lonzell Gilmore appears to be the starter heading into the season at rush end. He’s 6’3″ 260 with long arms, and a review of his high school tape shows he can swat down passes when he’s not quite able to get to the quarterback. At the opposite defensive end spot, North Texas transfer Eli Howard will likely be the starter. He sat out in 2016 due to NCAA transfer rules, but was impressive to the coaching staff while playing for the scout team.
Others who will get plenty of snaps in the defensive end rotation are Zach Barnes, Kolin Hill and Tony Jones.
As a unit, this is the best looking defensive line in a while in terms of their perception when stepping off the bus. A pass rusher or two will need to emerge, and opposing quarterbacks need to be sacked or forced into bad throws for this unit to improve. A pass rush is critical for any defense, and could be the determining factor for how much this defense improves as a whole.
