Linebackers | Roberts and Curry | Turnovers | Red Raider Recon
- Top Betting/Intel Takeaways
- Jacob Rodriguez departure: Texas Tech lost a generational linebacker who won the Butkus, Bednarik, Lombardi, Nagurski awards, consensus first-team All-American honors, and finished fifth in Heisman voting—but the turnover-forcing mentality and coaching approach that produced 32 team turnovers last year remains in place.
- Ben Roberts ascension: Expected to compete for Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and national awards after finishing strongly last season; ranked in national top-10 linebacker lists; showed playmaking ability late in 2025 that wasn't visible as a sophomore when he lacked opportunity.
- Leadership transition: Roberts named captain and has three years of examples (injury recovery, playing through adversity on a weak 2024 defense, leading an elite 2025 unit) from Rodriguez; speaker emphasized the cultural loss beyond on-field production.
- John Curry dual-position value: Star linebacker/nickel role player started every game in 2025, earned All-Big 12 honorable mention; offers positional flexibility to play safety or linebacker depending on Big 12 matchup; compared to Dylan Brooks archetype for future draft positioning.
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