Texas Tech Offensive Line Preview

Conner continues the Position Preview series with the big fellas!

By Conner Crisp Aug 21, 2015, 8:00am CDT

2- Deep:

LT: 1. #62 La’Raven Clark SR, 2. #73 Justin Murphy RS FR

LG: 1. #56 Alfredo Morales SR, 2. #51 Tony Morales SR

C: 1. #75 Jared Kaster SR, 2. #72 Robert Castaneda RS FR

RG: 1.#65 Baylen Brown Jr, #74 Cole Collier RS FR

RT: 1. #79 Poet Thomas RS SO, #73 Justin Murphy RS FR

Key Returning Starter:

Baylen Brown. Look at the 2-Deep section above, what class classification is most up there? Seniors. This bodes well for the Red Raiders this season. At the conclusion of this season, Baylen will be the most experienced player on the offensive line for 2016. He has one more year to soak up all the knowledge that the senior class has to give him. Come next season, the onus will be on him to do the same.

Player To Watch:

Poet Thomas. Not only is he the youngest starting member on the offensive line, he has one game of college football experience (2014 against Baylor). Even during that game be played special teams. By many accounts he has worked his tail off and impressed during the off-season. He was rewarded for his efforts by earning the starting job. However, defensive coordinators will be eager to pick on his lack of game experience.

Biggest Question Mark:

There are no glaring holes on this unit. Yes, I could go with the RT position again, but I feel like Poet will be able to handle his own. I would go with depth at the tackle positions. What if both Clark and Thomas get injured and have to sit of a few plays or games at the same time? Justin Murphy can only fill in for one position at a time. For this, fans of the Red Raiders will have to rely on the coaches readying another player to step up.

Key Stat:

According to the Texas Tech website, last year’s offensive line gave up only 13 sacks. When I play Madden against friends I feel like I give up 13 sacks in a game! That low of a number is incredible. Granted, the Air Raid timing helps get the ball out of a quarterback’s hand quickly. Regardless of that fact, the offensive line still has to do their job to protect the quarterback. This crew will have to, again, perform at an incredibly high level to match that success from last year.

Next Up:

Drew catches up with the wide receivers!

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