Defensive player of the week: Justus Parker caps off an unbelievable regular season

Down by three, with a little over two minutes to go in the game, Tech needed a stop on third down to give their offense a chance to win. A converted first down would have almost assuredly given the Longhorns the victory. Sam Ehlinger dropped back for a surprising pass play and found his target, only for the Red Raiders’ turnover king Justus Parker to be at the right place at the right time and intercept the ball and run it back to the Texas 14 yard line. This helped set up the game winning touchdown pass that brought Texas Tech to bowl eligibility.

Parker has been racking up plays like this all year. He leads the Big 12 in turnovers, and has been in an instrumental force in a Texas Tech defense that ranks fourth in the nation in turnovers gained. Parker, a Texas Lutheran walk-on transfer, has gone from unsung role player to cult hero and to top it all off, he’s only a sophomore. Great job Justus, great job.