Safety position deeper, more experienced than years past

Tech added four players to the Texas Tech defensive backfield this offseason. It was a must for the Red Raiders. The secondary was horribly thin last season, so Kliff and David Gibbs made a point to bring in experienced players to plug into their system quickly.

Obviously, Jah’shawn Johnson has sold his spot among the stars. Johnson was second on the team in tackles last year. He racked up 77 tackles on the year and had three tackles for a loss, a sack, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery. Johnson was ranked ranked 27th for forced fumbles per game in the NCAA. He played lights out against Kansas State recording both Texas Tech’s turnovers in victory with a fumble recovery in the first quarter and then an interception to end the game.

Kiesean Allen is another favorite to seal the deal for the other safety spot after showing flashes of greatness last season. Allen finished the year with 43 tackles (34 solo), sixth-most on the team last season. We will see if he can carry the momentum into 2017 after ending last year on a positive note.

That leaves us with the experienced JUCO Thomas Leggett, a first team All-Conference freshman from Allan Hancock College. Leggett came in late to the 2017 class. Seeing he didn’t get the chance to participate in spring practices, he has some catching up to do. However, he has three years of eligibility remaining to make it happen.

They key is for David Gibbs to use the additions to his strengths and pray that injuries don’t plague the safeties this season. We should see more confidence in the position with the experience of Johnson and Allen emerging as Tech favorites and Leggett bringing experience as a JUCO addition.