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As we reach the middle of the football season, Texas Tech has plenty to be proud about with its upward trend on the defensive side of the ball. Per The Athletic’s midseason All-America team selection, Texas Tech has two people to be extremely proud of as defensive leaders.
Douglas Coleman III, first-team DB
In 2016 the Louisiana-native Douglas Coleman III decided to flip his commitment from Tulane to Texas Tech with the explanation of wanting to play in the power-five. Fast forward to his senior season and Douglas Coleman III is leading the nation in interceptions with six on the season. Coleman recorded half of those from a pair of interceptions against Arizona (Khalil Tate) and Oklahoma State (Spencer Sanders), and then one in the Oklahoma (Jalen Hurts) and Baylor (Charlie Brewer) games. There’s no one else in the power-five that has more than four heading into the mid-season.
Additionally, Coleman has 38 tackles on the season which is good enough for second best on the defense behind Jordyn Brooks. The defensive back has been one of the best in the nation and, if he stays on pace, will go down as one of the best DBs in Texas Tech history - certainly with NFL potential in the near-future.
Jordyn Brooks, second-team LB
College Football Week 6 Superlatives: @TexasTechFB's Jordyn Brooks stands above the pack #WreckEm https://t.co/mAlXLGuHGb pic.twitter.com/6MTymmexPe
— Dave Campbell's Texas Football — TexasFootball.com (@dctf) October 8, 2019
Though a second-team nod certainly seems like a snub to me, Jordyn Brooks nonetheless is on everybody’s radar. The Houston native has consistently improved in every aspect of his game since arriving on campus, and currently ranks third in the FBS for tackles per game (11.3), fifth in tackles for a loss per game (1.9), and 14th in solo tackles per game. Brooks has already amassed 68 tackles on the year accompanied by 3 sacks, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery.
1️⃣9️⃣ tackles
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) October 5, 2019
3️⃣ sacks
4️⃣ tackles for loss
1️⃣ forced fumble
1️⃣ QB hurry
Big Boy Ball from @jordynbrooks25‼️
#WreckEm⚫️ pic.twitter.com/ipqtkTvl2a
This kind of performance puts Brooks on track to be a top 10 linebacker in the Texas Tech career books. Right now he is only 3 tackles away from overtaking Charles Rowe’s record for 10th all-time with 329. As a Big 12 leader in tackles and a nationally recognized power at the LB position, Jordyn Brooks is watching his NFL stock rise dramatically - and there’s still plenty of games to play.