One of the rarest things in college football is seeing a linebacker make a name for themselves on the Heisman ballot, especially in the quarterback-driven era we live in. To be fair, it’s never easy to measure a linebacker with the same lens as a quarterback. They are without a doubt the backbone of any defense, the difference between a team’s shot at a national title or not. Yet, once in a decade, a linebacker breaks through all the odds – and 2025 could be that year for Texas Tech. Joey McGuire and the Red Raiders are making an unusual case for the Heisman, following in the footsteps of the few linebackers who have earned finalist recognition, most recently in 2016.

On November 5th, Texas Tech insider Matt Burkholder hopped onto X and straight up compared Tech’s Jacob Rodriguez to the

See Full Page