I personally needed some clarity on each positions, so I wanted to look at pre-spring position reviews (or post-portal but went with pre-spring). Let’s go!

Pre-Spring Position Reviews: Defensive Backs | Linebackers | Defensive Line | Offensive Line | Receivers & Tight Ends | Running Backs | Quarterback

Graduation

• LG Will Jados
• RG Davion Carter
• LG Vinny Sciury

Transfers Out

• None?

Returning

• LT Howard Sampson (6-8/340) SR
• C Sheridan Wilson (6-5/300) JR
• RT Jacob Ponton (6-8/305) RSO
• T Hunter Zambrano (6-5/310) SR
• T D’Anthis Upshaw, Jr. (6-5/305) RSO
• C/G Cash Cleveland (6-2/305) JR
• G Holton Hendrix (6-4/295) RSO
• T Daniel Sill (6-5/310) JR
• T Elias Gillen (6-6/300) RFR
• C Patrick McMath (6-4/285) RFR
• G Connor Carty (6-4/290) RFR
• T Ellis Davis (6-7/300) RSO
• T Ren Brown (6-4/305) RFR
• G Jurrien Loftin (6-5/300) SR
• G/C Jackson Hildenbrand (6-2/295) RSO
• G Garin Maley (6-5/275) RFR
• T Danilo Guberinich (6-5/285) RFR

Transfers In

• G Jordan Church (6-4/310) SR – Louisville

Incoming Freshmen

• T Felix Ojo (6-6/275) – 96.94
• T Bryce Gilmore (6-4/270) – 91.99
• C Jerald Mays (6-2/280) – 87.72
• T Jacob Crow (6-8/305) – 87.10

What I think:

• Why was it so difficult to get offensive linemen transfer to Texas Tech? Look at that list of returning players. It’s obscene in this day to have 17 returning players and 3 of 5 returners coming back and a 4th in Zambrano who started a lot last year and could step-in as a starter in 2026. And offensive a line is not a position where teams tend to change out players so it’s your starting 5 and that’s about it.
• If you add in Church, then that’s likely your starting 5 next year if he pans out as expected (which I’m not sold on, but lots of people are sold on the idea).
• I think it is likely that Cleveland gets a decent amount of playing time so it would seem that the staff will find a spot for him and see that he gets playing time.
• The key to this year will be development, development of all of those players starting from Hendrix to Guberinich. Those guys all need development and
• Ojo is the jewel of the class, but Gilmore isn’t too far behind. I don’t think that Ojo plays this year. At 275, that’s pretty light in the grand scheme of things, but offensive line is likely one of the toughest spots to play as a true freshman. Mays I think is going to be a very good inside offensive lineman and I can’t say I know a ton about Crow.
• One last thought on the glut of linemen that’s from Hendrix to Guberinich, I don’t know which one of them is really standing out more than others. I think that might be one of the more interesting things to listen to the coaches this spring.

Nothing’s Gonna Stop Us Now

Buy Me a Coffee Strava’s Staking The Plains Running Club PLEASE NOTE: Words that are in italics and underlined are quotes from a story or link.

I actually slept today. The morning before this morning I mistakenly woke up at 2:30 so I started out in a bit of a deficit. To top things off, Fitsum had a track meet last night where he WON his 2-mile race and set a PR of 11:57! There are kids that are going to win races and then there are kids like Fits where he could run his entire career and maybe not ever be the best, but he keeps working and improving and he puts in the work. Last night was a culmination of that and I was so happy I got to witness it. Combine that with getting up at 2:30 and I was exhausted when I went to sleep last night. Happy, but exhausted.

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