{"id":82723,"date":"2025-11-19T14:00:43","date_gmt":"2025-11-19T19:00:43","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/?p=82723"},"modified":"2025-11-19T13:35:39","modified_gmt":"2025-11-19T18:35:39","slug":"lombardi-finalists-include-not-one-but-two-red-raiders","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/2025\/11\/19\/lombardi-finalists-include-not-one-but-two-red-raiders\/","title":{"rendered":"Lombardi Finalists Include Not One, But Two Red Raiders"},"content":{"rendered":"

The official designation for the Lombardi award is to award college football\u2019s top linemen (offensive or defensive). In Layman\u2019s terms, the award goes to the most dominant big man in the spot. The last four winners include Kelvin Banks Jr.<\/a>, Laiatu Latu<\/a>, Will Anderson Jr.<\/a>, and Aidan Hutchinson<\/a>. On Tuesday, the four Lombardi finalists for the 2025 award were officially announced. It isn\u2019t shocking that the performances of David Bailey<\/a> and Jacob Rodriguez<\/a> warranted a nomination. What is shocking to consider is that Joey McGuire has elevated the Texas Tech talent level to new program heights. The Red Raiders have two players as finalists for an award that the program has never had a finalist for in its 51-year history of the Lombardi.<\/p>\n

Game-Wrecking Pash Rusher<\/strong><\/h3>\n

When Stanford made the decision to fire Troy Taylor in March, Bailey suddenly was able to transfer. Every program wanted his talents on its roster. He was already projected as a first-round NFL talent from his season at Stanford. But the Red Raiders were able to secure Bailey\u2019s services. His addition, with a few other transfers, has given Texas Tech the best defensive line in the Big 12<\/a>. Bailey is the engine powering one of the best defenses in all of college football. His official bio from the Lombardi Award website<\/a> is listed below:<\/p>\n

David Bailey\u00a0is\u00a0one of the most dominant defensive forces in college football this season, leading the FBS with 12.5 sacks and ranking among the national leaders with 16 tackles for loss.\u00a0He has\u00a0posted\u00a0at least one sack\u00a0in nine of 11 games,\u00a0combining for 10.0 sacks during Big 12 play,\u00a0and leads the\u00a0nation\u00a0with 71 total pressures, earning multiple National Defensive Player of the Week honors.\u00a0A high-impact transfer from Stanford and projected NFL first-round\u00a0pick, Bailey has climbed to fourth on Texas Tech\u2019s single-season sacks list and ranks\u00a0tied for\u00a0third\u00a0among active FBS players\u00a0for\u00a0career sacks. A preseason All-Big 12\u00a0selection\u00a0and semifinalist for several national awards,\u00a0he\u00a0has delivered elite, game-changing production for the Red Raiders.<\/p>\n

Ball Hawking Linebacker <\/strong><\/h3>\n

Rodriquez has been with the Red Raiders for so long, its hard to remember he started his college career at Virginia. But of all of the Lombardi finalists, his career has seen the biggest change from start to finish. He did not start playing linebacker until arriving at Texas Tech. He was listed as a quarterback on the Virginia roster<\/a> But his transformation on the defensive side of the ball has made him the heartbeat of the Texas Tech defense. Watching Rodriguez play, it\u2019s clear that his time as a quarterback allows him to react to the offense in a different manner than most linebackers. To see all of his on-field accomplishments, his Lombardi nomination bio is listed below:<\/p>\n

Jacob Rodriguez is the nation\u2019s top inside linebacker, leading all FBS defenders with seven forced fumbles while anchoring one of the country\u2019s most dominant defenses. A former high school quarterback, he brings that same field vision to the Red Raiders’ defense, excelling both against the run and in coverage. The Big 12 Preseason Defensive Player of the Year and an All-American candidate, Rodriguez has had his hand in 19 career takeaways, including nine in Big 12 play this season. He ranks second among active FBS players with 13 career forced fumbles and is one of only two players since 2005, alongside Khalil Mack, to record at least five forced fumbles, three interceptions, and two fumble recoveries in a single season<\/p>\n

What Having Lombardi Finalists Means For Texas Tech<\/strong><\/h3>\n

Before McGuire\u2019s arrival, Texas Tech\u2019s last 25 years had rightfully earned a program reputation revolving around offense. This offense was a far cry from three yards and a cloud of dust. It was to chuck the ball from sideline to sideline. Spread defenses out and play in space. It was a way to level the playing field for a lack of being able to compete with teams consistently in the trenches. Meanwhile, the expectations for the defense were to just get 11 warm bodies on the field. Anything resembling a stop or a turnover was seen as a bonus.<\/p>\n

From a national perspective, Texas Tech hasn\u2019t been relevant in 17 years. However, it started with McGuire\u2019s vision. He believed that the logo on the helmet shouldn\u2019t be a limiting factor to what this program could be. It\u2019s clear he got the athletic director and boosters on board quickly with this. Sprinkle in the opening up of the NIL world in college football, and this team has transformed seemingly overnight. This recognition of Bailey and Rodriguez is mounting evidence that Texas Tech is building for sustainability. Bailey\u2019s season is serving as the \u201chired hand\u201d for one season to elevate the talent and depth. Rodriguez is the stability block that has developed into an All-American caliber player. It\u2019s the blending of those types of roster building that proves the Red Raiders are the clubhouse leaders as the new flagship program of the Big 12.<\/p>\n

Main Image: Nathan Giese\/Avalanche-Journal \/ USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The official designation for the Lombardi award is to award college football\u2019s top linemen (offensive or defensive). In Layman\u2019s terms, the award goes to the most dominant big man in the spot. The last four winners include Kelvin Banks Jr., Laiatu Latu, Will Anderson Jr., and Aidan Hutchinson. On Tuesday, the four Lombardi finalists for […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3959,"featured_media":82733,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"no","_lmt_disable":"","sfio_featured_image":false,"sfio_embed_code":"","_ef_editorial_meta_date_first-draft-date":"","_ef_editorial_meta_paragraph_assignment":"","_ef_editorial_meta_checkbox_needs-photo":"1","_ef_editorial_meta_number_word-count":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[2,6,35658],"tags":[493,8318],"class_list":["post-82723","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-featured","category-big12","category-texas-tech-red-raiders","tag-awards","tag-joey-mcguire"],"modified_by":"Tony Siracusa, CFB Managing Editor","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82723","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3959"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=82723"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82723\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":82735,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/82723\/revisions\/82735"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/82733"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=82723"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=82723"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/lastwordonsports.com\/collegefootball\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=82723"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}