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A Heisman hopeful, and the heart of Texas Tech's big business roster
- Story by
- A Heisman hopeful, and the heart of Texas Tech's big business roster
LUBBOCK, TX – Let's begin with the mustache. The whole Pedro Pascal thing he's got going on. It was two years ago in spring ball at Texas Tech when it first showed up, a raggy and shaggy looking thing that really had no business on Jacob Rodriguez's face.
Now it's high and tight and a beautiful sight, and part of a Heisman Trophy campaign.
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Now it's a quirky social media trend that draws attention to the best defensive player in college football. Throw on that West Texas cowboy hat, and sonofagun , he may as well be on the set of "Narcos".
"My wife loves the mustache," Rodriguez says. "It's not going anywhere."
Texas Tech's Jacob Rodriguez acknowledges the crowd after being honored on senior day before a Big 12 Conference football game, Saturday, Nov. 15, 2025, at Jones AT&T Stadium.
Priorities, everyone.
Happy wife, happy race to the national championship. Has a nice ring to it.
Want to root for someone as the College Football Playoff begins to take shape? Look no further than the guy who left Texas as a high school quarterback and signed with Virginia, and returned home a year later as a walk-on at Texas Tech ― and was told he had to play linebacker.
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A position he had never played.
Pull for the player whose wife, Emma, is a Blackhawk helicopter pilot in the U.S. Army, and based in Fort Riley, Kan. — a mere nine-hour drive from Lubbock. If you've ever made the barren, lonely drive, once you get past Amarillo and the first two hours, you fully comprehend the meaning to long-distance relationship.
This, everyone, is the heart and soul of Texas Tech's big business roster.
"An unbelievable story of a guy who just wanted to play football, and then through hard work became so much more than that," says Texas Tech coach Joey McGuire.
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So while you're watching a Texas Tech team that receives more headlines for the way it was built instead of the way it plays, while you read about the millions paid in private NIL deals and the billionaire booster who's only playing the by the rules, stop for a moment and embrace old school football.
A story all too familiar in a sport where it's easy to get lost, and easier to fade away.
Rodriguez had more than 20 scholarship offers out of Rider High School in Wichita Falls, which is about halfway between Dallas and Amarillo, and then roughly three hours West through absolutely nothing to reach this pristine Texas town in the middle of nowhere.
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But Bronco Mendenhall found him, and wanted him to play quarterback for the Cavs — while McGuire, then an assistant at Baylor, wanted him to play defense. So Rodriguez traveled halfway across the country to Charlottesville, Va., and played quarterback, wide receiver, tight end and running back for a team that needed help everywhere.
Or as Mendenhall said, "Playing, whatever position, is more fun than watching for any player."
So when Mendenhall left Virginia to "reframe and reinvent" a relationship with his wife after 31 years as a college coach, it was time for Rodriguez to return to Texas. And play linebacker.
But an interesting twist arrived along the way to returning home without a scholarship, and playing as a walk-on the first two semesters at Texas Tech. Never playing linebacker was the best thing for Rodriguez to actually play linebacker.
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Sounds odd, but let Rodriguez explain it: "Completely different than anything I'd ever known. I would play deep middle field safety in important games in high school, but never true linebacker. I knew nothing about it — and that was a huge advantage."
He hesitates and continues, and here's the key to everything: "No bad habits."
In other words, everything was new. Every play, every formation, every responsibility, was learned from the jump. Not after being told one thing an entire football career, and being told something else with a different coach.
The learning curve was quick, and after a season as a backup and special teams ace, he entered 2023 as a member of Texas Tech's captains circle and was primed for a breakout season. Then he sustained a mid-foot sprain in the season opener, missed the next seven games and the season was a wash.
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He has been a force since, finishing seventh in the nation in tackles (127) in 2024, with 10.5 tackles for loss. This season, he has 101 tackles, four interceptions, seven forced fumbles (two recovered), and six passes defended.
In two seasons of full-time play at linebacker, Rodriguez has 228 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss, six sacks, five interceptions, 10 forced fumbles (four recovered), and 10 passes defended.
See? No bad habits.
"I have never seen a player grow so quickly, and make such an impact at one position,' McGuire said. "I get it, there's some really good quarterback play out there. But you can't tell me there's a better player in college football right now than Jacob Rodriguez."
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So if the masses won't listen, you bring the masses to Lubbock. A record season helps, as does the attention from Cody Campbell's millions — even though it should be about how McGuire has masterfully molded a group of one-year transfer portal mercenaries and the foundation built over his first three seasons.
Two weeks ago, during preparation for the senior day game against UCF, Texas Tech offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich told Rodriguez to stay near him in the fourth quarter. He may have a Wildcat option for Rodriguez.
That plan got blown to pieces barely six minutes into the game.
"We're at the two (yard line), and I had to have hit 19 mph running down the sideline to (Leftwich)," Rodriguez said. "I wanted it, he did, too. He called the play, and it worked. It was awesome."
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There was Rodriguez, three years removed from the last time he took a snap at quarterback, two seasons into a rare career at linebacker, busting through the line of scrimmage to score his first touchdown.
And striking the Heisman pose.
"This place, Lubbock, is so special," Rodriguez said. "These guys who wanted to be part of this team, and bought into everything we had built. It just shows how special a season can become when people care about each other and are willing to work harder."
A week later in Morgantown, W.V., Rodriguez found his way into the end zone again on a Wildcat run. This time, no Heisman pose.
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Sometimes rare moments are better left alone, their impact undeniable and unmistakable. Like Texas Tech's first 11-win regular season in school history.
Or Texas Tech winning every game this season by at least 22 points.
Or Texas Tech being one win away from securing a first round bye in the CFP. All it takes is another victory over BYU in Saturday's Big 12 championship game, which would also secure the first outright major college conference championship in school history.
Maybe we'll get another Rodriguez touchdown. Maybe he and his teammates will stand on the stage at AT&T Stadium celebrating a win, and he'll throw on that cowboy hat and look like a Hollywood star.
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High and tight, and a beautiful sight.
"I've never had more fun playing football," Rodriguez said.
Priorities, everyone.
Matt Hayes is the senior national college football writer for USA TODAY Sports Network. Follow him on X at @MattHayesCFB .
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez a legit Heisman candidate
