Texas Tech LB Jacob Rodriguez hopes to improve his Heisman Trophy case against WVU

Nov. 26—MORGANTOWN — Texas Tech faced a second-and-goal just a few yards from the end zone. In the wildcat was linebacker Jacob Rodriguez. You can quickly tell that it was quarterback Behren Morton because the player was wearing the neck pad that most old-school linebackers used to wear.

He rushed through the gap and scored his first offensive touchdown of the season. Rodriguez was surrounded by teammates and hit the signature Heisman Trophy pose, hoping to add his name to the conversation.

"I sure hope so, " Rodriguez said after the game. "Not much, just a bunch of adrenaline. My boys, they wanted me to hit it, so I got to hit it."

The Heisman Trophy is known for being a quarterback award. Since 2000, there have been 20 passers given the award. Very rarely is the award given to a player who's not a quarterback, let alone a defensive player. Just two have been given to a defensive player, and last year's winner, Travis Hunter, was a hybrid, playing both wide receiver and corner.

History is against Rodriguez, but his performance in 2025 has put him in the conversation to become the third defensive player to win the award.

"When Ndamukong Suh didn't win it that year, and he had more tackles for loss than like half the teams in college football himself, " West Virginia defensive coordinator Zac Alley said. "I'm not sure anybody can win it again as the only defensive player, because that was the most impressive season by a defensive player I may have ever seen."

Rodriguez could be an outlier. He leads the fourth-best defense in the country, leads the FBS with seven forced fumbles, is top 20 in tackles and has four interceptions. And he's got an offensive touchdown. Rodriguez does it all.

"He's one of the most disruptive backers I've seen, " Rich Rodriguez said. "He's really good at it, very athletic. He deserves all the accolades he's receiving. He plays hard all the time because he's kind of the leader out there."

The seven forced fumbles and four interceptions are what really jump off the page. Especially the forced fumbles. That's not easy to do.

Rodriguez has textbook form when it comes to forcing fumbles. When someone is tackling a player, he comes in to help, but also tries to punch the ball out. That's what Alley and Rich Rodriguez have been preaching this season, and it has been seen a lot in the pros.

WVU's players work on ball security every week, but they have to be extra careful when carrying the ball this week.

"Every week during stretch, every offensive guy has a ball in their hand, " tight end Grayson Barnes said. "Coaches and equipment staff are punching at it and kind of just making sure you're aware of that. Keep it tight. But I think this week, yeah, it will be a little bit more of a focus, for sure. I know we got a little bit of rain today, so it's going to make it a little bit harder to hold on to the ball, which is even more training in preparation for Saturday."

This week, the linebacker has one last chance to prove his case to the Heisman Trophy voters against West Virginia, which isn't great if you're the Mountaineers, and Rich Rodriguez, who has to make sure his young quarterback, Scotty Fox Jr., is keeping an eye on him every play.

"He was a lot of fun to watch, until last week, " Rodriguez said. "When we have to play him. Then he's not as much fun to watch, but he's earned all the attention he's getting."