Jacob Rodriguez’s journey from sleeping on the floor of his brother’s apartment to becoming an AP All-American linebacker is a story of transformation, perseverance, and raw talent.
A Rocky Start in 2022
Rodriguez arrived at Texas Tech in spring 2022 as a walk-on, learning how to play defense while still a quarterback at Virginia. He said, “They’re trying to weed everybody out because it’s coach (Joey) McGuire’s first offseason,” and added, “So, I’m just out there trying to make the team and then focus on football. It was real weird, totally different position.”
In his debut season he played special teams and a few defensive packages, finishing with 29 tackles. He explained, “Really just knowing that I can make an impact whatever position I play. I’ve done it on the offensive side of the ball, I’ve done it on the defensive side of a ball, and I’ve done it on special teams. I can really play with anybody.” He added, “That’s kind of when I figured I can do this. I saw myself progressing a lot on the defensive side of the ball, and week to week just getting better and better.”
Rising to the Top
Rodriguez’s defensive impact exploded in 2023. He forced a fumble and recovered it in the opener, but a foot injury limited him to five games. Despite the shortened season, he recorded 127 tackles, the most for a Tech player since Lawrence Flugence’s 193 tackles in 2002. He finished the year with seven forced fumbles, two recoveries, and four interceptions, making him the first FBS player in 20 years to reach those numbers in a single season.
His performance earned him the Chuck Bednarik, Bronko Nagurski, and Dick Butkus awards, as well as the Lombardi Award for exceptional play and character. He was named an AP All-American and finished fifth in the Heisman Trophy voting.
Senior edge rusher David Bailey, a first-year transfer and AP All-America first-team member, praised Rodriguez: “He’s just a man of consistency, a man of routine and he’s just a great leader overall.”
A Record-Setting Team
Texas Tech finished the 2023 season 12-1, the most wins in school history, and earned a berth in the College Football Playoff for the first time. The Red Raiders will face No. 5 Oregon, also 12-1, in the CFP quarterfinal Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day. The team, under coach Joey McGuire in his fourth season, captured its first Big 12 championship.
From Quarterback to Linebacker
Rodriguez’s high-school career was as a starting quarterback. He totaled 10,136 yards (7,085 passing, 3,051 rushing) and 106 touchdowns (68 passing, 38 rushing) for the Wichita Falls Rider, who made the Texas Class 5A playoffs three consecutive years. He then enrolled early at Virginia on a scholarship as a quarterback. During his 12 games with the Cavaliers, he never threw a pass but contributed 56 rushing yards and 65 receiving yards as a running back, receiver, and tight end before leaving after a coaching change.
Behren Morton, Tech’s fifth-year quarterback and fellow Texan, reflected on Rodriguez’s transformation: “It’s just really cool to see the way that his story has developed, and the kind of guy that he is. He’s probably put on close to 50 pounds, and just totally transformed his body to looking like a mean linebacker.”
The Defensive Mindset
Rodriguez admitted early on that he had no idea what he was doing as a linebacker. “I had no clue what I was doing. I was just going see ball, hit ball,” he said. “You’re playing linebacker, but you don’t have to study film, and you don’t have to understand the position as much.”
His 117 tackles this season-after Tech invested more than $7 million in transfers on the defensive front-include contributions from Bailey, second-team AP All-America interior lineman A.J. Holmes Jr., and third-teamer Lee Hunter.
A Powerful Partnership
Rodriguez’s wife, Emma, is a United States Military Academy graduate who now serves at Fort Riley in Kansas. The couple married in July 2023. Rodriguez said, “She’s the best, and she does so much for me. It’s weird, I feel like to everybody else, that we do long distance and have done it. But I mean to us, it’s normal. It’s something that we’ve always done.”
Heisman Highlights
Although Rodriguez did not receive an invitation to the Heisman Trophy ceremony in New York, he expressed gratitude for the recognition. He received 17 first-place votes, nine more than Ohio State quarterback Julian Sayin, who finished fourth. Indiana quarterback Fernando Mendoza won the Heisman, ahead of Vanderbilt’s Diego Pavia and Notre Dame’s Jeremiyah Love.
“I’m just so appreciative to even be in that conversation,” Rodriguez said. “That kind of hit home, was people really cared about me and see what the work that’s been done this year.”
Scoring Touchdowns
Rodriguez scored three touchdowns during the season. He returned a fumble for a score against Oklahoma and added rushing touchdowns on his only carries when taking a direct snap in each of the last two regular-season games. He recalled, “It was exciting and it was fun. Those are the moments that I’ll never forget, where it’s just having fun playing football.”
Key Takeaways
- Jacob Rodriguez transitioned from a quarterback at Virginia to an AP All-American linebacker at Texas Tech.
- He earned national defensive awards, finished fifth in Heisman voting, and led Tech to a record-setting 12-win season and a CFP berth.
- Rodriguez’s journey underscores the power of perseverance, adaptability, and support from his family.
Rodriguez’s story is a testament to the fact that talent, when coupled with hard work and determination, can rewrite a player’s destiny on the gridiron.
