Texas Football: 3 problematic Red Raiders for the Longhorns

3) Problematic Red Raiders for Texas football: Zech McPhearson

The lone Texas Tech player on the defensive side of the ball on this list is one that had a solid season opener in the Red Raiders nailbiting win over Houston Baptist. Senior defensive back and former Penn State Nittany Lions transfer Zech McPhearson had one of the most productive games of his college career to date in the win over the Huskies.

This 5-foot-11 and 195 pound former four-star cornerback recruit managed two total tackles, one pass deflection, and one interceptions on Sep. 12 against Houston Baptist.

Some of the other stats for McPhearson did paint a bit of a different picture from Texas Tech’s season opener, though. McPhearson was targeted on six different occasions vs. Houston Baptist, and they completed four of those passes. He didn’t allow any touchdown catches, but a 66.7 completion percentage against isn’t great.

That does bode well for star senior quarterback Sam Ehlinger and the Longhorns. If McPhearson has to be matched up against some of the best Texas wide receivers, then Ehlinger could have a lot of options as to where he could spread the ball around this weekend.

However, McPhearson is still a very experienced defensive back that is usually really reliable for Texas Tech. In his four years playing for Texas Tech and Penn State, McPhearson registered 67 total tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one pick, and nine pass deflections. He’s allowed three touchdowns against in his career, so he can still be vulnerable where it counts in the red zone.

We’ll see how offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich wants to matchup against the experienced McPhearson and the Texas Tech secondary come Saturday afternoon.