Texas Tech football coaches believe they have a reliable inside linebacker: starters Jacob Rodriguez and Ben Roberts, key backups John Curry and Bryce Ramirez.
The Red Raiders came through the spring with a star battle between Baylor transfer AJ McCarty and sophomore Brenden Jordan, who started five games as a true freshman last season at the hybrid outside safety linebacker position.
The depth at those positions has coach Joey McGuire pondering where to place redshirt freshmen Mike Dingle and Marcus Ramon-Edwards, two athletic signees from the class of 2023. Dingle played four games at inside linebacker last season, went on to star in the spring and could return to being inside linebacker. He, along with Trent Low, are listed behind Rodriguez and Ramirez on the post-spring depth chart.
Ramon-Edwards spent the spring at border security and is now tentatively moving up to star, where he is listed behind McCarty and Jordan.
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McGuire said a few weeks after spring training he and the team continue to think about it.
“We’re still trying to decide if we’re going to keep Dingle as a star or if we’re going to move him back at will (inside linebacker boundary),” McGuire said. “If we put him back at ease, he will be in the rotation of this group.
“If we move Marcus back to the star, it’s probably smart to move Dingle back at will.”
During the Red Raiders’ first two years under defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter’s scheme, the most productive star player was Marquis Waters who, in 2022, accumulated 60 tackles, 13 tackles for loss, one sack and seven quarterback hurries. He was 6-foot-2 and weighed 219 pounds.
Star is a premium position that requires versatility and range. The player lines up on the wide side of the field and can be used to rush the passer, cover receivers and defend the run.
Ramon-Edwards, a 6-3, 200-pound Trinity Christian graduate, did not play in any games last season. Dingle, a 6-2, 220-pound graduate of Duncan (SC) Byrnes, was shut down after four games last season. That kept him in the redshirt window, but he’s been held out since midseason last year because of issues with a surgically repaired shoulder and what McGuire called “continuous stingers.”
McGuire said the top four inside linebackers “all had great springs,” but: “You could move (Dingle) back there and he would definitely play.
“We’re in the same boat on the stars,” McGuire said. “Star’s thinking is I think he (Dingle) could really help us against bigger guys, almost being a (strongside) linebacker rather than a dime.
“And then AJ McCarty is his swing kind of guy. I feel great about Chapman (Lewis), but if I needed someone to play free safety, I’d move AJ back there, and then you’d want Dingle at star. We’ll make a decision before (preseason) camp, so we can get our reps and everything, but we’re still talking about it, about where we think he can help us the most.
Dingle’s next step is to return to the field.
“It’s the strength in his shoulder that we’re getting back,” McGuire said. “The doctor feels really good about the management. If we were playing (real games in the spring), he could have played, but since it’s spring football, the further away from any kind of shoulder issue, the better.”
McGuire said he expects Dingle to be medically cleared in pre-season training in August.
“He’s going to be full steam ahead,” McGuire said. “He had another check-up in July, but at his last check-up he was going in a great direction.”
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This article originally appeared in the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Joey McGuire Weighs Positions for Two 2023 Athletic Signees
