Jacob Rodriguez finished fifth in Heisman voting, capped a wild awards sweep, and etched his name into Texas Tech history as the face of a title defense.
Texas Tech's 2025 season has been powered by a defense that hits like a grudge and plays like it expects to win. Now it has the hardware - and the national respect - to match.
Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting, a rare feat for a defender and an even rarer moment for a program built for decades around fireworks on offense.
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The Heisman Trust revealed the full Top 10 on Dec. 11 ahead of the Dec. 13 ceremony, with Rodriguez leading the non-finalists in the final order.
Rodriguez's fifth-place finish ties for the third-highest Heisman placement ever by a Texas Tech player, joining Michael Crabtree (also fifth) and trailing only Donny Anderson (fourth) and Graham Harrell (fourth).
It's the kind of milestone that doesn’t happen unless you've turned yourself into a weekly problem for opposing offenses, and Rodriguez did exactly that.
And the Heisman vote is only the latest receipt from what's been a ridiculous run.
Rodriguez has already piled up a national award sweep that reads like a collector's flex, winning the Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy, and Lombardi Award, plus the Pony Express Award alongside edge defender David Bailey as the nation’s top teammate duo.
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The Lombardi win, in particular, was historic, the first in Texas Tech history, and it underscored how completely Rodriguez has redefined what "dominant" looks like in Lubbock.
The numbers explain why the Heisman conversation even had to include him.
Rodriguez stuffed the stat sheet with 117 tackles and 11 tackles for loss, and he led the FBS with seven forced fumbles, the kind of game-wrecking production that swings outcomes, not just drives.
Rodriguez won't be in New York as a finalist on Saturday night, but his placement makes the statement anyway.
Texas Tech's defense isn't a cute storyline. It's a national headline ... and Jacob Rodriguez is the name stamped on it.