Red Raiders bolster defense with MAC standout Jamod Mathis, adding potent pass rush to an already dominant unit.
The transfer portal in now closed, but there were players still languishing inside like ghosts in the machine, restless spirits looking for a way out of the “other” dimension.
The Texas Tech Red Raiders have been active as any team in the country, looking for players that are the right fit to replace departing talent on both sides of the ball. According to 247Sports, the Red Raiders produced the No. 8 portal class for this cycle.
Adding to their defense, coach Joey McGuire needed to replace some players after David Bailey, Lee Butler, Jacob Rodriguez and others had moved on to the next stop of their football journey. He accomplished that mission by securing a commitment from former Kent State edge rusher Jamod Mathis.
Mathis, 6-3, 245 pounds, posted 28 tackles, eight tackles for loss, six sacks and three pass breakups for a Flashes team that won five games last season.
He joins two other transfer standouts on that side of the ball, at the same position: All-MAC edge rusher Adam Trick (Miami-OH) and All-Mountain West edge Trey White (San Diego State).
Both Trick and White combined for 112 tackles, 23 tackles for loss, 15.5 sacks and 30 quarterback pressures. Mathis, Trick and White have some big shoes to fill and a standard to uphold.
Last season, the Red Raiders fielded a top ten defense and dominated their opponents in the regular season on their way to winning the Big 12 championship. They were loaded with talent and bought into the culture built by McGuire.
Mathis will join returning defensive stars like Ben Roberts, John Curry, A.J. Holmes, Amier Boyd and Brice Pollock.
When you combine those defensive returnees with the talent coming back on offense with Cam Dickey, J’Koby Williams, Coy Eakin, Terrance Carter Jr., along with transfer quarterback Brendan Sorsby, the Red Raiders could be the most talented team in the Big 12 in 2026.
Mathis comes into the best football culture anywhere in the country. Transfer players want to be part of it, and current players do not want it to end.
The defense is one that will run through or over an opponent to get to the ball carrier. Texas Tech plays with a physicality that takes their opponent’s game plan and reduces it to a worthless, crumpled piece of paper that winds up in the trash.
With Mathis, a restless spirit is about to unleashed on gridirons throughout the Big 12 footprint, with a veteran supporting cast to help the Red Raiders defense maintain their lofty status as the wrecking crew of West Texas.