Shiel Wood and C.J. Ah You turned Tech’s linebackers into a nightmare ... and got rewarded.
Texas Tech didn't just field a good defense in 2025; it built a weekly problem that opponents couldn't solve, and coaches couldn't ignore.
Now the hardware matches the havoc.
Defensive coordinator/inside linebackers coach Shiel Wood and outside linebackers coach C.J. Ah You were jointly named FootballScoop’s 2025 Linebackers Coaches of the Year, an award selected by prior winners and presented by Teamworks.
For a program that's spent plenty of seasons watching other people collect trophies, this one hits different because it's aimed directly at the engine room.
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Position coaches rarely get the spotlight, even when their units are dragging games into the mud and making quarterbacks see ghosts. But that’s exactly what Tech's linebackers did, playing fast, playing violent, and playing with the kind of discipline that turns "nice drive" into "third-and-forever" in a hurry.
The results weren't subtle. Texas Tech entered the postseason as one of the nation’s top defenses, allowing just 10.9 points per game and 254.4 yards per game, numbers that scream dominance, not luck.
And while the Red Raiders had stars, the bigger story was how consistently the entire linebacker group showed up like it had a grudge. With standouts such as Jacob Rodriguez and David Bailey anchoring the unit, Tech's second level didn't merely fill gaps; it erased them, then took the ball on the way out.
Wood's imprint showed up immediately.
Tech hired him and, in his first season in Lubbock, he brought the same calling card he's carried across multiple stops. Limit points, hunt takeaways, and make every snap feel like a dare. FootballScoop's own recognition points to what Tech fans saw all year in an aggressive philosophy built on sound fits, relentless pursuit, and the kind of chaos that turns games into short, painful afternoons for opposing offenses.
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Ah You, meanwhile, handled the edge, where games are decided and confidence goes to die.
A former NFL defensive end, he's earned a reputation as an elite developer, most notably helping Tyree Wilson blossom into a first-round pick (seventh overall in 2023) and continuing that pipeline with additional NFL talent.
At Tech, that same edge-culture translated into pressure that arrived early and often, letting the linebackers play downhill with bad intentions.
Here's the real punchline ... awards like this aren't charity. They're confirmation. FootballScoop didn't hand Tech a nice participation ribbon, it validated what 2025 already proved on film.
The Red Raiders built a defense that didn't survive on gimmicks. It survived on coaching, development, and a linebacker room that played like it owned the middle of the field.
In a sport where the loudest praise usually goes to head coaches and quarterbacks, Texas Tech's latest milestone is a reminder that the nastiest teams are often built by the people you don't see on the postgame stage.
In 2025, Shiel Wood and C.J. Ah You made sure everybody saw them anyway.