Texas Tech lost elite NFL talent up front, but Trey White and Adam Trick give the Red Raiders a dangerous new pass-rush duo.
Texas Tech football didn’t just lose production from its defensive front. It lost star power, edge violence and NFL-caliber chaos.
Now the Red Raiders are trying to reload instead of rebuild, and the next wave has two names Big 12 quarterbacks need to learn fast in the duo of Trey White and Adam Trick.
White, a senior outside linebacker, arrives from San Diego State after stacking up seven sacks, 17 quarterback hurries, 10.5 tackles for loss and 53 tackles last season.
He wasn’t some hidden-depth flyer, either. White earned first-team All-Mountain West honors in back-to-back seasons, piling up 19.5 sacks and 29 tackles for loss over that stretch.
Trick, also a senior, comes from Miami of Ohio with a different kind of edge. At 6-4 and 250 pounds, he brings size, effort and pressure.
In 2025, Trick recorded 8.5 sacks, 13 quarterback hurries, three forced fumbles, one interception and 12.5 tackles for loss. He also led the FBS with 73 defensive pressures, a number that doesn’t exactly whisper.
Texas Tech needed this.
After a Big 12 title run powered by a nasty defensive front, the Red Raiders watched key pieces move on, including David Bailey and Romello Height. Replacing that kind of havoc isn’t simple.
But defensive coordinator Shiel Wood clearly sees a plan.
“Trey does some things with great leverage,” Wood told ESPN. “He's got some great primary moves as far as pass rush goes, and he's got some great counters to those moves, and can really read sets well. He's got a lot of ways to attack, which we love.
"As far as Adam Trick, effort is the hallmark of his game, the foundational principle. He's very tough, and I think he's going to do a great job in the run game for us. Out of those two players, he's going to have to take on a little bit more of the double-teams than Trey will.”
That’s the intriguing part. White looks like the polished pass-rush technician. Trick looks like the grinder who can collapse pockets, set edges and wear on tackles snap after snap.
Bailey and Height had “elite critical factors and traits” that are difficult to replace, Wood said, but this isn’t a desperation patch job.
“We knew that their floor would be extremely high,” Wood said. “We knew that they would be guys that could come in and impact our defense this year, right away.
"They're fully capable of coming in and helping us compete to win another Big 12 title, and really meet the standard that we were able to set last year from a defensive standpoint.”
That’s a bold standard. But Texas Tech isn’t acting like last season was a one-off.
With White and Trick coming off the edge, the Red Raiders’ pass rush still has teeth.
Join Our Roundtable Community For Free!
Share your takes, connect with our Roundtable writers, and talk sports with fellow fans. Download the free Roundtable App today and stay closer to the conversation.
