Four-star ATH Kaegan Ash will join the Red Raiders as one of the most prolific high school running backs ever.
LUBBOCK, Texas - Texas Tech fans can't get enough of the story of how Butkus Award-winner and Heisman Trophy hopeful Jacob Rodriguez was once a walk-on with the Red Raiders, sleeping on his brothers apartment floor and clawing up the depth chart from roster filler to unforgettable force.
Rodriguez was a record-breaking high school quarterback at Wichita Falls Rider High School. He pursued QB opportunities at the next level by committing to Virginia, but realized that his ticket to getting on the field likely came on the defensive end.
Once "J-Rod" made the decision to switch to linebacker, he became one of the best player's in Texas Tech history and the face of the Red Raiders' historic run to the Big 12 championship in 2025.
Now another offense-to-defense story is taking place.
Four-star high school athlete Kaegan Ash, who committed to Texas Tech in June of this year, is signed as a linebacker with the Red Raiders. However, he excels most at the high school level as a physical running back ... and he's found so much success that he's propelled up the national record boards in unfathomable fashion.
In the Texas 2A Division II state playoffs, the Mt. Enterprise senior Ash broke one of high school football's longest standing records: the Texas state record for rushing yards in a single season. He also surpassed the national mark for total touchdowns in a year.
Ash rushed for 503 yards in Mt. Enterprise's 64-58 win over Bremont on Friday, surpassing 4,045 yards for the season on the ground to break a 72-year-old record previously held by Ken Hall since 1953 as the most rushing yards in a season in Texas high school football history.
Against Bremont, Ash also totaled eight touchdowns (six rushing along with 102 yards receiving and two more touchdowns caught) to reach 77 on the year - a new national record for total touchdowns in one season.
Ash has 67 TDs rushing, nine receiving and one kick return. The previous high of 72 was set in 2017 by Kazmeir Allen of Tulare Union (CA).
In his career, Ash now has 10,028 rushing yards, which is fourth-most in Texas high school football history, according to TexasFootball.com. Only four players have ever hit 10 thousand yards on the ground, and Ash's 1,080 points scored are the second-most in state history, as well.
But that number is only expected to rise. Mt. Enterprise is 14-0 on the season and will continue their trek through the state playoffs with a matchup against Shiner in the state semifinals next week.
Oh yeah, but he will be playing linebacker in Lubbock. In the regular season, the 6-0, 210 stud totaled 77 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks in 10 games.
This season, Tech head coach Joey McGuire grew Rodriguez's resume for a potential Heisman candidacy by putting him under center at the goal line and rushing in for multiple touchdowns at the end of the regular season.
That's now a package we could see in the coming years with Kaegan Ash.