Red Raiders captain Jacob Rodriguez named Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year finalist for 2025.
Texas Tech linebacker Jacob Rodriguez just added another massive honor to an already legendary season, earning a spot as a finalist for the 2025 Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award.
The recognition places him among the very best leaders in college football - on and off the field.
Rodriguez is one of just three finalists for the prestigious honor, joining Indiana's Aiden Fisher and Notre Dame's Aamil Wagner.
Selected from a pool of 20 semifinalists, the finalists were chosen for their courage, integrity, leadership, and service, the exact traits the award was created to spotlight.
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The winner will be announced on April 16, 2026, in Frisco, Texas.
For Texas Tech, this is more than just another bullet point on a postseason resume. Rodriguez has been the emotional and vocal heartbeat of a Red Raiders team that captured its first Big 12 Championship and secured a College Football Playoff berth.
A two-time captain, he's helped build a standard of accountability and unity inside the locker room that has completely reshaped the program’s trajectory.
On the field, his 2025 season was the stuff of defensive lore. Rodriguez pulled off a jaw-dropping sweep of major awards, including the Bednarik, Butkus, Nagurski, Lombardi, and Pony Express Awards - an unprecedented haul that firmly cements his place among the most decorated defensive players in college football history.
But the Jason Witten recognition speaks to something deeper than stats and trophies.
Rodriguez is heavily involved in the community, regularly visiting schools and children's hospitals and sharing his story alongside his wife, Emma, an active-duty U.S. Army helicopter pilot.
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Together, they've become an example of service, sacrifice, and humility that stretches far beyond the sidelines.
The Jason Witten Collegiate Man of the Year Award, backed by Witten's SCORE Foundation, also delivers a $10,000 donation to the winner’s athletic scholarship fund, another way Rodriguez's impact could echo throughout the Texas Tech program.
For Red Raiders fans, this finalist nod is validation of what they've seen all season. Jacob Rodriguez isn't just the backbone of an elite defense.
He's the kind of leader every program dreams of, and exactly the kind of player who reminds everyone that college football's greatest victories aren't always found on the scoreboard.