Rodriguez honored by Walter Camp, Bednarik Awards

LUBBOCK, Texas – Texas Tech senior linebacker Jacob Rodriguez earned additional national honors Tuesday for his performance at Utah last weekend as he was tabbed the National Defensive Player of the Week by both the Bednarik Award and the Walter Camp Foundation.

Rodriguez has received no shortage of praise after causing two turnovers and leading the Red Raiders with 11 tackles in a 34-10 victory over the previously No. 16 Utes. Rodriguez was honored Monday as a Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week, the Senior Bowl National Defensive Player of the Week and as a member of the Big 12 Team of the Week compiled by Pro Football Focus.

This is the second time in Rodriguez' career where he's been recognized with the Bednarik Award's top weekly honor after previously earning the accolade following a similar strong performance against Arizona last year. Rodriguez was recognized by the Walter Camp Foundation for the first time in his career, becoming the first Red Raider to be named its National Defensive Player of the Week since Jordyn Brooks did so on Oct. 6, 2019, after a win over Oklahoma State.

Rodriguez forced a key forced fumble that was recovered by A.J. Holmes Jr. late in the first quarter of Saturday's Big 12 opener at Utah. He later added an interception just before the two-minute timeout in the fourth quarter that all but sealed Texas Tech's third road ranked victory in as many years, pushing the Red Raiders to 4-0 on the season for the first time since 2013 and up to No. 12 in the national polls.

Rodriguez is one of the top takeaway creators in all of college football with eight forced fumbles over his career, which ranks third nationally among active FBS players and leads all power conference players. His forced fumble stopped Utah on the Texas Tech side of the field as the Red Raiders limited the Utes to only a field goal through the first three quarters. In addition, it marked the fourth time in his career where Rodriguez has directly led to multiple takeaways as the Red Raiders are now 8-1 in games

Texas Tech is now 8-1 in games Rodriguez creates a takeaway over his career as the Red Raiders enter their first open date as one of the nation's top defenses, ranking fourth in rushing defense (56.3 yards per game) and 14th for both scoring defense (11.3 points per game) and total defense (238.8 yards per game).

The Red Raiders created four forced turnovers - a season high - against a Utah offense that entered the game averaging 45.7 points, 290.0 rushing yards and 517.0 yards of total offense per game. Thanks to Rodriguez and a strong defensive front, the Utes fell fall short of those averages as Texas Tech gave up only 263 yards of total offense, including 101 rushing yards. Of those 101 rushing yards, 28 came on Utah's final possession with the Red Raiders already enjoying a 34-10 lead.

Rodriguez was not the only Red Raider recognized this week as quarterback Will Hammond was named a Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week as well as the league's top freshman, while the Texas Tech front four was tabbed the top defensive line. Jack Burgess was also tabbed to the Ray Guy Award's "top eight" punter award, while the trio of Hammond and Holmes Jr. joined Rodriguez on the PFF Big 12 Team of the Week. Hammond earned additional honors on PFF's National Team of the Week as well.

The Red Raiders are off this weekend before returning to the road Oct. 4 for an in-state battle against Houston. Kickoff between the two former Southwest Conference foes is set for 6 p.m. from TDECU Stadium in Houston.

Rodriguez honored by Walter Camp, Bednarik Awards

Players Mentioned

Jack Burgess

Will Hammond

A.J. Holmes Jr.

Jacob Rodriguez

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