Texas Tech will open the season without one of its biggest offseason additions, as starting edge rusher Trey White is set to miss the matchup with Abilene Christian.
Head coach Joey McGuire said Monday that White is dealing with a knee issue, but the concern does not appear serious.
"Trey White got banged up," McGuire said. "You know, he's going to be a week-to-week deal with his knee.
But nothing major. So we feel really good about that."
That’s a frustrating development for Red Raiders fans who were eager to see White right away. Texas Tech brought him in from San Diego State to help replace both starting edge rushers from 2025, pairing him with Adam Trick from Miami (OH) in what’s expected to be one of the Big 12’s better pass-rushing duos this season.
White arrives with a strong résumé. The fifth-year senior has 19.5 career sacks, 129 tackles, 31 tackles for loss and 40 games played with 26 starts. At San Diego State, he was a two-time All-Mountain West Conference first-team selection.
The encouraging part for Tech is that this is not a season-ending injury. McGuire said the team came out of fall camp as healthy as he’s ever had a squad, a sharp contrast to last year, when transfer running back Quinten Joyner suffered a knee injury in camp and was lost for the season before the opener. Joyner, who came from USC, had been expected to be the Red Raiders’ lead back in 2025.
With White sidelined for now, Texas Tech will lean on other options at outside linebacker. On the week-one depth chart, true freshman LaDamion Guyton is listed behind White and appears poised to start in his first college game. Guyton is only 17, a Georgia native and five-star 2026 signee who graduated early and has been with the program for just a few weeks.
Even so, he’s made a strong impression. Coaches on McGuire’s staff have praised the freshman throughout camp, and now Tech fans may get an early look at the program’s highest-ranked high school recruit ever to sign with the Red Raiders.
Behind him on the depth chart is Jamond Mathis, a senior transfer from Kent State. Mathis earned All-MAC honors last season after posting eight tackles for loss and six sacks.
Texas Tech doesn’t need a huge showing from White’s replacement to get past Abilene Christian, but the opener should still offer valuable snaps for Guyton and Mathis while White works his way back. For now, the Red Raiders have avoided a major preseason setback - and that’s the best news they could’ve hoped for this week.
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Texas Tech Finally Has The Depth Fans Have Been Waiting For
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The appeal goes beyond the usual preseason talk because the conversation now includes a handful of new faces who could help reshape the rotation and raise the ceiling for the whole group. Among the additions drawing attention are Tommy Castellanos at quarterback, along with newcomers such as Quinten Joyner, Austin Romaine, J'Koby Williams, Will Hammond, Micah Hudson and A.J. Holmes, a cluster of names that gives Texas Tech a very different kind of roster intrigue heading into kickoff. [Read more 🡒]