A Record Eight Texas Tech Football Players Invited to 2026 NFL Scouting Combine

LUBBOCK, Texas — When the NFL unveiled its official list of 319 prospects for the 2026 Scouting Combine, Texas Tech made program history: eight Red Raiders—an all-time high—received invitations to Lucas Oil Stadium from February 23 to March 2. The octet, all seniors, represents every phase of Tech’s Big 12-title run and gives NFL evaluators a concentrated look at one of college football’s most transformative rosters.

Quarterback Behren Morton headlines the group. A five-year starter who appeared in 44 games, Morton saved his best for last: 2,780 passing yards, a Big 12-best 66 percent completion rate, 22 touchdowns and only six interceptions while guiding Tech to its first conference championship in a 34-7 rout of BYU. Despite missing two late-season contests with injury, Morton enters Indianapolis as one of just 15 quarterbacks on the combine roster.

Caleb Douglas and Reggie Virgil give Tech two explosive wideouts for scouts to time and test. Douglas, a 6-4 Florida transfer, started every game and led the Red Raiders with 846 receiving yards and seven scores; his 15.6-yard average per catch ranked among the Big 12’s top ten. Virgil, a Miami (Ohio) transfer, needed only one season in Lubbock to surpass his previous three-year totals, hauling in 57 passes for 705 yards and eight total touchdowns. Both receivers bolstered their résumés at the 2026 Panini Senior Bowl.

The defensive surge that carried Tech to the title is well represented. Stanford transfer David Bailey, 6-3 and relentless, led the nation with 14.5 sacks and added 19.5 tackles for loss on his way to AP first-team All-America, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and Defensive Newcomer of the Year honors. He anchors a front that sacked quarterbacks 41 times and statistically owned the country’s top run defense.

Opposite Bailey, Georgia Tech import Romello Height earned first-team All-Big 12 recognition with ten sacks—second on the squad—and a fourth-place conference ranking. UCF transfer Lee Hunter, a top-20 portal prospect, recorded 41 tackles and a tackle-for-loss in each of his final five games, earning AP second-team All-America and first-team All-Big 12 notice. Northern Illinois arrival Skyler Gill-Howard, limited to six starts by a mid-season ankle injury, still flashed versatility with 13 tackles, six quarterback hits and a pick-six against Kent State that earned Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week.

Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez caps the group with a trophy-case season: 128 tackles, seven forced fumbles (national best), four interceptions, Butkus Award, Bronko Nagurski Trophy and a fifth-place Heisman finish. He and Bailey are widely projected as potential first-round selections.

From February 23 through March 2, the Red Raiders’ record contingent will run, jump, interview and throw in Indianapolis, aiming to turn the most successful season in program history into draft-day momentum.