Rob Greene's job is a little bit easier thanks to Brendan Jordan. The senior safety has been a mainstay in the Texas Tech football defensive backfield since his freshman year and holds down one of the starting spots in the secondary again in 2026. Who joins him at the other spot is an ongoing battle Greene, the safeties coach who was promoted to co-defensive coordinator in the offseason, has to figure out. Lucky for Greene, Jordan has versatility, spending much of preseason camp bouncing between the boundary and field positions. That gives Greene, and the Red Raiders, options to figure out the other starter, and when to use certain players come Sept. 5 against Abilene Christian. "There may be certain things, like if one guy wins the job, but he may not be the best in this certain situation," Greene said. "Well, I can bring another guy in there in that situation and have BJ just move over. Much easier. It's awesome to be able to coach him because of the versatility that he brings." Front and center of the battle for safety No. 2 are Peyton Morgan, Oliver Miles II, and Malik Esquerra. Greene said there have been days Esquerra has "looked phenomenal" and commended Miles for his effort level. Esquerra was the primary backup to Cole Wisniewski last season, who started opposite Jordan in Texas Tech's run to the Big 12 championship.
Miles spent some time as a running back last season after the season-ending injury to Quinten Joyner. Miles said doing that let him see the other side of things on the field, which has helped as he's returned from an ankle injury that hampered him in the spring. Morgan came to Texas Tech as a ball-hawking safety, registering 25 interceptions in his high school career (not to mention the five he had in middle school, all of which he can account for). "The separator for all those guys is who is making the most plays and who's making the least mistakes," Greene said. "... They all bring different skillsets and they're all having really good camps." The three safeties were all part of the 2024 recruiting class, getting action here and there on defense, with most of their work coming on special teams. Now the three are duking it out to see who will get the nod next to Jordan. Greene sees all three as factors during the season, though he isn't ready to say who has the advantage ahead of the team's first scrimmage inside Galaxy Stadium. "They see the opportunity that's knocking," Greene said, "and they're trying to go embrace it." This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Who has the edge for Texas Tech football's other starting safety spot?