The Texas Tech Red Raiders will begin the 2026 season without a pair of defensive starters on Saturday night against Abilene Christian.
Safety Brenden Jordan and EDGE Trey White will both be unavailable for the season opener, according to a Texas Tech Athletics release. Jordan will miss each of the Red Raiders’ first two games due to what the program described as “non-injury related reasons,” while White remains unavailable after dealing with a knee injury suffered during fall camp.
Jordan’s absence is notable for a Texas Tech defense replacing several key pieces from last year’s Big 12 Championship team.
The senior started all 14 games for the Red Raiders in 2025 and finished fifth on the team with 59 tackles. He also recorded two tackles for loss, an interception, a forced fumble and a pass breakup. Jordan played 794 defensive snaps last season, the third-most on the Texas Tech defense, while earning an 82.3 overall grade from Pro Football Focus.
Malik Esquerra will make his first career start in Jordan’s place and will line up alongside Peyton Morgan at safety.
Meanwhile, Ansel Nedore will replace White at the field-side EDGE position, while Miami (Ohio) transfer Adam Trick moves to the DOG position. Head coach Joey McGuire previously described White as “week-to-week” following his knee injury.
Texas Tech will also be without several other players Saturday, including linebacker Kaegan Ash, offensive lineman Ren Brown, EDGE LaDamion Guyton, cornerback Ashton Hampton and wide receivers Quintaelyn Joyner and Kai Powell.
The No. 12 Red Raiders kick off against Abilene Christian at 6 p.m. CT before traveling to Oregon State next weekend. Jordan’s two-game absence means he will also miss that matchup.
