Texas Tech appears to have suffered a big blow to its defense heading into its matchup against Arizona State this weekend. Star defensive tackle Skyler Gill-Howard will miss the rest of the season with an injury he suffered last week in the Red Raiders’ win over Kansas, Chris Hummer of CBS Sports reported Friday afternoon.
Per On3’s Pete Nakos, Gill-Howard underwent surgery on Thursday in Dallas, which has sidelined him for the foreseeable future. Timetable for a return is unclear, but sources have told On3 that there is some hope for a return for the College Football Playoff (if Texas Tech were to make the field).
In six games this season, Gill-Howard recorded nine tackles, 0.5 sacks and one interception for the No. 7-ranked Red Raiders. He’s been a major player for Texas Tech‘s strong defense, which ranks ninth in the country in yards allowed (256.8 YPG) and seventh in the country in points allowed (12.2 PPG).
The Milwaukee native transferred to Texas Tech this season after spending the past two seasons at Northern Illinois. His career began at Division-II Upper Iowa before joining the NIU program as a walk-on. Over the duration of his time there, he recorded 72 tackles, 5.5 sacks and one pass deflection.
“I went through a lot of troubled times last summer that I won’t get into, but that’s ultimately when I decided to make the change,” Gill-Howard told Red Raider Sports‘ Jarrett Ramirez this offseason. “I stepped over as a vocal leader, started doing things the right way. It was the last day of fall camp, and I had put in my notes, literally, like two months before, I was like, I will be the captain of this team.”
“That day I was awarded captain, I didn’t cry for my teammates, but I cried when I got home. It was just something I always worked for. And I sent coach Hammock that text, and I was like, ‘coach, look at the date. There’s something that I manifested.’
Texas Tech currently sits at 6-0 (3-0) and is in a great position to make its first trip to the Big 12 Championship Game in program history this season. If it can win that game, the Red Raiders can punch their first-ever ticket to the College Football Playoff. That, however, will be more difficult now without the impact of having Gill-Howard on the defensive line.
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