The 2024 college football season presents an entirely new landscape. Texas is in the SEC. SMU is back in a power conference as ACC members. The College Football Playoff now includes 12 teams and an automatic bid for the best G5 team in the land. For most, the start of the season is in Week 1 on August 30, though SMU starts in Week 0 and TCU plays its first game on Aug. 29. 

To celebrate us making it through another off-season, we’re counting down the 50 most important players in Texas as we inch closer to kickoffs. This list isn’t necessarily about which players are the best in terms of NFL draft stock. It ranks players in order of importance to their team's success. 

NO. 17: TEXAS TECH LB Ben Roberts

The History: At this time last year, Ben Roberts wasn't on anyone's radar. The redshirt freshman spent all of 2022 transitioning from all-district safety at Haslet Eaton to Big 12 linebacker and wasn't in line for significant playing time in 2023. He got four snaps in the season opener against Wyoming. 

He was thrust into the starting lineup for Week Two against Oregon after team captain Jacob Rodriguez suffered a significant injury. Roberts posted 12 tackles and a forced fumble that night and never exited the lineup. His 107 tackles were the most by a Texas Tech freshman since 1980, and he became the first player in program history to win Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year.

The Skillset: Roberts spent roughly eight hours a week of his own time studying film, and it showed up on Saturdays. He is a sure tackler who finished third among Big 12 linebackers with a 79.6 rush defense grade, per PFF. His 6.5 tackles for loss tied for second on the team. At 6-foot-3, 230 pounds, Roberts still displays the athleticism of a high school safety from the front seven of Texas Tech's defense. He did fall out of the top 250 linebackers in pass coverage grade, however.

The Impact: Rodriguez's return from injury, along with Roberts and Bryce Ramirez's development last season, gives Texas Tech one of the Big 12's top linebacker rooms. The Red Raiders were 4–0 last year in games Rodriguez started and finished, and head coach Joey McGuire calls him one of the best communicators he's been around. Roberts's numbers could take a slight dip in 2024 (he never posted double-digit tackles in games Rodriguez played), but he'll maintain the impact that made him an all-conference player.