How Jessica Campbell’s hockey journey led to her history-making debut with the Kraken
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Ryan S. Clark, NHL reporter
SEATTLE — Growing up as a small-town kid with big dreams of reaching the NHL is a story that’s been told for more than a century — about men.
Most girls never had that dream, because no woman had ever reached those heights. Part of it has to do with the fact there hasn’t been a long history. Canada and the United States created women’s national teams in 1987, while the first women’s world championships was in 1990. The Olympics eventually added a women’s tournament in 1998. There was the American Women’s College Hockey Alliance that started in 1997 that saw women’s collegiate teams compete for a national title, but the NCAA didn’t hold its first tournament until 2001.
Jessica Campbell was born in 1992 — the same year Manon Rheaume made history playing for the Tampa Bay Lightning in an exhibition game.
“I imagined and dreamed of playing in the NHL because there was no professional women’s league as a young girl and I thought I was going to play in the NHL because I was playing with the boys,” Campbell said. “Little did I know what wasn’t possible. But I believed it was possible.”
More than three months have passed since the Seattle Kraken hired Campbell as an assistant coach, and she became the first woman in NHL history to be behind the bench on opening night, Oct. 8. The move came two years after the Kraken’s AHL affiliate, the Coachella Valley Firebirds, hired Campbell as an assistant coach. She was also the first woman behind the bench in that league’s history.
Her success has fueled her ascension. Under former Buffalo Sabres and Pittsburgh Penguins coach Dan Bylsma, Campbell helped the Firebirds reach consecutive Calder Cup finals in their first two seasons of existence, coaching the forwards and running the power play. The Firebirds were third in goals in Campbell’s first season, and led the league in 2023-24.
This was a contrast to what the Kraken had experienced. A playoff appearance in their second season was sandwiched between two campaigns in which a lack of goals became a frequent topic of conversation: The team finished in the bottom four in goals per game in both.
It led to Kraken general manager Ron Francis firing head coach Dave Hakstol and assistant Paul McFarland. The Kraken front office saw what Bylsma and his staff were doing in the AHL and believed they could translate that success and the culture that came with it at the NHL level.
The Kraken’s front office already knew Campbell’s philosophies resonated with veterans and rookies alike. They now believe her teachings can help their roster overcome those offensive deficiencies — and get back into the postseason mix.
Thinking about everything on her plate has the potential to be overwhelming. These are the moments when Campbell stares at a specific tattoo on her right hand.
Finely etched in dark blue ink, the cursive script tattoo that’s 2 inches in length on Campbell’s right hand is subtle while simultaneously commanding attention.
The word is ytimessä. It’s Finnish in origin. When translated into English, it means to be at the heart of something, and Campbell interprets it as achieving what she calls “a flow state,” with the reminder that reaching that destination comes with stops along the way.
Campbell looks at this tattoo daily. It allows her to remember where she’s been, how she’s arrived and where she wants to be in the future.
“It keeps me grounded in who I want to be as a coach, and how I want to show up every day,” Campbell said.
From her beginnings in coaching, to multiple stops in Europe, and back to North America to become the first of what she hopes is more NHL coaches who are women.
There is no precedent for Campbell, because she herself is the precedent.
“When you look at the history of our game and the number of years the NHL has been around, this is awesome,” said Sheldon Kennedy, who worked with Campbell and played eight seasons in the NHL. “I’m not worried about the X’s and the O’s and the game. To me, it’s more about the principle and that she didn’t fluke her way in there. She worked her butt off to get in there. She committed and did what she needed to do, and that’s what’s exciting for me.”
MANY WHO HAVE WORKED with Campbell will immediately and frequently reference how much she cares. She cares about her players, the team and about doing right by everyone.
That’s what stood out to three-time Stanley Cup champion Brent Seabrook.
“I’ve had a lot of great coaches that cared,” said Seabrook, who played his entire 15-year career with the Chicago Blackhawks. “They cared about me as a person and us as a team. I think Jess has those qualities. She cares about her players getting better on an individual basis and her team getting better on a group basis.”
Campbell is all about learning. It’s why she learned from the coaches who supported her and the ones who didn’t throughout her time playing at Cornell, the now-defunct Calgary Inferno, the Canadian women’s national team and the Malmö Redhawks in Sweden.
As a player, Campbell concentrated on improving her weaknesses rather than her strengths. She’d heard how focusing on weaknesses was bizarre from a development standpoint. But she saw it differently in that chipping away those trouble areas would eventually make her an even more complete player.
Toward the end of her career, she worked with a sports psychologist who asked Campbell what she does best, who she is at her best and what makes her special as a player.
Skating was her answer, while admitting that she spent her offseasons working on every aspect of her game but her skating.
“He said, ‘Let me be the first to tell you that if you forget about what makes you special, you’ll get away from being who you are,'” Campbell said. “In this game and in this industry there’s so many special players and talented players, the way you separate yourself is by being more of who you are and expanding of who you are and bringing that to a team.
“That was such a big moment for me and as a coach, I think about that all the time.”
That’s why Campbell asks every player what they do best, who they are at their best and what makes them special, while finding ways to elevate different aspects of their game to be the most complete player possible.
MOVING TO KELOWNA in 2017, she was an assistant coach at what is now known as RINK Academy while also starting her own business as a power skating and skill development coach. Her goal was to eventually have NHL clients.
Campbell began building her client base starting with Columbus Blue Jackets defenseman Damon Severson. They grew up together in Melville, Saskatchewan, a town of around 5,000 people.
Severson, like many active and retired NHL players, has a place in the Okanagan Valley where Campbell was coaching. As buildings began to gradually reopen during the COVID pandemic, Severson reached out to Campbell to see if she could train him.
Campbell agreed — only for Severson to ask if he could bring a friend. That friend was Los Angeles Kings defenseman Joel Edmundson.
Pretty soon, Campbell went from working with just Edmundson and Severson to a group of 20 NHL players who were looking to regain their sharpness before entering either the Edmonton or Toronto bubbles of the 2020 playoffs. The list included Mathew Barzal, Dante Fabbro, Tyson Jost, Brayden and Luke Schenn as well as Edmundson, Severson and Seabrook.
“Luke said to me I think at the very first skate, ‘Do you come up with your own drills? I’ve never gotten these drills and these are awesome,'” Campbell recalled. “I was like, ‘Yeah, they’re all my own drills,’ and I remember the look on his face when he first said that to me. It gave me so much confidence because he was into what I was putting out there.”
Those skates are what led to Seabrook asking Campbell if they could have private sessions as he was recovering from surgeries on both hips and a right shoulder procedure.
“She never let us get away with anything,” Seabrook said. “Even when she was skating with the guys, she was harping on the details and the little things. As a player, I’m always really big into those details. … She was tough on me and the big thing was knee bend and getting down. That is something I had to work on at the gym to get stronger after surgery and then incorporate that on the ice with skating.”
THE NEXT STEP in her ascension didn’t go as smoothly.
Campbell had lived in Kelowna for a few years before she went to Europe and played one last season for Malmö in 2019-20 following a two-year hiatus.
After she retired from playing, becoming a skating and skills coach looked like the next step for Campbell. She had a successful collegiate and pro career that led to her playing for Canada internationally. Not only did she coach at the academy level, but had started a business that allowed her to run skates with NHL players. Plus, her time playing in Europe meant she built relationships with coaches on another continent.
“So I actually asked a few people in North America, ‘Do you think I should pursue [trying to coach] in Sweden?'” Campbell recalled. “I basically got told, ‘Don’t do that. Don’t quit your day job to move. There are many skating coaches and phenomenal skills coaches that are in Sweden specifically. That’s where some of the best coaches come from.’
“I’m like, ‘OK, so you’re telling me you know I’m going to fail?'”
Campbell said what she was told and how she heard it felt like two separate things. It didn’t necessarily make her want to prove people wrong, as much as she wanted to prove to herself that she could become a coach in Europe.
Campbell marketed herself to multiple teams. What set her apart from other coaches was the fact she could bring teachings from North America. There were coaches who heard her elevator pitch and liked what she presented.
“They said, ‘I think what you’re doing is awesome. Your material looks great,'” Campbell said. “These were agents, these were other skills coaches and great people. They said, ‘I hate to say this, but our team would never hire a female. It wouldn’t happen.’ I heard that along the way.
“I guess I just chose to not listen to it. I knew the only way I would get to this level is to do it on my own.”
Campbell’s mission was to focus on the testimonials she received from players rather than dialogue about why she wouldn’t receive an opportunity.
2:53
Jessica Campbell explains her path to making NHL history
Jessica Campbell joins “SportsCenter” to discuss her journey to becoming the first woman assistant coach in the NHL.
Her first job came in 2020-21 when her old club, Malmö, hired her as a skills coach for the men’s team. A year later, she joined the Nürnberg Ice Tigers in Germany.
She initially joined the Ice Tigers as a skills coach, but the team was struggling with its special teams and wanted another perspective. Her suggestions worked, and it led to the Ice Tigers hiring Campbell as an assistant coach for the remainder of the season. Her work played a part in the Ice Tigers reaching the qualifying round of the playoffs.
“It was my ‘aha!’ moment as a coach where I saw what I was doing and the way I was communicating as a fit,” Campbell said. “The guys were going out and capable of making the changes and the tweaks that I was asking them to do.”
Her work with the Ice Tigers also opened a door for Campbell to join the German men’s national team as an assistant coach during the 2022 IIHF men’s world championships. Coaching at the men’s world championships was historic, in that Campbell became the first woman to ever be behind the bench at the tournament.
Being with Germany was foundational because of head coach Toni Söderholm.
Söderholm, who is Finnish, is the person Campbell fondly refers to as “my green light” because he gave her the confidence to fully embrace her coaching role. That was also the job that opened the door for Campbell to join the Firebirds a few months later.
Söderholm worked to create a culture within the national team and there was a word that embodied what he and his staff sought to achieve.
The word was ytimessä.
FACED WITH A DECISION before her historic first NHL game as a Kraken assistant coach, Campbell asked her best friend and former teammate, Brooklyn Langlois, for some advice:
What should she wear?
“I turned to her and asked, ‘Which one should I go with?'” Campbell recalled. “She says, ‘White. That’s the only color a man wouldn’t wear.’ That’s how I ultimately chose the white suit. The blazer that I bought was called, ‘the standout blazer,’ so it all felt perfect.”
Her experience with the German national team at the men’s worlds speaks to why wearing a white suit has so much meaning.
The German Hockey Federation wanted everyone from the equipment managers to the coaching staff to match. From shoes to sweaters down to having their same lapel pin placements.
“It was very traditional and it was a great look, but they also wanted the men wearing ties and I could wear a scarf,” Campbell said. “Ultimately, it kind of looked like I was a flight attendant which is not what I pictured for myself. We laugh about it now because it definitely didn’t reflect my natural fashion style, but I was willing to fill water bottles in that scarf if I had to in order to be part of that team.”
Campbell said she didn’t feel the need to say anything at the time because she wanted to fit in with the team. But it was a different situation with her new club.
0:55
Jessica Campbell reflects on historic night
Kraken assistant coach Jessica Campbell reflects on being the first full-time female assistant coach in NHL history.
Campbell said being on the bench and working with the team felt like any day at work. Or, it did at first.
When she looked into the Climate Pledge Arena stands, specifically during the introductions, that’s when Campbell realized that this was unlike any day of work she or any woman in the history of hockey ever had.
“My family was there. My best friends who are from all over Canada and the U.S. were there and with everybody coming together, it felt like my hockey wedding day in a way,” Campbell said. “Just the energy and the excitement, but that’s what really brought the magnitude of the moment to me.”
Although they work in front of the whole world, being an NHL assistant coach is not a public-facing role. Unlike a head coach, they typically don’t address the media after every game, morning skate and practice. They’ll receive some of the credit when the team wins, while receiving some of the blame when a team loses, while the head coach takes the brunt.
That’s what made opening night different. Those pregame introductions allow assistant coaches — albeit only for seconds — to be in a literal spotlight. Campbell was the first of the Kraken’s assistant coaches to be introduced, and the only person on the staff who received a stronger ovation from the crowd was Bylsma.
“That really hit me in that moment with what was happening, what I’m part of and I just know that I’m part of something so much bigger than just me,” Campbell said. “There were moments throughout the day where I was reminded of that.
“When I got to the arena, just the reception from those around you and seeing the emotions from other people is what really reminds me of what this means to the industry and to the community and to the people. … I’m taking pride knowing that I have to carry this torch for others.”
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Mark Schlabach
Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer said he doesn’t have interest in other jobs.
DeBoer, who has a 19-6 cumulative record and is in his second season with the ninth-ranked Crimson Tide, had been linked to Penn State‘s coaching vacancy.
“We’re extremely happy at Alabama,” DeBoer said Thursday ahead of this weekend’s SEC championship game against No. 3 Georgia.
“We’re extremely happy here, love the challenge, love the grind, love this place. There’s never been any link, there’s never been any conversation, there’s never been any interest either way. So I’m glad we can put that to bed right now.”
The Nittany Lions’ coaching search is ongoing after they fired James Franklin on Oct. 12. Penn State, which had national title aspirations for this season, started 3-3.
Other coaches who were linked to Penn State’s search, including Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea, Louisville’s Jeff Brohm, Georgia Tech’s Brent Key and BYU’s Kalani Sitake, agreed to contract extensions with their current schools.
Meanwhile, DeBoer said starting defensive end LT Overton and reserve defensive tackle Kelby Collins won’t be available to play against Georgia in Saturday’s contest (4 p.m. ET, ABC) at Mercedes-Benz Stadium in Atlanta.
DeBoer wouldn’t specify their injuries, calling them “illnesses, medical conditions — whatever you want to call it.”
Overton, a senior from Milton, Georgia, was listed as out on the SEC’s first availability report Wednesday. Collins was not included.
“Just trying to get through these next couple days here and kind of see,” DeBoer said. “Obviously, Kelby’s just popped up, too. Just trying to get through this weekend and kind of see where that’s at. We’ll understand more details when that time comes.”
Overton has 33 tackles and four sacks this season. He had six tackles and a half-sack in the Tide’s 24-21 win at Georgia on Sept. 27, which ended the Bulldogs’ 33-game home winning streak.
DeBoer added that running back Jam Miller, tight end Josh Cuevas and guard Kam Dewberry remain questionable for Saturday’s game.
The Bulldogs will be without starting center Drew Bobo, who injured his left foot in last week’s 16-9 victory against Georgia Tech.
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Max Olson
LUBBOCK, Texas — In December 2021, Jacob Rodriguez felt lost.
The young quarterback had just ended his freshman season at Virginia. Coach Bronco Mendenhall had unexpectedly stepped down. Rodriguez decided to transfer but had minimal tape as a college passer and few options. He had a creeping doubt, too, that maybe it was time to give up his quarterback dreams.
Texas Tech was willing to take a chance on him under two conditions: It didn’t have a scholarship available, and it didn’t need a QB. If Rodriguez wanted to come home to Texas and play for new coach Joey McGuire, he would have to learn to play linebacker.
Rodriguez took out a student loan to pay for school. He couldn’t find an apartment when he arrived in January 2022 and moved in with his older brother at the University Pointe apartments. He slept on the floor of his brother’s bedroom, on a foam queen mattress topper folded in half for a little more cushion.
He started sixth on the linebacker depth chart. He lifted weights twice a day to bulk up and watched film to figure out a position he had never played in high school. Back then, Rodriguez wasn’t envisioning someday becoming the All-America performer he is today.
“My biggest concern was not really trying to get a scholarship,” he said. “I was just trying to make the team. I’m fighting to survive.”
Four years later, Rodriguez is the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year and the best linebacker in college football. His No. 4 Red Raiders are about to play for a Big 12 championship. Then, they’ll advance to the College Football Playoff. Surreal doesn’t even begin to describe it.
The mustachioed, cowboy hat-wearing captain married to a U.S. Army Black Hawk helicopter pilot is enjoying a historic senior season and experiencing a new level of fame this fall as Texas Tech pushes him for Heisman Trophy consideration. No other college defender over the past 20 years has put up the stats he has with more than 100 tackles, seven forced fumbles and four interceptions.
And Rodriguez is ready for more as the Red Raiders prepare for the program’s first Big 12 title game against No. 11 BYU on Saturday (noon ET, ABC).
“Man, it’s such a great story,” McGuire said. “In the age of all this money, which is great — I mean, I’m all for it, obviously — this is one of those great stories for college football.”
Rodriguez always had his believers as a record-setting quarterback coming out of Wichita Falls, Texas, but Heisman good? No, even those who know him best say this is getting ridiculous and see it as pure proof of his determination. If Rodriguez could tell his 19-year-old self where he’d be standing today after his humble beginnings?
“That was a long time ago,” Rodriguez said with a smile. “But I’m very proud of that. I think it’s something that I’ll hang my hat on for a long time.
“There’s nowhere else I’d rather be than here, doing what we’re doing.”
HIS CHILDHOOD DREAM was to become the starting quarterback of the Minnesota Vikings.
“Oh yeah, you betcha,” his brother Joshua Rodriguez said with a chuckle.
Jacob Rodriguez was born in Hastings, Minnesota, the youngest of five siblings in a family that competed in everything, from croquet to UNO to holiday pancake decorating. Joe and Ann Rodriguez signed up Jacob and his twin brothers Joshua and Jeremiah for wrestling at a young age because “we were breaking everything,” Joshua said.
Jacob got started at age 3 and won two youth state championships by the time he was 7, pinning every opponent he faced during his second title run.
“That’s one reason why he’s so good at tackling: all those single-leg and double-leg takedowns,” Joshua said.
When the family moved to Wichita Falls in 2010, the boys were eager to start playing tackle football. The twins would play linebacker at Rider High School. Jacob, a four-sport athlete, played varsity as a sophomore and went on to break school records with more than 10,000 career total yards and 106 touchdowns.
“He was the guy, the talk of the town,” Rider teammate Jed Castles said. “He was signing autographs when we went out to restaurants.”
Rider coach Marc Bindel occasionally let his star quarterback play safety, but Rodriguez was a QB first and foremost with a playing style that evoked Tim Tebow comparisons.
“We always called him Captain America,” Bindel said.
Rodriguez was an ESPN 300 recruit, but recruiters were split on his college projection: Should he play offense or defense? Then-Kansas State offensive coordinator Collin Klein gave him his first FBS offer in 2019 and saw his potential as an athletic quarterback.
But others saw something else. In a game against Canyon Randall during his junior year, Rodriguez made a fourth-and-1 play on defense they still talk about to this day. He burst through the line, grabbed the running back by his legs, lifted him in the air and slammed him on his back for the stop.
Bindel had a coach on his staff send the clip to then-Texas Tech defensive coordinator Keith Patterson. The next day, the Red Raiders offered Rodriguez a scholarship as a linebacker. Baylor would end up doing the same after McGuire became its outside linebackers coach in 2020. Rodriguez ultimately received more offers for defense than offense.
But Mendenhall and his Virginia coaches made Rodriguez a priority — and convinced him he could be their next Taysom Hill. His plans to fly out for a spring break official visit were canceled by COVID-19. Rodriguez still committed and enrolled without ever visiting campus.
“I think we all knew his best chance to make it big was going to be on defense,” Bindel said, “but in his heart, he wanted to play quarterback. And why would you not want to try to play quarterback in college?”
Virginia had an established starter in Brennan Armstrong, who broke single-season school records in 2021. But the Cavaliers also had a way to get Rodriguez on the field as a freshman. He agreed to back up Keytaon Thompson at their FBP (football player) position, a hybrid role in Robert Anae’s offense that could entail pretty much anything.
Rodriguez wore No. 98 and Thompson, a former quarterback at Mississippi State, wore No. 99. They lined up at slot receiver, outside receiver, tight end, running back or behind center. They would motion all over the field before the snap and throw blocks, run routes or take handoffs. It was intentional chaos, aimed at confusing opposing defenses.
“It was pure creativity,” Thompson said. “A lot of the stuff [Anae] came up with, I don’t even think he knew it would work. If it looked good, we’d go with it.”
It was an awful lot of running, so much so that Rodriguez said he went from 215 pounds to 185 during the season. He played 169 snaps but only four at quarterback. The rookie didn’t expect to become a Swiss Army knife on offense, but he embraced it.
“I was having a blast,” Rodriguez said. “I was just happy to be on the field.”
All these years later, Rodriguez believes he would’ve finished his college career at Virginia if Mendenhall hadn’t surprised everyone by resigning that December after a 6-6 season. Thompson called it a “totally unexpected curveball.”
“I loved it there and loved the people there,” Rodriguez said. “But I kind of went there to play for him.”
He made the 1,300-mile trek home to Wichita Falls, unsure what his future might hold. And his phone wasn’t ringing.
“There wasn’t a whole lot of buzz,” Bindel said.
TEXAS TECH ASSOCIATE head coach Kenny Perry excitedly called Bindel the morning after Red Raiders’ first spring practice in 2022.
“Jacob Rodriguez is a bad motherf—er,” Perry told him.
The high school coach’s reply?
“Yep, and he’s playing for free right now…”
After leaving Virginia, Rodriguez had asked a few people to reach out to McGuire on his behalf in the hopes he could join the Red Raiders. Two Rider teammates, Castles and E’Maurion “Dooda” Banks, played for Texas Tech. One of his former youth coaches, Dudley McAfee, is a Tech grad and knew McGuire well. All three vouched for Rodriguez to the new head coach.
“Dooda was like, ‘Coach, if we can get this guy on our team, we need to get him,'” McGuire said.
McGuire vowed he would put Rodriguez on scholarship as soon as one became available. These were the early days of NIL before collectives helped take care of walk-ons. Tech could provide him two meals a day, but he would need to take out a student loan to cover his classes and books.
“It was kind of one of those deals where, well, I got to go somewhere,” Rodriguez said.
More importantly, Rodriguez had to accept his future was on defense. Texas Tech already had three starter-caliber quarterbacks in future second-round pick Tyler Shough, Behren Morton and Donovan Smith.
Bindel has no doubt Rodriguez could’ve made it as a tough dual-threat QB such as Georgia Tech‘s Haynes King had he found the right opportunity. Rodriguez doesn’t fault other coaches for missing on him during his month in the portal, especially given his role with the Cavaliers.
“I really didn’t have any quarterback film,” he said. “I just had a whole bunch of other stuff.”
Ann Rodriguez suspects if he hadn’t gone to Virginia to play quarterback, he would’ve regretted never trying. He had received plenty of advice that linebacker was his best path to the NFL. It still wasn’t easy to give up his childhood dream.
“There were a lot of tears shed and a real thought process about it,” his mother said. “It took a lot of him really looking inward and deciding, ‘You know what? I’m going to do whatever it takes.'”
It was Joshua’s idea for Jacob to move in and save money. The brothers lived in a four-bedroom apartment with three random roommates they initially didn’t know. The bedroom was certainly tight quarters — the brothers had to share a bathroom and closet — and Jacob would sleep near the foot of Joshua’s bed. Eventually, they squeezed in a twin-sized mattress for him.
“To be honest, I wouldn’t even know if those guys would be able to say, ‘Yeah, I lived with Jacob Rodriguez,'” Joshua said. “He was never there. He’d go to workouts at 5 a.m. and was gone before they woke up. He’d come back at 9 p.m. after classes and film.”
Rodriguez said he’d go in for the 8 a.m. lifting session and come back at 2 p.m. for another while working to get back to 220 pounds for spring practice. His offensive knowledge helped, but learning to play his new position was a completely different challenge. Former Texas Tech inside linebackers coach Josh Bookbinder said Rodriguez had all the right traits coming out of high school to be a great linebacker — he just hadn’t played the position.
The hardest part early on was the physicality of Texas Tech practices. Quarterbacks never get touched in these settings. Rodriguez had to get the hang of hitting and getting hit day after day. “I’m like, ‘Dude, how can I sustain this?'” he said. If he were to queue up his 2022 practice film today, Rodriguez expects it would probably look “awful.” He barely had a clue.
“The one thing he showed really early was his effort was nonnegotiable,” Bookbinder said. “He may not have known exactly what he was doing at linebacker, but he was running his ass to the ball.”
Texas Tech coaches loved the potential they saw in the spring of 2022. When McGuire called Rodriguez into his office before August preseason camp, the linebacker genuinely didn’t know why. The head coach asked him to call his parents and let them know he was on scholarship.
“There was a lot to learn, but Jacob is a football dude,” McGuire said. “He was raw, but he picked up stuff so fast because he’s really intelligent. Football makes sense to him.”
All the little details — his footwork, hand use, the angles he took in tackling, how he struck ball carriers — came with reps and time as he graduated from playing on instincts to processing and better understanding formations, sets and situations. After playing backup snaps as a sophomore, Rodriguez’s development accelerated throughout his second offseason in Lubbock to earning a starting job entering 2023, but a foot injury sustained in the season opener sidelined him for most of the season.
“It’s like you had all the ingredients on the counter,” said Bookbinder, who’s now coaching at TCU. “You just had to mix them up and let it cook for a little bit.”
The Jacob Rodriguez who returned in 2024 was finally ready to put it all together with an All-Big 12 season, finishing second among all Power 4 defenders with 127 tackles. And the one who returned for his senior year in 2025?
“He’s the best player in college football,” Perry said.
SESI VAILAHI TOOK the handoff and ran up the middle. Rodriguez met the Oklahoma State running back in the hole and stood him up. But this wasn’t your typical tackle for loss.
Vailahi staggered backward, attempting to break free. Except the veteran linebacker wasn’t going for a takedown. No, he was thinking theft. Rodriguez ripped the football right out of Vailahi’s grip and ran the other way for a 69-yard touchdown.
Literally took it away and took it to the house.
Best defender in the country.
📺 @ESPNU | https://t.co/G56N3v07Kv https://t.co/SKua435dYH pic.twitter.com/1FGuLyRaEt
— Texas Tech Football (@TexasTechFB) October 25, 2025
He has been filling up the Heisman highlight reel week after week. Like the two Kansas State fumbles he punched out. The one-handed interception at Utah. The pick he deflected to himself against BYU, or the screen pass he jumped in front of against UCF.
“Every time you look up, he’s at the ball,” Morton said. “The way he can cause and flip momentum in a game, there’s not another player in the country who can do that.”
Rodriguez has created seven turnovers by himself. His FBS-leading seven forced fumbles are more than 53 teams have all season, including Georgia, Ole Miss and Notre Dame, and he’s four away from breaking Khalil Mack’s FBS career record of 16.
McGuire has plenty of respect for Indiana‘s Fernando Mendoza, Vanderbilt‘s Diego Pavia and Ohio State‘s Julian Sayin, the trio of quarterbacks currently leading the Heisman race with one week to go. But he’s not going to relent in campaigning for Rodriguez.
“The thing for me is there’s nobody at the quarterback position that is having a year that we haven’t seen before,” McGuire said. “He’s having a year at the linebacker position that we haven’t seen.”
For comparison: Notre Dame linebacker Manti Te’o finished with 113 tackles and seven interceptions but zero forced fumbles during his Heisman runner-up season in 2012. Te’o was the unquestioned top player on the No. 1 team in the country.
Rodriguez points to Texas Tech pass rusher David Bailey, their projected first-round pick with 12.5 sacks, as the best player they’ve got. His answers in news conferences offer praise toward teammates and coaches. But among his peers, there’s no question.
“This is a talented football team,” Morton said, “and it’s led by Jacob.”
McGuire shook up Texas Tech’s defense after an 8-5 finish in 2024. He brought in defensive coordinator Shiel Wood from Houston, splurged in the portal with a rebuilt defensive line that cost more than $7 million and inked arguably the top transfer class in the country.
Rodriguez considered going pro at the end of last season and went through senior day ceremonies before the home finale. But he put his trust in McGuire and watched as his coach and general manager James Blanchard assembled the kind of roster that could finally compete for a Big 12 championship.
“You could tell as soon as we put pads on for spring ball: Hey, we’re going to be a special group,” Rodriguez said. “I’ve never had this much fun playing football ever.”
Texas Tech’s determined efforts to make Rodriguez a Heisman finalist took a creative turn two weeks ago. Ahead of its home finale against UCF, McGuire texted Joe Rodriguez to break the news: Offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich was working on a Wildcat package to utilize Jacob at quarterback.
“I said, ‘Coach, that’s so freaking awesome,'” his dad said. “I’ve been pushing that for four years. I told him, ‘Be careful, because you’re going to let that beast out.'”
Joe did not warn his wife that this was in the works. Jacob’s wife, Emma, was the one who told her inside Jones AT&T Stadium, a few plays before the moment arrived in the first quarter. She asked her to try to stay calm. Texas Tech running back Cameron Dickey said he got goosebumps when he overheard Leftwich ask, “Is J-Rod ready?”
“He goes out there,” Ann said, “and we both immediately started crying.”
The home crowd got so loud that Rodriguez worried he might mess up the snap cadence. But his offensive line paved a wide-open lane for an easy 2-yard score. He got to go in and do it again Saturday at West Virginia.
Linebacker Jacob Rodriguez with his FIRST CAREER OFFENSIVE TD for @TexasTechFB ‼️
And he hit the Heisman as his celebration 👀 pic.twitter.com/zzOWSXR1Qr
— FOX College Football (@CFBONFOX) November 15, 2025
“Just like old times, man,” said Thompson, his former Virginia teammate.
It was all so cathartic for those who know Rodriguez best, who watched how relentlessly he worked to turn into the linebacker he is today and know what he gave up getting here. The dream had to change along the way, but he wouldn’t change a thing now.
“We couldn’t have dreamt this up,” Ann Rodriguez said.
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