Who's starting for Texas Tech football in 2024 season opener against Abilene Christian?

Six days out from the season opener against Abilene Christian , the Texas Tech football team unveiled its depth chart and starters for the first game of the 2024 campaign.

Tech unveiled the depth chart via social media on Sunday night. Here's the full rundown of the starters and their projected backups. We'll also give our initial takeaways from the lineup and compare it to our own projections.

Texas Tech football offensive starters vs. Abilene Christian

QUARTERBACK — Starter: Behren Morton; Backup: Cameran Brown

RUNNING BACK — Starter: Tahj Brooks; Backups: Cam'Ron Valdez, Cameron Dickey

Z RECEIVER — Starter: Josh Kelly; Backup: Kelby Valsin

Y RECEIVER — Starter: Caleb Douglas; Backup: Micah Hudson

H RECEIVER — Starter: Drae McCray; Backup: Jordan Brown

X RECEIVER — Starter: Coy Eakin; Backup: Brady Boyd

TIGHT END — Starter: Mason Tharp; Backups: Jalin Conyers OR Johncarlos Miller

LEFT TACKLE — Starter: Sterling Porcher; Backup: Dalton Merryman

LEFT GUARD — Starter: Vinny Sciury; Backup: Dylan Shaw OR Holton Hendrix

CENTER — Starter: Sheridan Wilson; Backup: Caleb Rodkey

RIGHT GUARD — Starter: Davion Carter OR Caleb Rogers; Backup: Daniel Sill

RIGHT TACKLE — Starter: Caleb Rogers OR Ty Buchanan

OFFENSIVE TAKEAWAYS

Most notable on the offensive side of the ball for Texas Tech is the right side of the offensive line. Joey McGuire and other Tech coaches have said since last season they hoped to move Caleb Rogers to an inside position, which at this point is the right guard spot.

However, they're not making that decision just yet as they try to figure out which combination of Rogers, Davion Carter and Ty Buchanan will join the three who are locked in at their respective positions up front: Sterling Porcher at left tackle, Vinny Sciury at left guard and Sheridan Wilson at center.

It is notable, however, that true freshman Holton Hendrix out of Lubbock-Cooper is listed on the initial depth chart. He joins running back Cameron Dickey and five-star receiver Micah Hudson as the lone first-year freshmen to appear on the initial two- or three-deep, also listed as backups.

Texas Tech football defensive starters vs. Abilene Christian

NOSE TACKLE — Starter: Quincy Ledet Jr.; Backups: De'Braylon Carroll and James Hansen

DEFENSIVE TACKLE — Starter: E'Maurion "Dooda" Banks; Backups: Jayden Cofield OR Trevon McAlpine

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER — Starter: Harvey Dyson III; Backups: Isaac Smith and Ansen Nedore

WILL LINEBACKER — Starter: Jacob Rodriguez; Backup: Bryce Ramirez

MIKE LINEBACKER — Starter: Ben Roberts; Backup: John Curry

OUTSIDE LINEBACKER — Starter: Amier Washington; Backups: Joseph Adedire and Sam Carrell

STAR — Starter: A.J. McCarty OR Brenden Jordan

CORNER BACK — Starter: Bralyn Lux; Backup: Jalon Peoples

FREE SAFETY — Starter: Chapman Lewis; Backup: Jordan Sanford

STRONG SAFETY — Starter: C.J. Baskerville; Backup: Joseph Plunk

CORNERBACK — Starter: Maurion Horn; Backup: Devynn Cromwell

DEFENSIVE TAKEAWAYS

Pretty straightforward on the defensive side. When looking at the nose and defensive tackle positions, it's important to note that coaches have been talking about using a six- or seven-man rotation in the middle throughout the season. While Quincy Ledet Jr. and E'Maurion "Dooda" Banks are the listed starters at those respective positions, you'll likely see everybody listed get decent playing time for at least the first week.

The linebacking duo of Ben Roberts and Jacob Rodriguez are expected to lead the defensive unit throughout the season. Outside linebackers, who can also be referred to as defensive ends or edge players, will see a similar rotation to the defensive front as the Red Raiders try to apply more pressure to opposing quarterbacks.

Texas Tech football special teams starters vs. Abilene Christian

PUNTER — Starter: Jack Burgess; Backup: Kaden Turner

KICKER — Starter: Gino Garcia OR Reese Burkhardt

LONG SNAPPER — Starter: Jackson Knotts; Backup: Rylan Vagana

KICKOFFS — Starter: Reese Burkhardt; Backup: Gino Garcia

HOLDER — Starter: Jack Burgess; Backup: Behren Morton

KICKOFF RETURN — Starters: Drae McCray and Jordan Brown

PUNT RETURNER — Starter: Josh Kelly; Backups: Jordan Brown and Micah Hudson

SPECIALIST TAKEAWAYS

First thing that jumps out is Drae McCray not being listed as a punt returner. McGuire said the hope was for one of the nation's top kickoff returners from last year to also handle punts. That shifted a bit last week when he said the job was likely going to one of Tech's talented receivers. Josh Kelly, who didn't handle punts at Washington State or Fresno State but will get the call with the Red Raiders.

Look for both Gino Garcia and Reese Burkhardt to alternate placekicking duties for the time being. The competition between the two has been back and forth, with neither able to really pull away. Burkhardt will still handle kickoffs while Weber State transfer Jack Burgess will take over for record-breaker Austin McNamara on punts.

Comparing projected starters against actual starters

Our Don Williams gave detailed breakdowns of the offense , defense and special teams units over the last week where he took a shot at who would be listed as the starters for the season opener.

Since the offensive side has a few OR's listed up front, we'll be generous and give Don a perfect score for those projections. He listed three receivers as starters (Kelly, Douglas and Eakin) while Tech announced four total and 12 total offensive spots. Defensively, Don had nine of the 11 positions correct, missing the two outside linebacking spots.

Williams was also perfect for specialists. In total, Williams got 25 out of a possible 27.

This article originally appeared on Lubbock Avalanche-Journal: Who's starting for Texas Tech football in 2024 season opener against Abilene Christian?