A Zach Thomas comparison walking in the door, Jacob Rodriguez swept the major college defensive awards in 2025 before Miami grabbed him in the second round.
Jacob Rodriguez arrives in Miami as one of the most decorated linebackers to come out of college football in years, having swept the sport's top individual defensive honors as a senior at Texas Tech. Undersized by prototypical NFL linebacker standards at 6-foot-1 and 231 pounds, he plays faster and more instinctive than his measurables suggest, which is why the Dolphins moved to grab him in round two.
Path to the league
Rodriguez began his college career at Virginia in 2021 as a quarterback and multi-purpose "football player" before transferring to Texas Tech, where he converted full-time to linebacker from 2022 through 2025. The Dolphins selected him in the second round, 43rd overall, of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Career highlights
In his senior season at Texas Tech, Rodriguez recorded 128 tackles, 11 tackles for loss, four interceptions and seven forced fumbles, a total that tied an NCAA single-season record. He swept the Chuck Bednarik Award, Butkus Award, Lombardi Award and Bronko Nagurski Trophy, becoming the first Texas Tech player to win all four, and was named a unanimous All-American, Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, and finished fifth in Heisman Trophy voting.
2025 season recap
That 2025 campaign was Rodriguez's best and last in college, the one that turned him from a solid transfer addition into a household name in Lubbock and a top defensive prospect nationally. His seven forced fumbles and four picks anchored a Texas Tech defense that carried the program to one of its best seasons in years, setting up his second-round selection by Miami that April.
Sources
- Wikipedia: Jacob Rodriguez
- Miami Dolphins: Fast Facts - Jacob Rodriguez
Player Profile
Background
- Position
- Linebacker
- Group
- defense
- College
- Texas Tech
- Hometown
- Wichita Falls, TX, USA
- Age
- 23
- Status
- active
