Kirk Herbstreit names Texas Tech's Jacob Rodriguez as 2025 Ultimate Herbie in annual Herbie Awards

Texas Tech senior linebacker Jacob Rodriguez was named the 2025 Ultimate Herbie during Friday night’s Herbie Awards unveiled by ESPN analyst Kirk Herbstreit for his all-around top dog in college football. Rodriguez won the honor over Notre Dame running back Jeremiyah Love and Michigan State defensive back Armorion Smith.

“Starting his career as a walk-on gave him great appreciation. Sitting down with him in production meetings, he had a confident smirk — in a humble way — about what his team was capable of doing this year,” Herbstreit said on ESPN. “I think he had a lot of confidence in his defense, and leading this defense, and I think the best way to say it, championship teams are player-led, and when you get around the Texas Tech team, you kind of sense something is different about this team. … There’s a togetherness and (Rodriguez) along with (quarterback) Beher Morton are kind of right in the heart of that.”

Rodriguez also won both the 2025 Butkus Award and 2025 Bronko Nagurski Trophy awarded to the top defensive player in college football. This season, Rodriguez led the Big 12-leading Red Raiders defense on and off the field with a team-high 117 tackles, 26 tackles for loss, four interceptions and a 69-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown against Oklahoma State on Oct. 25.

“Unbelievable season, of course his wife Emma is a blackhawk helicopter pilot — that’s all you need to know about him and his family,” Herbstreit said of Rodriguez. “If you think he’s tough, you’ve got to meet his wife, Emma.”

This report will be updated.