THE BYE WEEK TAPE: Richie Rich Cleans It Up. Tha Goods Wrecks the Picture. JWaid Finishes it
Receivers get space. Quarterbacks get cameras. Linebackers get traffic.
That’s why this room is fun.
The Bye Week Tape is about getting past what a position group was supposed to be and talking about what it has actually become through four games. With UTRGV’s linebackers, the picture is getting pretty clear: this room has a cleanup guy, a damage guy and a third dude who makes the whole thing work.
Start with Spencer “Richie Rich” Rich, No. 45.
He leads UTRGV with 37 tackles, and that number fits exactly what his game has looked like. Rich isn’t living off splash plays. He’s reading it, scraping over the top, getting square and finishing.
That matters at linebacker.
A defense can call the right thing, fit the front right and still get cooked if the second level doesn’t finish the play. Rich has been the dude cleaning up the mess before five yards turns into 25.
That’s his value.
Then there’s Jaiden “Tha Goods” Haygood, No. 23, and his stat line has a little more damage in it.
27 tackles. Four TFLs. A sack. An interception.
Rich is the cleanup.
Tha Goods is trying to blow the whole thing up before it ever gets comfortable.
That’s the difference between them, and honestly, that’s why they work together.
Haygood plays downhill. When he sees it, he goes. He can get into a gap, force a back to change his track, spill something outside or just erase the play himself. He’s not just collecting tackles. He’s affecting how the offense gets to run the rep.
That’s real linebacker value.
Then there’s Jackson "JWaid" Waid, No. 56, and I don’t think he should get treated like the “other guy” in this room. JWaid Finishes plays and completes the room.
He has 20 tackles, two TFLs and a fumble recovery, and that gives Rich, Haygood and Waid 84 combined tackles through four games.
That’s not two dudes carrying everybody else.
That’s a trio.
Waid gives UTRGV another linebacker they can trust to fit the run, get downhill and keep the structure intact. He may not get the same attention juice as Richie Rich or Tha Goods, but the snaps matter, and so does being reliable enough that the defense doesn’t have to hide you.
Behind them, Trey Bright has eight tackles, Walker Diharce has three and Jaxson Maynard has one. Landen Gaskamp has gotten into all four games, and freshman Dax Hebeisen has appeared in three.
Those aren’t headline numbers, but the reps matter.
Southland ball gets physical fast, and this isn’t a room where you want three dudes carrying every meaningful snap into November. Depth doesn’t always look important in September. By late October, it can be the whole conversation.
The part I like most about this group is that it looks like they’re seeing the game cleaner now.
So after four games, the room has a real shape to it:
Richie Rich cleans up the mess. Tha Goods brings the damage. Waid makes it a real three-man unit and finishes plays.
And when linebackers start playing faster because they’re seeing it cleaner?
That’s when the whole defense starts looking different.
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