Javin Cash, the redshirt sophomore linebacker for the West Texas A&M football team, has been preparing for this moment for quite some time.
Sure, he collected 11 total tackles in six games last year. Even though he saw a little bit of time in 2023 and in 2024, he learned extensively from former teammates in Cade Cox and JT Cavender.
But now, going into the 2025 season, the Canyon native wants to enhance his craft everyday. Cash wants to see his teammates improve each and every day, and it all begins on the practice fields north of Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium.
“We’ve been working really hard during fall camp,” Cash said. “We’re at the beginning, but we just try to get better every day, and each day, we try to get one percent better.”
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Cash knows that to succeed in football, you can’t do it alone. He understands all too well that it takes everyone else around him. And he’s feeling good about the guys around him.
“We have a good defensive line, a good back half and we’re good at linebacker,” said Cash. “If we can all put it together, we’re going to be a pretty scary defense.”
Before sticking close to home with the Buffaloes, Cash was a force to be reckoned with for Canyon High School.
Under head coach Todd Winfrey’s watch, Javin picked up 186 total tackles in his senior year. Over the course of his career, Cash registered 303 total tackles, 220 solo tackles and averaged nine tackles per game, along with tallying three quarterback sacks, one interception and one fumble recovery.
In his time in the maroon and white thus far, Cash had playing time in three games in 2023. Last season, Cash’s playing time doubled to six games. His best performance came on Oct. 26, 2024, where he recorded four tackles against UT Permian Basin at home.
At the Buffs’ first fall scrimmage, held last Saturday at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium, Cash was on the first-team defensive unit and gained a considerable amount of reps.
WTAMU head coach Josh Lynn was proud of how far Javin has come, noting his progress from last fall.
“He’s had some steps last year, too,” Lynn said. “He’s just gotten better and better. He’s fast, he can move, he’s physical and he’s a program kid. He’s paid his dues, and he’s developing into a pretty good linebacker.”
Cash has been actively preparing to take on an influential role on defense. To him, his time is now.
“The biggest things that I’ve learned was how to come out of my shell and to be a better leader,” Cash said. “I’ve also learned how to be more vocal, how to have more of an impact on the team, rather than just myself.”
Javin has goals for himself and for the Buffs. They’re not meager, either.
“As a team, we’re trying to win a national championship,” Cash said. “That’s the biggest one. Everything else, it’ll come with that. All-conference and All-American, those would be nice. But the biggest goal for us right now is a national championship. Everything else can wait.”
Lynn also understands that Cash has plenty of work to do. According to the third-year coach, the entire Buffalo football program needs to take that next step — which has been the overarching theme for this season.
“He’s got to step in and be a leader on this defense,” said Lynn. “He has to compete for that starting job.”
With the promotion of Justin Richter to defensive coordinator earlier this year, there’s plenty of familiarity and mutual understanding. They’re all in this, together.
“Before we break every day, he tells us that ‘you’re all I got’ and we say ‘you’re all we need,'” Cash said. “We’re just one big unit with one heart and one love. He teaches us to play as one unit, one team. We just ride for each other, and we’re going to die for each other on that field.”
The kinship is there, but Cash and his teammates believe that there’s plenty of things to build upon.
“We just need to be more physical, and actually play with more confidence,” Cash said. “We’re all still learning. As we get more reps, we’re only going to get better. We have to play fast and not think as much when executing.”
Cash didn’t have to go far to pursue his goals and ambitions, and neither did his friends and family.
“I’ve been here, waiting for three years for this moment,” Javin said. “I get the opportunity to put on for my city, put on for my people and my family. It feels good.”Last time out…
At the West Texas A&M’s first fall scrimmage, held last Saturday at Bain-Schaffer Buffalo Stadium, the storyline of the night was the offense. The Buffs were able to strike paydirt on several occasions, thanks to a stout offensive line and accurate throws from the WTAMU quarterbacks.
“I thought we moved the ball extremely well,” Lynn said. “I thought that the quarterbacks played extremely well, from one to four. The receivers made plays when we needed to. We had some drops in there, and we stalled out on some drives, but I thought we did a great job.”
The defense had some bright spots, as well, forcing two fumbles. One fumble recovery took place in the middle of the field, and the other was picked up in the redzone.
“I thought we ran around, tackled well, had some guys who really stepped up and had a good night,” said Lynn. “Most notably, the inside linebacker position. That was good to see. A lot of people got to play. We’ll dissect it and see what we need to do better, moving forward.”
The quarterback race, paced by graduate student RJ Martinez, senior Sean “Fats” Johnson and redshirt freshman Knox Porter, is still anybody’s game.
“It’s good to have guys who go out there and move the ball, and it’s even better to have several guys who can do that,” Lynn said of the battle for QB1. “Looking at my tenure at West Texas A&M, the position has played well, but it hasn’t played where it needed to be. It’s good to see the guys stepping up.”
The offensive line is Lynn’s pride and joy, and noted that they are the “best group on the team.”
“They’re bigger, stronger and faster,” Lynn said. “They’ve got a lot of experience, and it’s good to see that group. They’re doing a great job.”
Of course, there’s always things that the Buffs can clean up.
“We didn’t move the ball as effectively as we needed to,” said Lynn. “That’s just pre-snap stuff, signals, offensive linemen getting lined up and receivers having the right splits. Those are things we need to get fixed.”On tap for the Buffs
The Buffaloes will undergo another evaluative performance, conducting their second scrimmage at 7 p.m. at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium in Canyon.
West Texas A&M is now two weeks away from facing off against No. 10-ranked Western Colorado, set for Thursday, August 28, at the Mountaineer Bowl in Gunnison, Colorado. The game between the Buffs and Mountaineers (11-2 in 2024) will be broadcasted on the RMAC Network.
The home opener is scheduled for Thursday, Sept. 4, when the Buffs bring Colorado School of Mines into Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium in Canyon. The game is designated as “Maroon Madness,” encouraging Buff Nation to wear maroon against the Orediggers.