The Red Raiders made numerous changes heading into the 2015 season. Kingsbury added defensive coordinator David Gibbs hoping to bolster a defense that ranked amongst the worst in the country. The Red Raiders rebounded with a strong season as running back DeAndré Washington finished with 1,492 yards and 16 touchdowns and Patrick Mahomes finished with 4,653 yards and 36 passing touchdowns. Although the offense rebounded quite nicely and finished the season in the top 3 nationally, the defense finished 2nd to last only better than Kansas. Kingsbury finished his 3rd season with signature wins at Arkansas and at Texas showing promise heading into 2016. The 2015 season concluded at 7–6, 4–5 in Big 12 play good for a 5th-place finish. Tech lost in the Texas Bowl to LSU. Three of Kingsbury's players were selected in the 2016 NFL Draft, Le'Raven Clark, DeAndré Washington, and Jakeem Grant.