1. Three Positive Preseason Developments
Baker Mayfield, who was named the starting quarterback at Oklahoma on last week, is the latest in a long line of former Texas Tech quarterbacks to earn a starting job on the FBS level.
Indeed, of the 17 quarterbacks that have attempted a pass for the Red Raiders in the Air Raid era (2000-Present), all but three of them -- Ryan Rowland, Brant Costilla and Vincent Testaverde -- started at the FBS level at some point in their career. That number doesn't even include Nathan Chandler (Iowa) or Scotty Young (La. Tech) who never appeared in a game for Texas Tech but went on to start at the FBS level after transferring.
Here's a look at all 17 of those quarterbacks listed in order of pass attempts:
Graham Harrell (2,011 att.) - Harrell, a three-year starter at Texas Tech, is the winningest quarterback in program history and set an FBS record for touchdown passes during his career. For my money, he’s the best quarterback in Red Raider history.
Kliff Kingsbury (1,883 att.) - Kingsbury was a three-year starter for the Red Raiders and left the South Plains holding 39 school records, 13 Big 12 records and seven Div. I marks. He’s currently Texas Tech’s head football coach.
Seth Doege (1,187) - Doege was a two-year starter for the Red Raiders and, along with Harrell, is one of two quarterbacks in school history to throw for 4,000 or more yards in back-to-back seasons. He holds the school record for career completion percentage (69 percent).
Taylor Potts (1,106 att.) - Potts started 22 games at Texas Tech from 2009-10, completing 733-of-1,016 passes for 7,835 yards, 62 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. His career as a starter bridged a tumultuous time in the program's history -- Mike Leach's last season and Tommy Tuberville's first.
B.J. Symons (822 att.) - Symons backed up Kingsbury for three seasons before taking over as Texas Tech's starter as a fifth-year senior in 2003. Despite being hobbled by a torn ACL for half of the season, Symons broke the NCAA single-season record for passing yards (5,833) and the Big 12 record for single-season touchdown passes (52).
Davis Webb (706 att.) - Webb started six games in 2013 and... Well, you guys know the rest.
Sonny Cumbie (704 att.) - Cumbie started for the Red Raiders in 2004. He got off to a shaky start thanks to a loss to New Mexico in the second game of the season, but managed to right the ship with big home wins over TCU and Nebraska. Cumbie sealed his legacy in the team's Holiday Bowl win over No. 4 Cal and helped lay the groundwork for the elevated success the program would enjoy from 2005-09.
Cody Hodges (543 att.) - Hodges patiently waited his turn behind Kingsbury, Symons and Cumbie and was the Red Raiders' starting quarterback during the 2005 season. He led the team to one of the best seasons in school history and a berth in the Cotton Bowl.
Baker Mayfield (340 att.) - Due to an injury to Brewer during the 2012-13 offseason, Mayfield made the unprecedented jump from walk-on freshman to opening day starter in 2013. He threw for over 400 yards in his debut against SMU and ended up starting seven games that season. Mayfield left the program in December and ultimately transferred to Oklahoma.
Steven Sheffield (194 att.) - Sheffield was extended a preferred walk-on spot on the team late in the 2006 recruiting cycle following Greg McElroy's decommitment from Texas Tech. He unexpectedly won the back-up job heading into the 2009 season and dazzled in relief of an injured Potts in wins against New Mexico, Kansas State and Nebraska. Had he not injured his foot against the Huskers, Sheffield might not have ever reliquished the starting gig. Sheffield competed for the No. 1 job following the 2009 season but lost out again to Potts and spent the 2010 campaign as the back-up.
Pat Mahomes (185 att.) - You know.
Michael Brewer (58 att.) - Brewer backed up Seth Doege in 2012 and was his heir apparent. He was sidelined by a back injury the following summer and only played in four games (no starts) in 2013. Brewer transferred to Virginia Tech and, eligible immediately as a graduate school transfer, was named the Hokies' starting quarterback for the 2014 season. In his first season as a collegiate starter, he completed 59.4 percent of his passes for 2,692 yards, 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
Chris Todd (35 att.) - Todd competed with Harrell for the starting spot in 2006 and backed him up that season, but left the program after the bowl game. He spent a season at Hutchinson C.C. in Kansas before signing with Auburn. Todd was a part-time starter for the Tigers in 2008 but started all 13 games for AU in 2009. He threw 22 touchdown passes as a senior, which was then a school record.
Vincent Testaverde, Jr. (26 att.) - With Webb unavailable due to injury, Testaverde was Mahomes' back-up for Texas Tech's 2014 home game against Texas. Mahomes suffered an injury in the first half that knocked him out of the game, and Testaverde was thrust into action for the rest of the evening.
Jacob Karam (18 att.) - Karam backed up Doege in 2011 and, after receiving his degree from Texas Tech, transferred to Memphis. He started all 12 games as a junior for the Tigers in 2012 but was beat out the following season.
Ryan Rowland (4 att.) - Rowland, a walk-on, was part of the football program in the mid-2000s and eventually settled in as the team's third-string back-up. He appeared in two games during his career, completing a combined 2-of-4 passes for 13 yards against Sam Houston State in 2005 and Southeastern Louisiana in 2006.
Brant Costilla (1 att.) - Costilla was the Red Raiders' third-string quarterback in 2012. He made his sole career appearance against Texas State that season, going 1-of-1 for 14 yards. He holds the distinction of being the only Texas Tech quarterback in the Air Raid era to finish his time in Lubbock with one career passing attempt.
- Emeka Okafor and Paul Stawarz being capable enough to earn spots in Texas Tech's initial two-deep of the 2015 football season has to be seen as good news for the program. Too many times over the last two seasons, whether due to a suspension or unexpected departure, the Red Raiders have been alarmingly close to burning an offensive lineman's redshirt midway through the year. Neither Okafor and Stawarz were on campus this spring, but their addition this summer means we shouldn't see Madison Akamnonu, Trace Ellison, Terrence Steele, Cody Wheeler or (if he was healthy) Conner Dyer this fall. That’s a very, very good thing.
- Given how locked-down the football program has been over the last nine months, we won't truly know about the team's health until Saturday afternoon, but all indications are that the Red Raiders will head into the season in relatively good health. There have been dings and bruises, but it doesn't sound as if the team has suffered any major injuries to players expected to contribute this fall. [knock on wood]
- Pat Mahomes, Davis Webb and Nic Shimonek are all still on the roster. For the first time since 2012, the Red Raiders have a stable -- dare I say enviable? -- quarterback situation. With Baker Mayfield and Michael Brewer departing after the 2013 season, the possibility that the loser of Texas Tech's quarterback derby would transfer cast a shadow over this entire offseason. You could make a case that this was a big reason why Kingsbury handled the quarterback competition as delicately as he did this offseason.
- If the Red Raiders do need to start multiple quarterbacks this season -- and that is something that has happened in four of the last six seasons -- the team is much better equipped to handle it now than it was in 2013 or 2014.
- How many people would have guessed on May 30, 2014 that Mike Mitchell wouldn't be included on the Red Raiders’ initial two-deep of the 2015 season? Not many, I'm guessing. And while the redshirt sophomore still has practically his whole career in front of him -- Eric Ward wasn't on the published two-deep at the beginning of his sophomore season, either -- it has to be considered a disappointment that one of the most physically talented players isn't to the point where he's listed on the public depth chart.
- I would also think that Justin Murphy's inability to hang on to the right tackle spot is a bit of a disappointment. The redshirt freshman got a ton of reps in the spring but that apparently wasn't enough to secure a starting spot at tackle or guard. It's not the end of the world by any means, but it's certainly a surprise based on what we saw and were told this spring.
- This might be a stretch, but I find the lack of separation at kicker to be slightly concerning. Kingsbury indicated that it's even possible that the competition between Michael Barden and Clayton Hatfield could continue early into the season. That position is sneaky important, especially for a team coming off of a 4-8 season, and any uncertainty there could be have a huge impact on what type of campaign the Red Raiders have.
Baker Mayfield, who was named the starting quarterback at Oklahoma on last week, is the latest in a long line of former Texas Tech quarterbacks to earn a starting job on the FBS level.
Indeed, of the 17 quarterbacks that have attempted a pass for the Red Raiders in the Air Raid era (2000-Present), all but three of them -- Ryan Rowland, Brant Costilla and Vincent Testaverde -- started at the FBS level at some point in their career. That number doesn't even include Nathan Chandler (Iowa) or Scotty Young (La. Tech) who never appeared in a game for Texas Tech but went on to start at the FBS level after transferring.
Here's a look at all 17 of those quarterbacks listed in order of pass attempts:
Graham Harrell (2,011 att.) - Harrell, a three-year starter at Texas Tech, is the winningest quarterback in program history and set an FBS record for touchdown passes during his career. For my money, he’s the best quarterback in Red Raider history.
Kliff Kingsbury (1,883 att.) - Kingsbury was a three-year starter for the Red Raiders and left the South Plains holding 39 school records, 13 Big 12 records and seven Div. I marks. He’s currently Texas Tech’s head football coach.
Seth Doege (1,187) - Doege was a two-year starter for the Red Raiders and, along with Harrell, is one of two quarterbacks in school history to throw for 4,000 or more yards in back-to-back seasons. He holds the school record for career completion percentage (69 percent).
Taylor Potts (1,106 att.) - Potts started 22 games at Texas Tech from 2009-10, completing 733-of-1,016 passes for 7,835 yards, 62 touchdowns and 25 interceptions. His career as a starter bridged a tumultuous time in the program's history -- Mike Leach's last season and Tommy Tuberville's first.
B.J. Symons (822 att.) - Symons backed up Kingsbury for three seasons before taking over as Texas Tech's starter as a fifth-year senior in 2003. Despite being hobbled by a torn ACL for half of the season, Symons broke the NCAA single-season record for passing yards (5,833) and the Big 12 record for single-season touchdown passes (52).
Davis Webb (706 att.) - Webb started six games in 2013 and... Well, you guys know the rest.
Sonny Cumbie (704 att.) - Cumbie started for the Red Raiders in 2004. He got off to a shaky start thanks to a loss to New Mexico in the second game of the season, but managed to right the ship with big home wins over TCU and Nebraska. Cumbie sealed his legacy in the team's Holiday Bowl win over No. 4 Cal and helped lay the groundwork for the elevated success the program would enjoy from 2005-09.
Cody Hodges (543 att.) - Hodges patiently waited his turn behind Kingsbury, Symons and Cumbie and was the Red Raiders' starting quarterback during the 2005 season. He led the team to one of the best seasons in school history and a berth in the Cotton Bowl.
Baker Mayfield (340 att.) - Due to an injury to Brewer during the 2012-13 offseason, Mayfield made the unprecedented jump from walk-on freshman to opening day starter in 2013. He threw for over 400 yards in his debut against SMU and ended up starting seven games that season. Mayfield left the program in December and ultimately transferred to Oklahoma.
Steven Sheffield (194 att.) - Sheffield was extended a preferred walk-on spot on the team late in the 2006 recruiting cycle following Greg McElroy's decommitment from Texas Tech. He unexpectedly won the back-up job heading into the 2009 season and dazzled in relief of an injured Potts in wins against New Mexico, Kansas State and Nebraska. Had he not injured his foot against the Huskers, Sheffield might not have ever reliquished the starting gig. Sheffield competed for the No. 1 job following the 2009 season but lost out again to Potts and spent the 2010 campaign as the back-up.
Pat Mahomes (185 att.) - You know.
Michael Brewer (58 att.) - Brewer backed up Seth Doege in 2012 and was his heir apparent. He was sidelined by a back injury the following summer and only played in four games (no starts) in 2013. Brewer transferred to Virginia Tech and, eligible immediately as a graduate school transfer, was named the Hokies' starting quarterback for the 2014 season. In his first season as a collegiate starter, he completed 59.4 percent of his passes for 2,692 yards, 18 touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
Chris Todd (35 att.) - Todd competed with Harrell for the starting spot in 2006 and backed him up that season, but left the program after the bowl game. He spent a season at Hutchinson C.C. in Kansas before signing with Auburn. Todd was a part-time starter for the Tigers in 2008 but started all 13 games for AU in 2009. He threw 22 touchdown passes as a senior, which was then a school record.
Vincent Testaverde, Jr. (26 att.) - With Webb unavailable due to injury, Testaverde was Mahomes' back-up for Texas Tech's 2014 home game against Texas. Mahomes suffered an injury in the first half that knocked him out of the game, and Testaverde was thrust into action for the rest of the evening.
Jacob Karam (18 att.) - Karam backed up Doege in 2011 and, after receiving his degree from Texas Tech, transferred to Memphis. He started all 12 games as a junior for the Tigers in 2012 but was beat out the following season.
Ryan Rowland (4 att.) - Rowland, a walk-on, was part of the football program in the mid-2000s and eventually settled in as the team's third-string back-up. He appeared in two games during his career, completing a combined 2-of-4 passes for 13 yards against Sam Houston State in 2005 and Southeastern Louisiana in 2006.
Brant Costilla (1 att.) - Costilla was the Red Raiders' third-string quarterback in 2012. He made his sole career appearance against Texas State that season, going 1-of-1 for 14 yards. He holds the distinction of being the only Texas Tech quarterback in the Air Raid era to finish his time in Lubbock with one career passing attempt.
