Patrick Mahomes: Recruiting reflection and the future of Texas Tech

While former Texas Tech gunslinger Patrick Mahomes came to Lubbock with reasonable expectations, now that he’s in the NFL, it’s time to reflect on the recruiting process.

When Patrick Mahomes started lighting up the Texas Tech heat map in his recruiting process, many didn’t know what to think of the 6-foot-3, 198-pound, dual threat quarterback from Whitehouse, Texas.

For many, the MLB connection of his father, Pat Mahomes Sr., was exciting, but to others, he was just another three-star guy who would have to come in and compete. With other schools targeting blue chip quarterbacks, and the “star ranking” marketing push-to-the-pros we’ve seen this decade, we’ve become conditioned to believe that developmental progress into first round talent isn’t tangible unless you were heavily recruited by Top 25 programs out of high school.

Patrick Mahomes broke that belief, yet many still subscribe to it.

While browsing for sources for another article, I came across a 2014 interview Mahomes did with RedRaiderSports.com, where he was discussing his expectations for his first season at Texas Tech.

RRS: “Are you expecting to redshirt your first season on-campus?”

"“No, just because there is only one other quarterback there. I know for sure I’llbe the back up unless there is a walk-on or something. As of right now I am backup, and I’ll be one mistake away from being the quarterback. If something happensand Webb does get injured or if anything happens, I can always be playing. Idon’t think I’ll be redshirting this next year.”"

It’s hard to believe that a quarterback who led the nation in total offense in 2016 had just three offers from Texas Tech, Rice, and Houston before choosing Tech. Former Texas head coach Mack Brown recruited Mahomes as a safety, and I bet he’s kicking himself for it behind the scenes.

To say Mahomes didn’t have the most “robust” recruiting process would be severely understated.

Mahomes had “interest” from schools like TCU, West Virginia, Oklahoma State, Miami, and LSU, and perhaps his early commitment to Texas Tech thwarted their offers. But back in 2013, the term “dual-threat” was still very foreign, and there were’t many coaches looking to develop wild cards.

In an eerie way, Mahomes’ quote from the RRS article sheds a distinctive light on the current state of player transfers, not just at Texas Tech, but throughout college sports.

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When players are being recruited, they consider if they’ll be able to compete for a starting role early on, if they’ll be developmental, or if the team is so scarce at the position, a starting role is essentially guaranteed. Mahomes knew he was going to play backup, but acknowledged that he was one “mistake” away from starting, even as a freshmen.

His maturity and awareness of the business of the sport was demonstrated early on, which likely explains his successful college career.

While Mahomes broke the stigma about dual-threat quarterbacks threatening the sanctity of the position, he also broke the idea that star ratings out of high school ultimately dictates a players’ success. Sure, trends say otherwise, but the only constant in athletics is change.

Tommy Tuberville recruited with a players’ star ratings in mind, whereas Kingsbury and his staff recruit based off who will gel, and fit with the system–regardless of whether they’re an unrated walk-on, or five-star talent. Mahomes came in at a time when Kingsbury was trying to reestablish Tech’s Air Raid identity, and the pieces fit perfectly.

Looking back and reflecting on Mahomes’ journey as a Red Raider, I think it’s fair to conclude that star ratings can be diluted, and knowing what we know now about how fast college football is evolving, players’ futures lie within the maturity of their recruiting interviews.

With the torch being passed following the 2017 season, and the QB battle wide open, 2018 quarterback signee three-star Alan Bowman told Scout.com, “They said I will have a chance to come in and compete for the starting job as soon as I enroll,” Bowman said, “and that was a huge factor in my decision.”

If the comments  made are any indicator of where he’ll fit in with the trend in Tech gunslingers whose awareness is ahead of their time, I think Tech is in pretty good shape.