Texas Tech Football: Top 10 Red Raiders quarterbacks of all time
Nov 26, 2015; Austin, TX, USA; Texas Tech Red Raiders quarterback Patrick Mahomes III (5) passes the ball against the Texas Longhorns during the first quarter at Darrell K Royal-Texas Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports
No. 6 Patrick Mahomes II
It feels wrong to put a current player on an all-time-greatest list. And the fact that the player is just a true sophomore makes his inclusion on the list even more unusual. But Patrick Mahomes II is doing things Texas Tech fans have never seen from a Red Raider quarterback.
Despite starting only 16 games in his young career, Mahomes already ranks 9th in program history with 5,830 yards passing. In 2015, his first full season as a starter Mahomes has put up the 7th best single-season passing total in Texas Tech history and he still has one game left to play.
If Mahomes throws for his season average of 356 yards in Texas Tech’s bowl game, he could pass Graham Harrell for sixth place on Texas Tech’s single-season passing ranks.
Mahomes is also 6th all time in school history with 48 touchdown passes (tied with Robert Hall) and his 32 touchdown passes in 2015 is the 8th best total for any Texas Tech quarterback in one season. But Mahomes brings something to the table that few Texas Tech quarterbacks have, the threat to run.
The only true dual-threat quarterback of the Air Raid era of Texas Tech football, Mahomes has rushed for 588 yards in his career and is the team’s second leading rusher in 2015 with 484 yards. His ability to make plays with his legs has added a new dimension to the Texas Tech offense.
The book on Mahomes is far from complete but based on what he has done thus far in his career, he belongs on this list. After all, it would be wrong to leave the youngest player in NCAA history to record 4,000 passing yards, 450 rushing yards, 30 touchdown passes and 10 rushing touchdowns in a season off of this list.
Plus, he is one of just a handful of Texas Tech quarterbacks to win in Austin and for that, he certainly has cemented his name in Texas Tech history.
Watch the video below and ask yourself if you’ve ever seen a Texas Tech quarterback do what Mahomes can do on the field. Then you will understand why he belongs on this list.
Next: No. 5 B.J. Symons