How Did The Texas Tech Football QB Situation Become So Shaky?

How did the Texas Tech football team find itself in such a position of uncertainty at the quarterback position this year after almost two decades of excellence?

West Texans can count on a few certainties in life.  The wind is always going to blow, the Cap Rock is always going to be flat and the cotton is always going to bloom in the fall.  And for Texas Tech football fans in the “Air Raid” era, another certainty has been high-level quarterback play.  But this year, many Texas Tech fans are worried about what they might receive from whomever Kliff Kingsbury hands the reigns of the offense to.

This is unsettling for a fan base that sees its program foundering in mediocrity and trying to hang on to an identity forged largely but success achieved two coaching staffs and ten years ago.  While there have been plenty of times in the past two decades of “Air Raid” football that Texas Tech has started unproven quarterbacks (Sonny Cubmie, Cody Hodges, Nic Shimonek), there has never been a less accomplished group of potential starters from which the Red Raiders must chose as the trio Kingsbury has on the roster this year.

The three potential starting quarterbacks (McLane Carter, Jett Duffey and Alan Bowman) have combined for 375 yards on 25-48 passing for two touchdowns and two interceptions.  What’s more, all but sixteen of those yards came in McLane Carter’s lone start of his career, last season at Texas (a game in which he was pulled after three quarters).

But more concerning than the lack of production from the trio of QBs is the fact that all three have significant question marks that are cause for concern.

Carter, a junior and former JUCO transfer has plenty of confidence and is the only QB on the roster to have started a game or thrown a touchdown pass.  However, he simply does not have the arm talent necessary to be a full-time starter in the Big 12.

In his action against Texas last season, Carter was picked off twice and had two other possible interceptions dropped.  The Longhorns quickly realized that he lacked the arm strength to get the ball to receivers outside the numbers or down the field allowing them to focus their coverage on the slot receivers taking away the middle of the field where Carter is effective.

Meanwhile, Duffey is the type of athlete that Texas Tech wants at QB.  The former star high school recruit has an above average college arm that can make all the throws asked of him.  That is important given that Tech’s only proven receiver this year is outside receiver T.J. Vasher, a 6-foot-5 big play threat that operates down field and outside the hashes.

But Duffey’s off-field issues are a red flag for many.  Two run-ins with the law have cost him dearly causing many fans to be concerned with the sophomore’s ability to be a leader both on an off the field. And the significant time away from the team during the two suspensions has caused him to miss critical opportunities to develop his skills.

The third candidate, Alan Bowman, is a true freshman.  Though he was on campus for spring practice, there will be a natural learning curve for the former three-star recruit.

There is no clear-cut answer at this point and one may not emerge before week one.  That means Kingsbury will likely have to put his trust (and potentially his career) in the hands of a quarterback with significant question marks.

So how did the Texas Tech football program come to find itself in this position despite having a head coach that has coached two Hesiman Trophy winners and two NFL starting quarterbacks?  Let’s take a look at the different factors that helped create the current situation.