Texas Tech Football: Five reasons for optimism in 2018
Kingsbury has a history of producing excellent QB’s
If a team is going to enter a season with its biggest question mark being at the quarterback position, it is reassuring to have a QB guru in charge. Texas Tech football head coach Kliff Kingsbury is far from the perfect head coach but he could be the perfect head coach for this year’s team.
That is because he is arguably the best QB coach in the nation. The former all-Big 12 QB has produced some of the most prolific passers of the past decade.
Kingsbury has had a hand in the careers of Pat Mahomes, Davis Webbs, Case Keenum, Johnny Manziel and Baker Mayfield in his brief time in the coaching game. That group includes three first round NFL picks and two current NFL starters.
In his ten years as a collegiate coach, Kingsbury’s quarterbacks have averaged 4,654 yards and 37.5 touchdown passes per season. Expecting the 2018 Texas Tech quarterbacks to match those totals might be a bit optimistic but considering that in 2010, while as OC at Houston, Kingsbury guided his sophomore backup QB to 2,641 yards and 24 touchdowns in eight games following an injury to Keenan, it is not hard to imagine that Kingsbury could get better production than that out of this year’s Texas Tech QB’s.
And fortunately for Kingsbury, he has three viable options. The differences between McLane Carter, Alan Bowman and Jett Duffey seem minimal.
Carter has won the job because of his style of play, not because he is the supremely more gifted player. In fact, he is likely the least talented option of the three.
That is good news because if he should struggle early, Kingsbury has two other legitimate players he can turn to. That is a luxury many coaches in Kingsbury’s position would love to have.
There is good reason to be concerned about this year’s quarterback position given the inexperience on the roster. But with such a distinguished quarterback coach in charge, fans should feel optimistic about the fact that Kingsbury will be able to get the most out of that position group this fall.