Texas Tech football: 5 2019 commits new coach must hang on to

QB Maverick McIvor

Every recruiting class revolves around the quarterback position.  Where as teams will recruit multiple players at every other position, it is common for each class to include just one QB prospect.

This year, Texas Tech did not have a QB in the class until June when Maverick McIvor from San Angelo verbally committed.  The three-star dual-threat QB is the No. 155 overall prospect in Texas and has offers from Arizona State, Boise State, Iowa, Minnesota, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Southern California and Washington State.

McIvor suffered a season-ending knee injury earlier this fall and that could have caused some programs to cool on him.  But with Alan Bowman having just completed his true freshman season and Jett Duffey and McLane Carter set to return next season, Tech will not need McIvor to play immediately meaning he will have plenty of time to rehabilitate his knee.

But that does not mean Texas Tech can afford to risk losing this commitment.  After all, we saw how not landing a QB in recent classes had a negative impact on Kliff Kingsbury.

In the 2015 class, Tech did not sign a high school QB after 5-star prospect Jarrett Stidham decomitted in mid-December and left the Red Raiders with no viable options in the class.  And adding to the problem is the fact that 2017 QB signee Xavier Martin was moved to receiver almost as soon as he arrived on campus further depleting the depth at the most important position on the roster.

Those recruiting missteps eventually came back to haunt the Red Raiders when Pat Mahomes left early for the NFL Draft.  Tech was forced to start Nic Shimonek last season and he was not up to par with what we have come to expect at the position.  And this year, Tech had to rely on true freshman Alan Bowman and 2016 signee Jett Duffey to start ten games between them.

It certainly would have been nice for Kingsbury to have one more scholarship QB on his roster to plug in when all three of his quarterbacks were injured at the end of the season.  Therefore, it is critical for the Red Raiders to keep McIvor in the fold.  2018 showed that you can never have too many quarterbacks on the roster.