Alan Bowman could be most productive Texas Tech sophomore QB ever

Davis Webb 2014

An often forgotten aspect of the 2014 Texas Tech football season is that Mahomes supplanted another QB who entered the season expecting to be one of the biggest breakout stars in the nation.  However, after a promising freshman campaign that culminated with a 403-yard, 4-touchdown performance in the Holiday Bowl against Arizona State, Davis Webb did not have the type of sophomore season that most expected.

Overall, his completion percentage of 61.2% was down from 2013’s 62.6%.  His passing yards fell from 2,718 to 2,539 (partly because he played in only eight games as a sophomore, two fewer than in his freshman year).  However, his yards per game rose from 271.8 to 317.3.  He also threw only four four more touchdown passes (24) as a sophomore than he did as a freshman.

But where Webb digressed the most as a sophomore was in taking care of the football.  As a sophomore he threw 13 interceptions as compared to just nine as a freshman despite attempting 16 fewer passes.  In 2014, he averaged one interception every 26.5 passes compared to just one every 40.1 attempts as a freshman.

And certainly, it seemed like Webb was pressing at times as a sophomore.  He tried too often to make the spectacular play or to do more than the game asked of him and it resulted in some crippling turnovers that cost his team dearly as Tech went just 4-8 (3-5 in Webb’s starts as an able injury cost him the final four game).  Bowman must avoid taking on that type of mentality and play within the offense this year.  If he can, he should avoid the type of disappointing sophomore season that Davis Webb had in 2014.