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Texas Tech football: Maddening recent history of QB injuries continues

By Matthew Conner

HOUSTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 01: McLane Carter #6 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders is helped off the field by medical staff after sustaining a leg injury in the first quarter Mississippi Rebels at NRG Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - SEPTEMBER 01: McLane Carter #6 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders is helped off the field by medical staff after sustaining a leg injury in the first quarter Mississippi Rebels at NRG Stadium on September 1, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images)
(Photo by Ronald Martinez/Getty Images) /

2009: Potts and Sheffield both suffer injuries

The final year of the Mike Leach era was the only time he had to deal with major quarterback injuries in his 10 seasons in Lubbock.  That’s because both Taylor Potts and Steven Sheffield went down during the season causing Tech to play the QB shell game all year.

Potts started the first four games of the year but got off to just a 2-2 start including losses at Texas and Houston.  In those four games, he passed for 1,602 yards and 13 touchdowns with four picks.

However, something seemed off with the offense that season as Tech had averaged just 26 points in its two losses.  And when Potts was injured in the first half of the fifth game of the year against New Mexico in Lubbock, Steven “Sticks” Sheffield came off the bench to lead the way to a 48-28 win.

Taking over an offense that had scored just seven points in the first two quarters of the game, Sheffield led Tech to a touchdown on his first drive of the game to end the first half.  He then proceeded to lead three-straight TD drives after the break as Tech pulled away.  He ended the night with 238 yards and three touchdowns while becoming an instant fan favorite.

He would stay at the helm of the offense in Tech’s 66-14 home win over Kansas State and 31-10 win at Nebraska.  But in the game with the Cornhuskers, he suffered an ankle injury that forced him to miss Tech’s next game, a 52-30 loss to Texas A&M.

The junior played again in the Oklahoma State game two weeks later but was ineffective as his mobility was limited.  And the only other time “Sticks” would see the field that year was in the Alamo Bowl win over Michigan State.

That year, the Red Raiders were a different team with Sheffield running the show.  Potts started all four that that year’s losses and most believe that if Sheffield would have been able to stay healthy, Tech would have had been able to put up its second-straight double-digit win season, which would have been a program first.

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