Texas Tech football: Breaking down Jett Duffey vs. Jackson Tyner
Jackson Tyner: Consistency and dependability outweigh lack of raw talent
Prior to about a month ago, I would have thought Jackson Tyner was an up and coming young Texas country artist playing the honky-tonk circuit of the Lone Star State. Now, I know he’s likely going to start for the Red Raiders this week against Oklahoma. (He may want to try the singing thing instead.)
Unless one is a fan of a school that’s played Rice recently or has had a loved one on the Owl’s roster, there’s been no reason for anyone to watch Rice football in about three decades. So to see what Jackson Tyner has to offer, I watched two of his games from his three years in Houston.
Before we break down what he looked like on video, here’s his background. The Edgewood, Texas native played baseball and football at Rice where it seemed like the diamond would initially be his better path to success.
Still, he managed to make three starts and appear in 16 games for the Owls. This is where it may get concerning for Tech fans though. He’s been just a 46.5% passer in his career. He’s also thrown seven picks to just four touchdowns.
The 6-foot-5, 230-pounder had a career-high 222 yards in 2017 at Pitt but was also picked off three times that day. His most complete game thus far came in 2016 when he threw for 196 yards, two scores, and only one pick while completing 72.0% of his passes in a win over UTEP.
He’s got experience playing on the road against Power 5 teams with starts at Stanford in 2016 and at Pitt. But in his three career starts, he’s been picked off four times and thrown just one TD.
It is tough to find full game videos of Rice football (because only the masochists among us would watch that) but I did find a condensed version of the Pitt game and the full game against Army in 2016 when he came off the bench in the first quarter after the Rice starter played as if he had money on the Golden Knights.
Friends, I’d like to be able to tell you that what is on those videos is an under the radar kid who was overlooked and is ready for his shot at the big time. I’d also like to tell you that I look like Brad Pitt and sing like Frank Sinatra. But those would be lies and as your grandmother probably told you when you were a kid, liers go to…Baylor.
When Tyner got rid of the ball in rhythm, meaning his first read was open, he was adequate. But when he had to work through his progressions, he was shaky at best.
He’s a big kid who is rather statuesque in the pocket. When he has to throw on the run, it rarely ends well for him. Making matters worse, his arm strength is somewhere between McLane Carter and Nic Shimonek, but closer to Carter. His passes generally lacked zip. They seemed to get to the receivers in slow motion but to his credit, he hit many of his targets in stride.
Also, keep in mind that the Rice offense looks like something Knute Rockne would have run at Norte Dame in the 1920s. Unless they were in a second or third-and-long, the Owls kept the ball nice and safe on the ground. That meant Tyner was usually throwing only when everyone in the stadium knew a pass was coming. That’s no way to succeed.
Still, what I saw was not a Big 12 caliber QB. If he was unable to do better than 7 of 16 passing for 135 yards and no TDs against Army, I shudder to think what he will look like in Norman.
It’s possible that Tyner did not get too much quality coaching at Rice and that Tech’s OC David Yost has polished him up a bit. And he should be surrounded by much better players this weekend than he ever was in Houston. Still, the two games I watched did not inspire me to run out and buy stock in Jackson Tyner.