Texas Tech football: Jett Duffey’s best games as a Red Raider

Now that Jett Duffey has entered the transfer portal and his career as a Red Raider appears to be over, let’s look back at his best games with the Texas Tech football program.

It’s hard to remember a Texas Tech football player as polarizing as Jett Duffey.  But unlike many players or coaches who are described that way because of poor attitudes or off-putting personalities, Duffey divided the fan base because of what happened on the field.

For many quarterbacks, especially in college, there’s almost no debate over whether or not they are good enough to play.  But for Duffey, the good and the bad were so glaringly obvious, so contrasting, that it was hard at times for many fans to pick a stance on whether or not we wanted to see more of him in critical moments.

When he was good, he had a well-above-average arm and threw a nice deep ball with some pace.  And of course, there was his electric ability to turn what looked like an impending disaster into a miraculous play by using his legs.

But when he was bad, it was painful.  There were interceptions that defied logic (such as the one in the fourth quarter against West Virginia in 2018), fumbles at the worst of moments, and stretches where he looked like he had not been presented the playbook prior to the game.

He was also polarizing because of his off-field drama.  Many thought that his 2016 Title IX case, which led to a two-semester suspension and his arrest in March of 2018 outside a Lubbock bar should have been grounds for removal from the program.  Meanwhile, others felt like he deserved a second and third chance, which he did in fact receive.

The reason he was so widely discussed throughout his time in Lubbock was because he was so highly-touted as a high school recruit.  When he signed with Tech in 2016, he brought with him the following honors according to his bio on the Texas Tech football website:

"“…named the Dave Campbell’s Texas Football and Wells Fargo Mr. Texas Football Award winner … presented with the Mr. Texas Football Award prior to Texas Tech’s bowl game against LSU on Dec. 29, 2015, at NRG Stadium … selected the Class 5A Texas state player of the year and First Team All-State by the Associated Press … named Class 5A First Team All-State and State Offensive Player of the Year … recipient of the Tom Landry Award which recognizes the top high school football player in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex … named the USA Today Texas State Offensive Player of the Year and All-State First Team … selected Dallas Morning News Area Player of the Year … earned Scout Class 5A Dallas Fort Worth Player of the Year honors … named DFW Varsity Male Athlete of the Year, voted upon by his peers … named Fort Worth Star-Telegram Offensive Player of the Year … picked as the Class 6-5A Under Armour Texas Quarterback of the Year …”"

That’s why so much was expected of him and why fans were always clambering for him to get more playing time.  But what we saw on Saturdays didn’t always translate to the practice field.

Two difference coaching staffs (Kliff Kingsbury’s and Matt Wells’) evaluated him during the spring and fall camps and neither awarded him the starting job to begin the season.  In fact, in 2018 and 2019, both essentially started him off as the third-string QB on the depth chart.  So there’s no doubt that what happened away from the public eye was less than impressive.

But still, we pined for Duffey to get a shot and he finally did, thanks to two different injuries to Alan Bowman in each of the last two years.  What we saw was not good enough on a consistent basis to be deserving of the starting job without enduring another competition this offseason and so it appears that he’s decided to take his 3-8 record as a starter and look for more certainty as he enters his final year of eligibility.

That doesn’t mean there weren’t some good and even brilliant moments in the last two years.  So let’s honor the Red Raider career of Jett Duffey by looking at his best games for this program.