Texas Tech football: Five make-or-break players for 2022

Whoever plays QB

Head coach Joey McGuire continues to intimate that his team has a legitimate 3-man QB race consisting of senior Tyler Shough, sophomore Donovan Smith, and redshirt freshman Behren Morton.  While I don’t believe that Morton has a real shot at winning this QB battler, the simple reality is that Tech needs one of these three players to step up and take the job by the reins for this year to be a success.

There is no way to deny that what Tech has had at the QB position in recent years has not been good enough.  In fact, if you want to point to the one factor that caused the downfall of both Kliff Kingsbury and Matt Wells as Texas Tech head coaches, you would have to point to the QB spot.

Since Pat Mahomes left the program after the 2016 campaign, the QB spot has been a weakness for the Red Raiders.  The most any Tech passer has thrown for in that span has been the 3,963 yards that Nic Shimonek threw for in 2017.  That means we are in the midst of the longest stretch this program has seen since the dawn of the Mike Leach era in 2000 without a 4,000-yard passer.

But now, Tech has hired an offensive coordinator in Zach Kittley who is known for putting up huge numbers through the air.  Of course, to continue to do that, Kittley must find Tech’s next star QB.  Fortunately, all three of his candidates appear to be capable of being legitimate starters at the collegiate level (that is if you give Morton the benefit of the doubt given his pedigree as a recruit).

This year, the Big 12 will be light on star power at the QB position, at least to open the year.  Perhaps the most accomplished player at the spot in the entire league is the wildly erratic Oklahoma State QB, Spencer Sanders.  Thus, if Tech can find a star at QB, it could give McGuire’s team a leg up on many of its in-conference rivals.  But that will only happen if Kittley and Co. can develop one of the three players in the running as fall camp opens.