Texas Tech football: 5 potential game-changing signees in 2024 class

The next great Texas Tech quarterback

Were it not for Hudson, most of the excitement today would revolve around Hutto, Texas quarterback Will Hammond. That's because he is one of the most accomplished passers to sign with Texas Tech in the modern era of recruiting.

Rated by 247Sports.com as the No. 15 QB in the nation and the No. 42 player in Texas, Hammond has been a long-time commit to the Red Raiders. He also had offers from the likes of Auburn, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Penn State, Tennessee, and A&M.

This year, in 11 games, he passes for 3,910 yards and 35 TDs with 15 picks while rushing for another 1,094 yards and 19 more scores. He completed 61.3% of his passes and averaged 355.5 yards per game through the air.

Many are comparing Hammond to former Texas Tech QB Graham Harrell because both were among the nation's most productive passers in the nation as high school players. Hammond, though, seems to be much more of a dual-threat prospect than the pocket-passer Harrell was.

If recent years have shown us anything, it is the importance of having quality QBs in the pipeline at the college level. Tech hasn't had a QB start 10 or more games in a season since 2017 and in each of the last three seasons, Tech had three different QBs start at least one game. Thus, adding a player like Hammond to Tech's QB room is invaluable.

What's more, there seems to be a direct line of ascension for Hammond. With QB1 Behren Morton having two years left to play, Hammond can sit for two years and hopefully just learn behind Morton before taking over as the starter in 2026 when he will be a redshirt sophomore with three years to play. (Sorry Jake Strong fans, I just don't see the 2024 true sophomore as a future starter in Lubbock.)

Look for Tech to bring Hammond along slowly and don't be shocked if he doesn't see a snap until 2025. Then, the hope is that he will spend that year only as a backup.

However, Hammond has a huge upside and he will arrive as one of the most highly-touted QBs to ever sign with the program. Eventually, he should be the starting QB for the Red Raiders and many think he has the talent to become an all-time great.