Things have not been ideal for Texas Tech’s quarterbacks recently. Starting quarterback Behren Morton was thriving early on in the season, but he’s dealt with a number of injuries all throughout the season (as well as his career) and he’s finally set to get back on the field once more.
But one thing that is necessitating for Texas Tech to go back to Morton is because of the season-ending injury that backup quarterback Will Hammond suffered at home in their recent 42-0 shutout win against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.
Which, you never want injuries, you never want season-ending injuries, and you don’t want those to happen to your quarterbacks. And yet, here we are. And as Texas Tech has to navigate these sorts of things, it’s important to note the way that some third string quarterbacks are able to take control of an offense and go on to be really solid.
And that’s what we’re doing with Mitch Griffis.
Texas Tech offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich sure seemed to respect Mitch Griffis for the way he stepped up vs. Oklahoma State
On Monday, during a press conference, Leftwich pointed to the sort of performance that Griffis had against Oklahoma State while also making it clear that he just jumped into action when called upon. And it worked out well.
“I was proud of Mitch, man, I thought he came in and thrown into that situation as starting the year as a third string quarterback and to play the way he did was really impressive,” Leftwich said.
I agree with that. And it’s worth remembering that Griffis was actually really, really solid at home when facing the Cowboys. Griffis completed 9-of-13 passes for 172 yards and a touchdown without throwing an interception. He also had another rushing score on the ground for the Red Raiders. And that all seems impressive given the short notice nature of this situation for Leftwich.