They say that if you have two quarterbacks, you really don't have any. Texas Tech hopes that isn't the case.
With starting QB Will Hammond struggling to be consistent and coming off a dreadful performance against an awful Cincinnati defense, there has been plenty of talk around Raiderland about the possibility of getting backup Thomas Castellanos more snaps. Now, it appears that is going to be the plan this week against Arizona.
According to ESPN college football insider Pete Thamel on X, "...Castellanos will receive an uptick in snaps against Arizona on Saturday. Both he and Will Hammond will play significant snaps for the Red Raiders in the wake of the loss at Cincinnati this weekend."
Sources: Texas Tech quarterback Thomas Castellanos will receive an uptick in snaps against Arizona on Saturday. Both he and Will Hammond will play significant snaps for the Red Raiders in the wake of the loss at Cincinnati this weekend. pic.twitter.com/K7wPBLiPxY
— Pete Thamel (@PeteThamel) October 30, 2026
The question now, though, is whether Castellanos will assume the starting job. That's something many Texas Tech fans are hoping for.
It is truly a unique situation facing head coach Joey McGuire and his offensive coaching staff. After all, Castellanos is a unique backup.
First of all, the fifth-year senior has plenty of starting experience at the Power-4 level. While playing for both Boston College and Florida State, he made 32 starts. He's also played 2,160 snaps at the college level.
In his career before coming to Lubbock, he threw for 6,449 yards and 48 touchdowns while running for 1,984 yards and 24 more scores. The problem, though, is that he also has thrown 29 career interceptions.
Still, it might be time to explore every option in the pursuit of finding a reliable and consistent QB. Though Hammond has shown moments of strong play this season, he's yet to put it all together after seven games.
What's more, he's coming off of his worst outing thus far when he threw for just 227 yards and completed only 64.9% of his passes against a Cincinnati defense that entered last weekend as the third-worst in America in terms of passing yards allowed per game.
Now, thanks to the loss to the Bearcats, Tech can't afford to wait for Hammond's light to come on. Another loss would likely end any hopes of repeating as Big 12 champions and end dreams of a playoff birth.
What's more, Tech is about to face three straight opponents that are among the best offensive teams in the nation. Ariona, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State are all capable of lighting up the scoreboard, so the Red Raider offense must be ready to win some shootouts if necessary.
The problem is that we don't know if Castellanos is ready to lead the offense on a full-time basis. He arrived in Lubbock just a week before the season began after being ruled eligible by a Kentucky court.
As a result, he was spoon-fed the offense, and almost all of what he's been asked to do has come in the red zone. Of course, the one time he did try to lead a meaningful drive outside of the red zone, he threw an inexcusable interception on Tech's first offensive play against Houston.
Now, though, it is time to throw him in the deep end of the pool and see how well he swims. Tech no longer has any margin for error this season. The QB situation has to be solved as soon as possible, so the Castellanos button must be pushed.
If that means that Hammond goes to the bench until we know for sure that Castellanos isn't the answer, then so be it. While we don't know if Castellanos will be the solution, it has become clear that what Tech has been trying isn't working. So it would be wise for McGuire to fire all the bullets at his disposal, especially with several shootouts on the horizon.
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