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This will be a somewhat short series to catch everyone up on the current state of the eligibility remaining for each position group. We'll update these tables after National Signing Day. The black blocks are years of eligibility remaining and the grey block is a possible redshirt year available.
| Eligibility Remaining | |||||||||
| Player | Year | Ht/Wt. | 2015 | 2016 | 2017 | 2018 | 2019 | ||
| Patrick Mahomes | SO | 6-3/215 | |||||||
| Davis Webb | JR | 6-5/209 | |||||||
| Nic Shimonek | SO | 6-4/212 | |||||||
| Payne Sullins | FR | 6-2/175 | |||||||
| Hunter Rittimann | FR | 6-0/175 | |||||||
Reason for Hope
Well, this one is pretty easy. Texas Tech has two returning quarterbacks for at least the spring and I have a feeling that both Mahomes and Webb will be around in the fall as well. The other terrific thing here is that both quarterbacks have had lots of game-time reps and I think it's a freaking luxury to have two experienced quarterbacks who can compete day-in-day-out. I don't remember who said this, but someone said recently that the only quarterback to make it the entire season without being knocked out of a game was TCU's Treyvone Boykin. Having two capable quarterbacks is a necessity and Texas Tech has been without a capable backup for the past two years. Add to that and Shimonek should add some additional competition. I have no idea as to his capability, but he was a 3-star player coming out of high school and he put up decent numbers out of Mildred, 2,500 yards, 33 touchdowns and 6 interceptions.
Reason for Concern
The biggest reason for concern is possibly not signing a quarterback for the 2015 class, but Texas Tech is still in really good shape if everything above remains static. So, if a quarterback isn't signed, then Texas Tech would still have two solid years to groom a quarterback from the 2016 class. The fact that it might not happen, signing a quarterback, isn't catastrophic for me personally. I think missing one class without a quarterback would be okay.
Prognosis for 2015
The offense is looking incredibly solid except for receivers, which is really going to be just fine I think. A veteran offensive line, two returning quarterbacks, a stable of solid and productive running backs and at least two quarterbacks with starting and game-time experience.