Over the course of the next three weeks, the Dallas Morning News bloggers will be ranking the position groups in the state. We will track these rankings and give you our thoughts on where Tech is ranked in each group. We might throw in a few other thoughts that are non-Tech related.
They started with the quarterbacks today. Here are there rankings.
1) TCU
2) Texas A&M
3) Baylor
4) TEXAS TECH
5) Rice
6) Texas
7) Houston
8) Texas State
9) SMU
10) North Texas
11) UTSA
12) UTEP
Here's what DMN blogger Tommy Magelssen had to say about Tech's QB position:
"Like many other teams in the state, Texas Tech is locked in a quarterback competition. What separates the Red Raider hopefuls is they both have meaningful game experience. Junior Davis Webb and sophomore Patrick Mahomes (pictured) give Texas Tech some of the Big 12 Conference's best depth. But the uncertainty at starter makes it difficult to project how the Red Raiders will fare in 2015, especially since Webb and Mahomes have such different play styles. Webb is a prototypical pocket passer, while Mahomes is a dual-threat quarterback. The latter seemed to be the frontrunner this spring because of his strong end to 2014 and Webb was still dealing with offseason shoulder surgery. Coach Kliff Kingsbury said he will carry the competition into the fall to give Webb a fair chance to compete. Former Iowa quarterback Nic Shimonek rounds out the depth chart, giving Texas Tech ample depth."
Tech Thoughts:
The Red Raiders are number four on the list which is pretty close to right. They could be in front of Baylor if you wanted to split hairs, but I don't have a problem with it at this point. Baylor's starter Seth Russell is unproven but Briles' QBs always put up big numbers because of the system. Tech is in a better position than Baylor depth-wise. The Red Raiders will be one of the few teams on this list with two multiple game starters on their roster at the position.
Miscellaneous Thoughts:
1) TCU is number one on this list, which can't really be argued. Trevone Boykin had a really solid 2014 season. Depth could be a concern for them if Boykin were to go down as they have no real experience backing him up.
2) I really like what I saw out of Kyle Allen last season. He improved every time he stepped on the field. I think he will have a really strong 2015 season.
3) I find it very funny that Rice is ranked ahead of Texas. Think this might be the root of Texas' issues last season? Strong and his crew better get this fixed quickly. After the Longhorn spring game, there wasn't a lot of chatter about how much Swoopes improved so I think they will struggle again at the QB position. The Longhorns would be smart to turn around and hand it off to Johnathan Gray 30 times a game.
4) UTEP does not have a QB on their roster that has started a collegiate game. This means when they show up in Lubbock on September 12th, their starting QB versus the Red Raiders will have one collegiate start at the most. UTEP will lean on running back Aaron Jones to help their QB. Jones racked up 144 yards and 2 touchdowns versus the Red Raiders last season.
The next DMN position group ranking will be running backs released on Wednesday. I would expect Tech to be near the top.