Nate Night Thoughts: Evaluating the mobility of Texas Tech’s QBs

Mobile quarterbacks have been a staple in college football over the years. Standouts such as Lamar Jackson, Johnny Manziel, Khalil Tate, Cam Newton, Vince Young, and numerous others have electrified college football with their athleticism and ability to keep defenses on their toes. With a wide-open QB competition happening in Raiderland, should Kliff give preference to a player that can run?

The main contenders for the QB job for the Red Raiders are McLane Carter, Jett Duffey, and Alan Bowman. While there are other QBs on the roster it is believed that these three are competing for the number one spot.

McLane Carter

The lefty has shown some ability to scramble or keep on a read option play. During his JUCO career Carter had 48 rush attempts for 224 yards, and 2 rushing TDs. While Carter is known primarily as a pocket passer, he showed a flash of mobility during last season’s game in Austin. Carter shows potential to be a successful starter, but if Kliff believes he needs a guy that can rely on his feet just as much as his arm (similar to Kliff’s days at A&M with Manziel), then Carter might not be the answer.

Jett Duffey

Duffey fits the prototypical dual threat QB mold. While we haven’t seen much from him at the collegiate level, the sophomore was explosive during his high school days at Lake Ridge. When Duffey was a senior, he had 4,444 total yards of offense and 48 total touchdowns (29 passing and 19 rushing), he completed 165/279 passes (59 %) for 2,756 yards and 7 interceptions, additionally he rushed for 1,688 yards on the season. Could Duffey be the mobile QB that Texas Tech could use? Maybe, he has had maturity issues during his time in Lubbock that have hindered his development, but Duffey would likely give the Red Raiders a lethal running threat behind center.

Alan Bowman

The freshman has a ton of arm talent and a little bit of speed too. Bowman is a more of a passer than a runner, but shows some promise running and scrambling. Out of Grapevine high school, Bowman lit it up in the air with 3,570 yards passing and 38 touchdowns his senior season. While Bowman is predominately a passer the video below shows a few highlights of him running as well.

Final Thoughts

Overall, if Kliff wants a dual-threat QB, Duffey is likely going to be the answer. Imagine a Texas Tech offense ran by a Manziel-like QB. It would be magnificent. While comparing anyone to Manziel is a stretch, I think Duffey would be able to bring exciting and explosive plays similar to those of Manziel or the other legendary QBs I mentioned earlier.