A Three-Man Race

In what was originally a two-man race between Jett Duffey and McLane Carter, a true freshman has entered the competition for QB1 of the Texas Tech football team. At media day, Coach Kingsbury was asked about what about the quarterback competition and responded saying it is “a three-man race.” He hopes to have an answer in a few weeks after the team plays a few scrimmages.

In a pivotal year in Kliff Kingsbury’s tenure, why should Kliff Kingsbury trust a true freshman?

Experience?

Alan Bowman is not a typical true freshman when it comes to experience. Bowman was a four-year starter in high school, racking up 11,393 yards and 119 touchdowns during his career at Grapevine High School. Bowman also enrolled early, meaning he was on campus with the team at the start of the 2018 spring semester. While he may have the fewest amount of snaps with the team under his belt, it does not necessarily mean he is the least experienced quarterback in the race.

Accuracy

It can be argued that Bowman is the most accurate quarterback of the group, and accuracy is kind of a big deal when it comes to playing quarterback. We talked about this on the last podcast, Bowman is the best passer of the bunch.

Here is Bowman throwing the deep ball in practice:

He can also get the ball out in a hurry too, very important in Kingsbury’s system:

Running Backs

A good ground game is a young quarterback’s best friend. I believe Texas Tech will run the ball early and often this year. With three backs apparently taking first team reps, expect to see a heavy dose of Trey King, Da’Leon Ward, and even true freshman Ta’Zahwn Henry. This also plays to this teams biggest strength this year, a loaded defense.

A Prediction:

For some reason I get the feeling either Jett Duffey or McLane Carter gets the job on day one. However, I think Bowman will be waiting, ready to step in when his number is called. My other theory is that Kingsbury could play two QB’s until conference play or until one really separates himself from the others.

Who do you think gets the nod at QB?