Could Jett Duffey become the next Robert Johnson?

As we all know, Jett Duffey is one of the three quarterbacks in contention for the starting quarterback role for this year’s Red Raider football team. However if he doesn’t start, could he make a lasting contribution at another position? This is all hypothetical of course, as no one knows exactly who will bring the offense on to the field at the beginning of September. For all I know, Duffey could be the guy. His performance in the team’s first scrimmage appear to have Duffey on the outside looking in as he threw two interceptions. Could he potentially follow in the footsteps of Robert Johnson or even Red Raider great Micheal Crabtree, who played quarterback for Carter High School, and become an efficient receiver for the Red Raiders?

For those of you who don’t know, Robert Johnson played receiver for the Red Raiders for the 2005 and 2006 seasons. He transferred in as a 5-star JUCO quarterback in 2004 and was looking to win the starting job over Sonny Cumbie and when he lost out, he switched positions and played receiver. After taking a year to acclimate to the position, Johnson started in 2005 and had an amazing season. Johnson was second on the team with 951 yards receiving and had four touchdowns. For his efforts, Johnson was awarded the Big 12 Newcomer of the Year Award. In 2006, Johnson’s receiving yards went down but his catches and touchdowns went up as he had 11 touchdowns on the year. After completing his career at Texas Tech, he played professionally in the Finnish League until 2014, switching back to quarterback for the majority of his professional career winning Player of the Year honors in that league in both 2012 and 2013. He is currently the head coach of the Helsinki Wolverines, a team in the Finnish League.

Jett Duffey’s best attribute as a quarterback is his huge arm but unfortunately, that arm needs to be tamed and he needs to become more accurate. After throwing two interceptions in the last scrimmage, it appears that he has not run much with the first team this week as McLane Carter has been taking those reps. If Carter is your starter, is it worth it to stay at the quarterback spot if Alan Bowman is likely to take the reins next year or the year after? Honestly, if Duffey can’t win the spot, he might be useful to the team as an inside receiver for the next couple of years. At 6’1”, he has the proper size and athleticism for the position. He has always been a good athlete, and after this year, your inside receiver corps are made up of inexperienced guys such as Xavier Martin, Brandt Schilling, and Seth Collins. I think Collins takes one of the inside spots after this season, but I don’t know if the other one is locked up quite yet. Here’s a good video of Duffey’s athletic ability as he breaks a few tackles on his way to the end zone.

Jett Duffey could be the next Tech quarterback turned receiver that makes a contribution on this team. I know this might be far-fetched at the moment as the quarterback battle on this team is not over yet. There’s also a chance that Duffey wants to continue playing quarterback and might transfer is he doesn’t gain the starting job. However in my opinion, his athletic abilities might be useful elsewhere on this team if he doesn’t win the starting job this fall.

Who do you think wins the quarterback battle? Tell us in the comment section below!