Everyone thinks they knew Patrick Mahomes would be a superstar. They’re lying. If you look back at his time with the Red Raiders, he wasn't some golden boy destined for NFL greatness. He was a three-star recruit. A "project." A guy playing in an Air Raid system that many NFL scouts basically considered a gimmick. Honestly, the Patrick Mahomes Texas Tech era was more like a fever dream than a standard college football career.
Lubbock is a dusty place. It’s isolated, windy, and arguably the last place you’d expect to find the guy who would eventually break the NFL. But between 2014 and 2016, something weird was happening at Jones AT&T Stadium. While the rest of the country was obsessed with "pro-style" quarterbacks, Mahomes was out there throwing passes with his left hand, scrambling for his life, and putting up numbers that looked like someone broke the Madden difficulty settings.
The Recruitment: Only One School Really Cared
It’s wild to think about now, but Mahomes didn't have a line of coaches at his door. He had three offers. That’s it. Texas Tech, Rice, and Houston.
Why? Because he was a baseball player who happened to play football. He didn't do the "Elite 11" camps. He wasn't on the 7-on-7 circuit. He was busy striking out 16 batters in a single high school game or hitting jumpers on the basketball court. Most big-time programs like Texas or Oklahoma saw a raw kid with "bad mechanics."
Kliff Kingsbury saw something else. Kingsbury, who was the young, trendy head coach at Tech at the time, actually went to see Mahomes play basketball. He saw the vision and the leadership. He didn't care that Patrick’s feet were messy or that he threw from weird angles. In fact, Kingsbury leaned into it. He told Mahomes to just be himself.
That Oklahoma Game: 734 Yards of Pure Chaos
If you want to understand the Patrick Mahomes Texas Tech experience in a single night, you have to talk about October 22, 2016. It was Texas Tech vs. Oklahoma. Mahomes vs. Baker Mayfield.
It was arguably the most ridiculous game in the history of college football.
Mahomes threw for 734 yards. Let that sink in. He didn't just throw the ball; he lived in the air. He had 88 pass attempts. Most college quarterbacks don't throw 88 times in a month. He accounted for 819 total yards by himself. And the craziest part? Texas Tech lost. The final score was 66-59.
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- Passing Yards: 734 (NCAA Record)
- Total Offense: 819 yards
- Touchdowns: 7 total
- The Result: A loss.
That was the tragedy of his college years. Mahomes was a wizard, but the Red Raiders' defense was often non-existent. He was essentially a one-man fire department trying to put out a forest fire with a garden hose. He led the nation in almost every statistical category in 2016—yards, total offense, touchdowns responsible for—yet the team went 5-7.
The "Air Raid" Stigma and the 2017 Draft
When Mahomes decided to skip his senior year, the "experts" were skeptical. They called him a system quarterback. They said his success was just a product of Kingsbury’s scheme.
"His footwork is atrocious," some said. "He’s a wild card," others claimed.
But Mahomes was more than a system player. He was the system. He was doing things at Texas Tech that weren't in the playbook. He was making "no-look" passes before they were a social media trend. He was using his background as a pitcher—specifically his ability to throw from different arm slots—to find windows that didn't exist for traditional pocket passers.
He finished his career in Lubbock with 11,252 passing yards and 93 touchdowns in just about two and a half seasons of starting. He wasn't just a stats guy; he was a highlight reel that happened to be a human being.
Why Lubbock Still Matters
You can't separate the current version of Mahomes from his time in the Big 12. At Texas Tech, he learned how to play when things go wrong. He learned how to handle the pressure of having to score every single drive just to keep his team in the game.
That "never-say-die" attitude you see in the Super Bowl? That was forged in Lubbock.
He wasn't pampered. He wasn't part of a blue-blood dynasty. He was a Red Raider. He played in the West Texas wind and learned how to cut a ball through a 30-mph gust. He played for a coach who trusted him to be unconventional.
Actionable Insights for Fans and Analysts
If you're looking back at the Patrick Mahomes Texas Tech era to understand why he's so dominant now, focus on these specific takeaways:
- Watch the "Off-Platform" Throws: Mahomes developed his signature style by necessity. The Tech offensive line was often overmatched, forcing him to throw while running or falling. This wasn't "bad technique"—it was adaptive greatness.
- The Multi-Sport Edge: His baseball background wasn't just a fun fact. His ability to manipulate his arm angle comes directly from being a relief pitcher. It allows him to throw around defensive linemen rather than over them.
- The Volume Factor: Playing in the Air Raid gave him more "reps" of high-pressure decision-making than almost any other QB prospect. He was processing defense on 50+ throws a night.
- Ignore the Record: Never judge a college QB solely on wins and losses. Mahomes' 13-16 record as a starter was a reflection of the team's defensive struggles (Tech ranked near the bottom of the NCAA in defense during his tenure), not his ability to lead.
The truth is, Patrick Mahomes didn't change when he got to the NFL. The world just finally caught up to what was happening in Lubbock all along. He was always this guy. We were just too busy looking at his footwork to notice his greatness.