Texas Tech's Kliff Kingsbury Opens Up on QB Battle, Rebounding from Tough Season

For a head coach that had everything he could ask for—a dream job at his alma mater and a contract extension through 2020 that would pay him $3.1 million in 2015—Texas Tech's Kliff Kingsbury had almost nothing he wanted. 

It's not like he asked for too much. Kingsbury's not that complex. As a coach, he wants two things: for his players to compete and to win football games. He's a firm believer that the former plays a role in the outcome of the latter.

Last year, he got neither—at least to the level he desired. The Red Raiders struggled to put away Central Arkansas and UTEP in the first two weeks. Tech won just two games after that, sputtering to a 4-8 effort. 

Those struggles have made the team's 2015 spring practices a battle every day at just about every position. 

"When you have the kind of season we did," Kingsbury said, "there aren’t many secure positions because we didn’t play well." 

Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press

This time a year ago, Davis Webb was the only scholarship quarterback on roster. Webb himself wasn't the issue. As a freshman, he played in 10 games, starting six, throwing for 2,718 yards and 20 touchdowns. Though he didn't begin the 2013 season as the starter, Webb ended the year as the Holiday Bowl Offensive MVP in a 37-23 upset over Arizona State. 

The problem, Kingsbury explained, was the lack of competition in the spring. Week 1 starter and Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year Baker Mayfield had transferred to Oklahoma. Backup Michael Brewer left for Virginia Tech. Both delivered strong parting words toward Kingsbury and Tech on the way out, but nothing stung Kingsbury as much as the lack of competition the attrition created. 

"Having Davis be the only scholarship quarterback, it wasn’t really a competition per se," Kingsbury said. "It was him working on his game."

Things are different now. Webb is more than four months removed from season-ending shoulder surgery, and sophomore Patrick Mahomes, who started the final four games of the season, has been taking the majority of the reps. Davis competes some, Kingsbury said, but he has been held out of live drills. 

Name	Games	Starts	Passing Stats
Davis Webb	8	8	2,539 yards, 24 TDs, 13 INTs
Patrick Mahomes	7	4	1,547 yards, 16 TDs, 4 INTs

"D-linemen tend to get a little antsy when we are going live," Kingsbury chuckled, "and we don’t want to get him knocked around." 

Still, Kingsbury is getting what he didn't have last spring—a true quarterback competition. It has made both players significantly better knowing they're being pushed. 

"Patrick has a lot more confidence," Kingsbury said. "Last year he had to play catch up. He had the summer to work with everyone a little bit, but not a lot.

"After a year of getting some reps and then stepping in and playing well at the end of the season, you can see his confidence grow. He really picked up where he left off at the end of last season."

As for Webb, he's continued to grow as a team leader even when he's not on the field. He's giving teammates high-fives in practice, interacting with his offensive line. 

"The thing I’ve been most impressed with Davis is that, going through a year he got injured, he could have easily tanked and been selfish," Kingsbury said. "But he’s been incredibly supportive of his teammates and of other quarterbacks. He’s shown his leadership through hard work and being the consummate team player."

The competition will carry over into preseason camp, at which time Kingsbury expects to have a starter in mind. Ball protection, he says, will be a key factor in the race. 

It's an important area for everyone, for that matter. Turnovers weren't just a major issue for the Red Raiders last season, even though they finished 117th nationally with 28 turnovers (and a minus-13 turnover margin). The numbers were even worse in 2013, as Tech finished with 33 giveaways and a minus-14 turnover margin. 

Penalties were a problem too. Tech averaged 9.3 per game. Only Baylor was worse at 9.8 per game. 

So what do you do?

“We’re still figuring it out," Kingsbury said. "I think it’s going to come with the maturity of our team. Some young guys have to grow up." 

LM Otero/Associated Press

There wasn't an ounce of concern in Kingsbury's voice. He was as cool and collected as ever. As a former signal-caller for the Red Raiders, Kingsbury is cut from a unique cloth. He never gets too high or too low. 

"This was just one of those years that it didn’t go the way we wanted," he said with a half laugh, half sigh. "That’s the nature of the business. Not every year is going to be awesome." 

Nope, he's not complex at all. You'd never guess this was a guy trying to regroup a team of college players after winning four games. 

The things is, Kingsbury hasn't lost a ton. Prior to 2014, he experienced one losing season as either a head or assistant coach—at Houston in 2010. And that's when starting quarterback Case Keenum and backup Cotton Turner were lost for the year with ACL and clavicle injuries, respectively. 

Sometimes, luck isn't on your side. The 2014 Red Raiders, though, didn't have much of anything going for them. 

But the fact remains that Kingsbury has won a lot of games as an assistant and head coach, too. He's been taught by some of the best offensive minds in the business. He didn't suddenly forget everything overnight. 

Kingsbury is who he is, and he's not about to change now. He's not any tougher on his players than he was before, but he's putting extra focus on the details in practices—areas like ball security, mental toughness and the like. When things get difficult (and they will) and players get tired (and they will), how will they respond? That's the type of atmosphere every coach strives to create in spring. 

It's preparation for the worst moments in the season. To make sure 2015 doesn't become a nightmare again, Kingsbury has to make it as close to that as possible now. 

"After you go through a tough season, you think what you could have done better, pinpoint things and make them a point of emphasis," Kingsbury said. 

"But I don’t think you try to reinvent the wheel." 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes obtained firsthand unless noted otherwise. All stats courtesy of cfbstats.com.