Texas Tech Football: Analyzing the 2011 Quarterback Decision Player by Player

When you think about Texas Tech football it is difficult not to immediately envision the spread offense racking up an obscene number of yards on hapless opponents.

And really, up until last year those sentiments were well justified and factually based.

From 2003 to 2009 Texas Tech was ranked among the top three FBS schools in passing yardage. 

They were No. 1 four times, No. 2 twice and No. 3 only once.  The average passing yards per season for this seven year stint?  A mind boggling 5045.71 yards.

Even with the sudden dismissal of spread-ologist Mike Leach late in 2009 and the hiring of Tommy Tuberville for the 2010 season, the Red Raiders still managed a No. 7 ranking in passing yards last season. 

The truth of the matter is Texas Tech will remain a pass dominant team until Tuberville and OC Neal Brown can equip the offense (from a personnel standpoint) to become successful running the ball.  

With the exit of Taylor Potts from “the Jones” it is now time for Texas Tech football to crown a new starting quarterback. 

Following in the footsteps of Kingsbury, Symons, Cumbie, Hodges and the beloved Graham Harrell, another name will soon be added to the sacred list of Red Raider gunslingers.

Though some of the qualifications for the job are very obvious (smart, strong arm, somewhat mobile, good decision making skills, able to make quick pre snap reads in the fast paced NASCAR scheme, etc). the 2011 starting Texas Tech quarterback will need to possess outstanding leadership skills.

The 2011 Red Raiders will be young, and, in many areas untested.  Somebody is going to have to step up and lead this team beyond just mere survival and the offensive on-field leader is often the first place to look.

The following slideshow will take a closer look at each of the four candidates for this lofty honor. 

Seth Doege

The Facts

Junior, 22 years old

6’1”, 200 pounds

Hometown: Wolfforth Texas (Frenship HS)

A 3-star recruit in 2008 Doege ranked No. 18 nationally among pro style quarterbacks and No. 71 overall in the state of Texas.

Doege redshirted in 2008, has one career start (vs. Kansas) in 2009 and played in two games in 2010.

Career stats are 41/65 for 444 yards, two touchdowns and zero picks. 

Spring Performance

First Spring Scrimmage (February 26): went 17/26 for 246 yards, threw three touchdowns and one interception.

Second Spring Scrimmage (March 5): went 16/31 for 246 yards, threw one touchdown and two picks.

What They are Saying

Tuberville, first scrimmage: “Put him against the wind all day, wanted to see how he would react to that . . . Made good decisions . . . Hadn’t played in a long time, will play consistently. . .  Everyone is expecting a lot from him.”

After the second scrimmage Tuberville had less glowing remarks for Doege who struggled somewhat.

Really more than anything Doege was overshadowed by Jacob Karam who had a big day especially with long passes downfield (plus the fact that Doege threw two picks).

After the third scrimmage which was brief (March 10, 60 plays or so) Tuberville stated "I like where he is at mentally but physically he needs to get stronger, get the ball down field quicker, get the ball out of his hands . . . He's got a chance to be pretty good." 

Notably, after this statement Tuberville went on to immediately speak glowingly, again, about Karam.

The Bottom Line

Doege is the definitely the leader in the quarterback race, at least for now. 

He is the only guy who has any real college game experience and has waited through a redshirt season and two Potts/Sheffield campaigns (plus two knee injuries) for his shot to lead this team.

But, that said, Doege will continue to be pushed by Karam especially if he continues to perform as he did in the second scrimmage last Saturday.  

Regardless, one performance surely won’t be decisive in what is a critical decision for Tommy Tuberville and Neal Brown going into 2011.

One of the fundamental differences between the two is that Doege was recruited as a pro-style quarterback while Karam was touted as a dual-threat type player. (Also of note, Doege was termed a “street ball” player when going through the recruiting process.)

An additional difference is noticeable when hearing the two speak, where at least on the surface, Doege comes across as more soft-spoken than Karam who is quite confident with lots to say.

Again, it is critical that one of these two can step up and be a leader on a team that will desperately need one for the difficult campaign that lies ahead.

As the leader in what seems to be a two horse race, Doege has all the pressure of being the front runner and the guy everyone expects to be the next hero in Lubbock, Texas.

Jacob Karam

The Facts

Redshirt Freshman, 20 years old

6’1”, 211 pounds

Hometown: Friendswood Texas (Friendswood HS)

A 3-star recruit in 2009 Karam ranked No. 18 nationally among dual threat quarterbacks and No. 85 overall in the state of Texas.

Karam redshirted in 2009, and made one very brief appearance in 2010 vs. Weber State.

Career stats are 0/1 for zero yards. 

Spring Performance

First Spring Scrimmage (February 26): went 8/17 for 116 yards, threw two touchdowns and fumbled the ball twice.

Second Spring Scrimmage (March 5): went 12/21 for 204 yards, and threw four touchdowns.

What They are Saying

Tuberville’s comments after the first scrimmage are indicative of what has been said about Karam throughout the spring, “he needs to stay in the pocket more, tries to get out too much.”

In a post second scrimmage meeting with the press (after Karam had performed very well) Tuberville was asked if he thought Karam had made up some ground on Seth Doege to which Tubs replied:

“He made himself look better . . . We’ll see where he ends up in terms of putting pressure on Doege, but that’s the best he’s played since he’s been here. Today was his day throwing the deep ball. He was on early.”

After the third scrimmage (March 10, only 60 plays) Tuberville, unprompted and after talking about Doege said of Karam, "The guy that's made a move is Karam, he's really, really played well, gotten much better, I think his improvement has really excited us . . .  Karam's made a lot more improvement than anyone."

The Bottom Line

Solidly the number two guy in the race, Karam certainly gave everyone something to think about after a stellar second scrimmage where he was very successful getting the ball downfield.

The biggest negative feedback about Karam has been his tendency to want to get out of the pocket and make something happen (something which he has admitted to publicly). 

He has also been labeled “erratic” which, in both cases, may have more to do with his youth and lack of actual game experience than anything else.

Karam comes across like he has the confidence that, if properly harnessed, could make him a winner.  He has quick feet, is elusive, gets rid of the ball in a hurry and is a very good athlete.   

If Texas Tech needs an enthusiastic and very self assured leader Jacob Karam just might be their man, but is he really ready for the role and the pressure that goes along with it?

The good news for Jacob Karam is that he still has three additional spring practice, the Spring game on March 26^th and the fall practices to prove that he is indeed the guy for 2011.

Scotty Young

The Facts

Freshman, 19 years old

6’3”, 198 pounds

Hometown:  Denton Texas (Ryan HS)

A 4-star recruit in 2010, Young ranked No. 10 nationally among pro style quarterbacks, No. 34 overall in the state of Texas and No. 228 overall nationally.

Young redshirted in 2010.

Spring Performance

First Spring Scrimmage (February 26): went 9/11 for 63 yards and threw one interception.

Second Spring Scrimmage (March 5): went 10/16 for 137 yards and threw one interception.

What They are Saying

In regards to Young and Michael Brewer, Tuberville, after the first spring scrimmage, stated that they had, “played, not as many reps, we’ll get them as we get along.”

There was even less specific information about Young and Brewer after the second scrimmage as the discussion was focused around Doege and Karam.

The Bottom Line

Though Tuberville has said that all four candidates are competing for the quarterback job this spring, at this point Doege and Karam would seem to be in a two man race for the starting position.

Doege and Karam have thrown 95 attempts over two spring scrimmages while Young and Brewer have accounted for only 36. 

Also of note (and despite the two picks he’s thrown) Young has the highest completion percentage among the four candidates in the two spring scrimmages.

Young is oozing with talent and was one of the most highly recruited quarterbacks in the nation in 2010. 

Given the opportunity, especially as he continues to warm to the speed and feel of the game, Scotty Young has the athletic prowess to jump both Doege and Karam and win the starting job.

Working in his favor is that everyone is young and inexperienced, not just him.  Additionally, this guy could be the long term solution for Tech at quarterback. 

Michael Brewer

The Facts

True Freshman, 18 years old

6’1”, 175 pounds

Hometown:  Lake Travis Texas (Lake Travis HS)

A 3-star recruit in 2011 Brewer ranked No. 13 nationally among dual threat quarterbacks and No. 42 overall in the state of Texas.

Brewer just enrolled at Tech in January of 2011.

Spring Performance

First Spring Scrimmage (February 26): went 2/7 for 15 yards and threw one touchdown.

Second Spring Scrimmage (March 5): went 2/3 for 11 yards and threw one interception.

What They are Saying

Again, in regards to Brewer and Scotty Young, Tuberville, after the first spring scrimmage, stated that they had, “played, not as many reps, we’ll get them as we get along.”

Also a repeat, there was even less specific information about Brewer and Young after the second scrimmage as the discussion was focused around Doege and Karam.

The Bottom Line

Michael Brewer is a very talented athlete and very well may be the future of Texas Tech football. 

But, Michael Brewer is very young.  Brewer enrolled early at Tech (just this January) and instead of making plans for after the prom, he finds himself in Lubbock taking college level courses and embattled in a quarterback competition.

As wide open as this competition may seem, Brewer seems to lose the edge just based on youth and maturity.

Regardless, anything can happen, right? 

Absolutely.

Wrapping It Up

The bad news for Texas Tech is that they have four quarterbacks vying for a starting position and only one has game experience (and very little at that).

Regardless of who is anointed the starter going into the opener on September 3 against Texas State, the Red Raiders will take the field for their first offensive possession in 2011 with an inexperienced, untested leader under center.

The good news for Texas Tech is that they have four very talented, athletic and hungry quarterbacks vying for a starting position.

Regardless of who actually wins the race, that individual will continually be pushed and forced to perform by the two or three ravenous back-ups who still want their shot at the big time.

Additionally, if the starter gets injured, the Red Raiders will be pleasantly overwhelmed with high caliber replacements. 

The starter may just have to refight his replacement to get back on top (shades of Drew Bledsoe and Tom Brady immediately come to mind).

Doege may have a slight lead at this moment, but in my opinion as the spring finishes and fall approaches, this quarterback race is anyone’s to win.

As Tuberville stated after the third brief scrimmage held on March 10, "the real race for being No.1 or No. 2 will be when we start two a days." 

The only sure thing is that the 2011 quarterback decision will be filled with twists, turns and unforeseen caveats until the ball is finally snapped, for the first time, into the hands of the next starting QB for the Texas Tech Red Raiders.