The quarterback seems like a full position group and my guess is that there are programs around the country don’t have enough quarterbacks in the room. Texas Tech is blessed to have a good group. Without question, Behren Morton is QB1, Hammond is QB2 and received a ton of snaps this spring to further along his progression. For me, Hammond struggled a bit in the bowl game against Arkansas and demonstrated that he’s the next guy up, but he’s also maybe not quite ready. Understandable in my opinion, this position takes time to master.
Mitch Griffis arrived to be an emergency backup and most programs don’t have that luxury. Lloyd Jones III is on campus as a true freshman and working through an injury suffered in high school. Holden Phillips is the local kid who put up huge stats at Frenship and is walking on the program. This is a terrific mix of quarterbacks.
Running back is in a similarly terrific position. You worry a bit about depth, 5 viable running backs on the roster seems like a lot, but you never trust the injury bug if it hits. Cam’Ron Valdez was a guy that I thought might transfer in search of playing time and I don’t know if that could still happen, but I’d be happy for him to seek playing time. He’s struggled through injuries and I’ve always said that players want to play and we should cheer for them on that.
I’ve mentioned before that I don’t know who starts between Cameron Dickey, J’Koby Williams or Quinten Joyner. None of them have a ton of experience, Joyner has 60 carries from his time at USC, so it’s not as if he has a ton. Williams and Dickey each had 41 so they are all equal in terms of experience I think. With Texas Tech, Tahj Brooks was the workhorse, 286 carries and 1,505 yards last year with 17 touchdowns. Those are huge shoes to fill.
The biggest questions for me heading into the season. Obviously the health of Morton. His shoulder has been buggy for two seasons and I hope he’s fully healthy. With the arrival of Griffis you wonder if the staff thinks that Hammond is fully ready to steer the ship. Overall, I think the health of the room is really good and I have a feeling that Mack Leftwhich will make the offense easily accessible for the quarterbacks.
The running backs lose a legend in Brooks and you wonder who will carry the load. I’d be fine if the carries were split 3 ways as I think they all add something a bit different. But without a bell cow, is that possibly problematic. I think the natural assumption is that Joyner arrives to take the main spot, but I think the staff really loves Williams and Dickey as well, Joyner just adds a bit of electricity like Williams, but at a bigger size.
