On Saturday, the Twelfth Man will be treated to two teams that have been and will be faced with a difficult decision. Even if the two schools couldn’t be more different in personality and academia, they stand together at a crossroads with each team needing this win.
Tommy Tuberville’s first decision in Lubbock had to do with the quarterback — did he dare go against the grain early on and take senior Taylor Potts, who had thrown 13 interceptions the year before? Or did he go with recent Raider darling Steven Sheffield, who had thrown 14 touchdowns and looked to have won over the Tech fans?
In the end, Tuberville went the less popular route and chose Potts, who has done nothing but stand tied for fourth in touchdown passes in the nation and fifth in passing yards.
Now, Head Coach Mike Sherman is faced with that same decision — does he go with senior Jerrod Johnson, who has grown with and become the face of the program, or make junior Ryan Tannehill the permanent signal caller?
As enamored as we all were with Tannehill’s transcendence in Lawrence, a slight look back needs to be in order. On Tannehill’s second touchdown to Fuller, the ball is underthrown by an abhorrent amount forcing Fuller to turn around, backpedal, stop, make the catch and then go on his merry way.
That said, the offense is given a new flexibility under Tannehill. With Johnson, the offense lives and dies by the shotgun, particularly in the running game. In the Kansas matchup, the Tannehill offense took more snaps under center and ran the ball better.
“When you have to focus in on two [quarterbacks] rather than one, it gives you problems defensively practicing during the week,” Tuberville said. “They run a little bit more offensively with [Tannehill]… it changes your defensive mentality.”
Texas Tech is 119th in pass defense. Last week, Tannehill completed 75 percent of his passes and in pass defense. As the old adage says, “Numbers don’t lie.”
Platoons may be cute and throw off teams for a week, but soon enough your own offense falls into an identity crisis.
Johnson has done a lot for this program, but at the end of the day Sherman needs to make the decision that is best for offensive flexibility.
Tannehill’s a more polished quarterback and is more used to playing under center. That helps the running game, and when you have two top-talent running backs, you want to utilize that talent in any way possible.
Against Kansas, Cyrus Gray went off for 117 yards at 9 yards per carry. Any coincidence that the run game wakes up with the offense abandoning the gun?
Sherman said after the Kansas game he’s already made a decision on who to start for Saturday’s matchup. On Monday, he backtracked, saying “There’s really no need to [name a starting QB] at this point.”
When it mattered, Tuberville decided to name his starting quarterback, right or wrong. For the sake of A&M football, let’s hope Sherman has made a decision and sticks with it.