Texas Tech Football: 5 Fixes Matt Wells’ must make in first season

2. Keeping Alan Bowman healthy 

Alan Bowman suffered some scary injuries in 2018, most notably a collapsed lung that caused him complications the rest of the way. When Bowman was healthy, the Red Raiders were clearly a different team.

He played from start-to-finish in only five games, but Texas Tech went 4-1 in those contests. He was brilliant in his first road start in Stillwater, lifting the Red Raiders to a 41-17 thumping of Oklahoma State. He was near-perfect in a shootout win over a good Houston team, and things may have turned out different in losses to West Virginia and Oklahoma if he wasn’t knocked out with an injury.

Tech lost by eight at home against West Virginia, and a back-breaking pick-six by Jett Duffey turned out to be the difference in the game. Against Oklahoma, Bowman lit up the Sooners and helped Tech bust out to an early two-touchdown lead.

He was knocked from the game, and while Duffey came in and scored three touchdowns, he completed just over 50% of his passes while doing so. Up until that point, Bowman had completed 80% of his throws.

Keeping Bowman healthy will be a huge part of 2019. Bowman could be one of the Big 12’s best quarterbacks next season, and if he takes a leap from his freshman to sophomore seasons in Lubbock, then Tech could be in for a big improvement in Matt Wells’ first season at the helm.

If Bowman struggles with injuries again, Wells might have to turn back to Duffey, who while supremely talented, has shown no ability to take care of the football when he has gotten extended playing time.