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Big 12 Football: 50 best players of all-time

By Randy Gurzi

COLUMBIA, MO - OCTOBER 1: Vince Young #10 of the Texas Longhorns in action against the Missouri Tigers at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field on October 1, 2005 in Columbia, Missouri. Texas defeated Missouri 51-20. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
COLUMBIA, MO - OCTOBER 1: Vince Young #10 of the Texas Longhorns in action against the Missouri Tigers at Memorial Stadium/Faurot Field on October 1, 2005 in Columbia, Missouri. Texas defeated Missouri 51-20. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
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Patrick Mahomes II, Texas Tech Red Raiders
Patrick Mahomes II #5 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images) /

874. . RB. Red Raiders . Patrick Mahomes. 8. player

Big 12 Football best players of all-time: 8. Patrick Mahomes, QB, Texas Tech football

The man who changed the game, Patrick Mahomes. Right now, this ketchup-loving quarterback is the talk of the sports world after winning an NFL MVP and a Super Bowl ring within his first three seasons. He also landed one of the biggest contracts in NFL history, signing a 10-year deal worth more than $500 million with the Kansas City Chiefs.

Mahomes made the air-raid offense cool in the NFL again but before that, he was the kid putting up video game numbers for Kliff Kingsbury and the Texas Tech Red Raiders. As a freshman, Mahomes was behind Davis Webb but was able to get into the lineup by the season’s end.

He finished his first season with 1,547 yards and 16 touchdowns with only four picks, but this was just an appetizer. Mahomes then went for 4,653 yards with a 36-to-15 touchdown-to-interception ratio before having his best season for Texas Tech.

His junior campaign of 2016 saw him complete 65.7 percent of his passes for 5,052 yards with 41 touchdowns and only 10 picks. He led the FBS in yardage that season and then decided to forgo his final season of eligibility to enter the 2017 NFL Draft.

There were still concerns about how he would translate to the NFL but the Chiefs took a flier on him at No. 10 overall and have never looked back.

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