Career stats: 69.8% completions, 15,793 passing yards, 134 passing touchdowns, 34 interceptions
If Mike Leach is the father of the “Air-Raid” offense, Harrell might as well be the son. After playing sparingly his freshman season, Graham Harrell’s numbers started to skyrocket.
Although the Red Raiders finished the season 8-5 with a bowl win over Minnesota, Harrell showed why the Texas Tech offense was must-watch television. Five games with four or more touchdowns, to go with an upset win over Texas A&M.
The following season was the record-breaking season, where Harrell was put on the national stage. 5,705 yards, including a catastrophic loss to Oklahoma State in Stillwater. A game where Harrell finished with 646 yards and five touchdowns, a Big 12 record at the time.
Harrell’s lowest yards output on the season was 336 yards and had just one game with less than two touchdowns.
Although the Texas Tech defense could not keep up whatsoever, Harrell made football in Lubbock very exciting on a national scale. The Red Raiders finished with a bowl win over Virginia. However, it was the 2008 season that was his best performance.
Tech rolled through their non-conference slate and added a 454-yard, six-touchdown performance at Kansas State. His most memorable moment was the colossal upset of Colt McCoy-led No. 1 Texas in Lubbock.
Crabtree along the sidelines with one second to go stays among numerous highlight tapes and was one of the few moments where college football was in slow motion.
Harrell earned the Sammy Baugh Trophy in 2007 as well as the 2008 Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award. He sent the Red Raiders into the stars with an unforgettable season that was capped off with a Cotton Bowl appearance.