Texas Tech’s open week gives the Red Raiders a chance to reset, and it also gives fans a little too much time to stew over Will Hammond.
The first-time starter has not exactly quieted the noise. Through five games, Hammond has thrown for 1,102 yards and five touchdowns, with five interceptions mixed in.
He’s averaging 220.4 passing yards per game, a number that feels underwhelming to a fan base used to gaudier quarterback production in the modern era of the program. That has already pushed some people toward a familiar offseason question: should Tech start looking for someone else?
There’s even a contingent that wants backup Tommy Castellanos to get the nod if the senior’s eligibility is restored by the court system.
But that impatience ignores a couple of important realities. Hammond is only at the beginning of his run as a starter, and he spent most of the offseason recovering from a torn ligament in his knee.
That cost him spring work and summer reps, the kind of developmental time that matters a lot for a quarterback learning on the fly. Expecting him to walk in and look like Patrick Mahomes II from day one was never realistic.
The better way to view Hammond is as a quarterback still sorting himself out, not one who should already be labeled a lost cause. He has made mistakes, especially with the football, but there are also signs he has the tools to settle in and become a dependable starter.
That case gets even more interesting when you line up Hammond’s early numbers with Graham Harrell’s first season as Texas Tech’s starter in 2006. Harrell remains the most accomplished quarterback in program history at the collegiate level, and his debut year as the guy was not spotless either.
Harrell’s raw numbers in 2006 were massive - 350.4 passing yards per game, 35 touchdowns and 11 interceptions - but the context matters. That was a different era, when Mike Leach’s Air Raid was still blowing up defenses across college football. Harrell also had a much deeper supporting cast around him, throwing to Joel Filani, Robert Johnson, Danny Amendola and Jarrett Hicks, with Louis Vasquez and Manny Ramirez anchoring the guards on an elite offensive line.
Even then, Harrell had some rough nights. In a 38-21 home loss to Missouri, he threw pick-sixes on back-to-back first-half possessions as Tech fell behind 24-0. He was booed at home and was also seen giving fans behind the Tech bench the double bird.
A week later at Colorado, which entered that game 0-6, Harrell was intercepted three times in a 30-6 loss and managed only one touchdown pass. He finished with 236 passing yards, a disappointing total by Mike Leach standards.
After that stretch, though, he steadied himself. Over the final six games, he helped Tech go 4-2 and avoided any more games with multiple interceptions. That uneven start eventually became the launch point for the best career any Texas Tech quarterback has had.
No one is saying Hammond is about to follow the exact same path. But the comparison does serve a purpose: first-year starters often need time, and the ceiling can look different once the early growing pains fade.
On the advanced numbers, Hammond has actually held up pretty well. He’s completing 68.3% of his passes, which is better than Harrell’s 66.8% in 2006.
His average yards per completion sits at 7.8, a tick above Harrell’s 7.4. He’s also averaging 11.4 yards gained per completion, compared with Harrell’s 11.1.
Hammond’s passing efficiency rating is 138.1, not far from Harrell’s 145.5 in his first season as a starter.
Those numbers matter because they strip away some of the noise around scheme and play calling. They don’t solve everything, but they do show that Hammond is not lagging as far behind the standard-setting comparison as some fans might think.
That leads to another part of the conversation around this season: offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich. Plenty of Red Raiders believe he has not done a good job, and that perception matters when evaluating Hammond’s start. Harrell, after all, had Leach and co-offensive coordinators Sonny Dykes and Dana Holgorsen guiding him in 2006, and both of those men would go on to become Big 12 head coaches.
If Leftwich isn’t the answer, then it’s fair to wonder how much the coaching environment is affecting Hammond’s development.
The pressure is also different now. Texas Tech fans are less patient because the expectations are higher, and nothing short of a Big 12 title will satisfy plenty of people around the program.
Still, that doesn’t mean Hammond should be written off. Harrell was allowed to work through the bumps and become a star. Hammond deserves the same chance to grow into the job.
In Other News...
Texas Tech Freshman Edge Is Turning Into A Defensive Bright Spot
LaDamion Guyton arrived at Texas Tech a little behind the curve, but the 17-year-old freshman edge rusher has moved quickly to the front of the line anyway. He has already carved out a spot in the two-deep rotation and given the Red Raiders a genuine early-season boost, collecting seven tackles, two sacks and a fumble recovery while adjusting to the speed and physicality of the college game.
For a defense always looking for emerging pressure off the edge, Guytons early impact has been hard to ignore. ESPN has already placed him No. 21 on its list of the top 25 true freshmen in college football for 2026, and his readiness has only added to the sense that Texas Tech may have found a piece with real long-term upside. The bigger question now is how far that growth can go once he gets even more time to settle in. [Read more 🡒]