Last spring, Whitehouse (Texas) quarterback Patrick Mahomes was a star pitcher for the Wildcats who had played safety as a sophomore.
Patrick Mahomes visiting Lubbock for Texas Tech spring game
The Whitehouse (Texas) quarterback also picked up a big offer on Tuesday.
One year later and he has offers as a quarterback from two of the top programs in the region in Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, along with an invitation to play at Rice.
It’s no small surprise -- he has athletic genes, as his father Pat spent 12 years in the major leagues as a pitcher. The younger Mahomes also stars on the hardwood for Whitehouse, in addition to being considered a baseball prospect who will be selected in the 2014 MLB Draft.
And though he will play both baseball and football in college, it increasingly appears that he may have a significant future in the game of football. As a junior in his first year as a starter, the Whitehouse star threw for more than 3,800 yards and registered an astonishing 48 touchdowns through the air in a high-flying aerial attack that included 2013 Texas Tech signee Dylan Cantrell.
It seems as if the Red Raiders are in strong shape to eventually land Mahomes, too. The Whitehouse connection is there with Cantrell set to head to Lubbock this summer and Mahomes turning down an invitation to attend the Oklahoma State spring game and opting to head to Tech instead:
Got three spring game invites this Saturday! #lsu #texastech #okstate but gonna have to go to Texas tech #wreckem #gunsup #🔫🔫
— Patrick Mahomes (@PatrickMahomes5) April 16, 2013
When Mahomes showed up to the Dallas Elite 11 camp a week and a half ago, he was wearing a Texas Tech T-shirt.
In fact, SB Nation Texas Tech blogger Seth C believes that Red Raider head coach Kliff Kingsbury wasn’t overly distraught when star dual-threat prospect DJ Gillins decommitted from Texas Tech several weeks ago, precisely because of Mahomes:
@sbn_wescott Word is that Kingsbury didn't have a huge problem with Gillins de-committing as he is pretty focused on Mahomes.
— Viva The Matadors (@vivathematador) April 16, 2013
With Oklahoma State now in the picture after extending their offer on Tuesday, if the question ends up being which offense suits his talents better, it may be a toss up, at least according to Inside Texas recruiting analyst Eric Nahlin:
Patrick Mahomes, not sure where he fits better, Tech or Ok. St. Both fit like a glove from my vantage.
— EricInsideTexas (@EricNahlin) April 16, 2013
The Cowboys have traditionally featured running quarterbacks like Zac Robinson at times, an area in which Mahomes could be effective in college after running for six touchdowns as a junior. On the other hand, Kliff Kingsbury effectively used Johnny Manziel in his Airraid offense last year, though many of Manziel's rushing yards came on scrambles.
A consensus three-star prospect with the natural ability to suggest Mahomes has four-star upside, Texas Tech may be the favorite behind the scenes, a theory supported by 247Sports recruiting analyst Brian Perroni, who predicted in early April that the Red Raiders will land the three-sport athlete.
With Mahomes opting to visit Lubbock again instead of making his way out to Stillwater, that prediction certainly looks as good now as it did just over 10 days ago.
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