Who should be next Ring of Honor Inductee?

ARLINGTON, TX – NOVEMBER 25: Patrick Mahomes II #5 of the Texas Tech Red Raiders warming up before the game against the Baylor Bears on November 25, 2016 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. Texas Tech defeated Baylor 54-35. (Photo by John Weast/Getty Images)

Since the inception of the Texas Tech Football Ring of Honor at Jones Stadium in 2012, the program has honored seven all-time greats, Donny Anderson, Dave Parks, E.J. Holub, Gabe Rivera, Zach Thomas, Michael Crabtree, and Elmer Tarbox.  What’s more, the program announced this past weekend that Patrick Mahomes II will be the eighth Red Raider to have his name immortalized on the west side of The Jones.

It is the most recent inductee that is causing a bit of debate among some Red Raider fans, though.  Some believe that Mahomes, despite being the most beloved and famous Texas Tech alum, perhaps ever, did not have a college career worthy of a Ring of Honor spot.

To be clear, Tech has put forth no specific criteria for induction.  While some programs require their Ring of Honor members to first be College Football Hall of Fame inductees or All-Americans, for instance, Tech’s criteria are apparently more subjective.

That’s why Mahomes’ inclusion is worth examining.  On the one hand, his college stats are certainly impressive.  In just 29 career games as a Red Raider, he passed for 11,252 yards and recorded 12,097 yards of total offense while tossing 93 TDs.  He ranks third in program history in all three categories behind Graham Harrell and Kliff Kingsbury.

What’s more, he’s gone on to have the most decorated NFL career of any Texas Tech football alum in history.  He won the 2018 NFL MVP award and hoisted the Super Bowl LI MVP trophy.

It’s that professional success that Texas Tech Athletic Director Kirby Hocutt pointed to when talking about Mahomes’ inclusion into the Ring of Honor.

“When you look at the face of the NFL, that is Patrick Mahomes,” Hocutt said. “Patrick’s accomplishments at Texas Tech are well documented with his success as one of the top quarterbacks in college football history. Patrick is an NFL MVP and a Super Bowl champion, but he’s, most importantly, a Red Raider who remains an avid supporter of our great university. We are excited to welcome home Patrick and his family later this fall to see his name formally honored inside Jones AT&T Stadium.”

On the other hand, Mahomes’ college career lacks such prestige.  In fact, some argue that Mahomes did not do enough during his Red Raider career to be included in the Ring of Honor.

His teams went just 13-15 in games that he started.  What’s more, he took Tech to only one bowl game, which the Red Raiders lost.

However, there is no denying that Tech’s struggles during those three seasons (2014-16) were due to factors beyond Mahomes’ control.  Most notably, Tech had arguably the worst defense in the nation in both 2015 and 2016 resulting in four losses in those two seasons in which Mahomes and the offense put up 50 or more points.

In the end, it is hard to argue against putting the face of the NFL into the Ring of Honor, especially given what he continues to mean to Texas Tech football as an ambassador of the program.  What’s more, there’s no doubt that ingratiating yourself to the best player on the planet, one who is perhaps on his way towards being a billionaire before his career is over, is a wise move.

Now, that leaves the question of who should be next to join the Texas Tech football Ring of Honor.  So let’s look at four logical candidates to be the ninth inductee at Jones Stadium.