Former Texas Tech QB Davis Webb explores his options
Long before Russell Wilson won the Super Bowl with the Seattle Seahawks, the super-athletic quarterback became the poster boy for college graduate transfers. After graduating from North Carolina State, Wilson transferred to Wisconsin and played immediately for the Badgers, leading them to the Rose Bowl while setting the stat sheet on fire. Wilson’s success has made graduate transfer quarterbacks a hot commodity in college football and inspired other quarterbacks with eligibility remaining to follow in his footsteps.
Davis Webb, the former starting quarterback at Texas Tech, is the latest graduate transfer quarterback to test the waters. Webb, who briefly committed to Colorado in January, will now explore all of his options before making a decision
Davis Webb’s up-and-down career at Texas Tech
During the 2013 Holiday Bowl, Webb seemed to be the quarterback of the future for the Red Raiders after throwing for 403 yards and four touchdowns in a 37-23 victory over Arizona State. In 2014, he picked up where he left off, passing for 2,539 and 24 touchdowns in the first eight games before a shoulder injury ended his season. Unfortunately for Webb, freshman Patrick Mahomes took over at the position and never let go of the starting job.
After sitting behind Mahomes as the backup in 2015 and getting his degree, Webb now has the opportunity to transfer to another school without having to sit out a year. So, after throwing for 5,557 years and 46 touchdowns during his tenure in Lubbock, he is essentially a college football free agent.
Air raid or option?
Webb is strongly considering Auburn and California and he has visited both programs. At Cal, he would be in line to replace recent No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff and the Golden Bears’ spread offense seemingly fits his strengths as a passer. On the other hand, Auburn, which runs an option attack, is less of an obvious destination.
Auburn’s interest in Webb may be due to their dearth of talent at the position. Currently, the Tigers depth chart features senior Jeremy Johnson and sophomore Sean White, who both disappointed last season, as well as junior college transfer Devin Adams.
Even though Auburn and Cal run different offensives, both programs are in dire need of an upgrade at the quarterback position.
In addition to being the most difficult position to play, quarterback is also the most challenging to recruit. The graduate transfer quarterback offers teams a short term solution at the position. In some cases, a player like Webb can be a bridge to a younger quarterback or be the missing piece in a championship equation, like Russell Wilson was for Wisconsin.