Commentary: Class in session for young Tech QB

“That’s the way to throw the football – good job!”

“What are you doing? Why are you throwing it there?”

“All right! Big-time scramble there!”

“Don’t hold the ball! Come on, get rid of it!”

On a warm Saturday afternoon, Texas Tech quarterback Donovan Smith turned fans into various likenesses of Sybil, she of the multiple personality disorder. At times, Smith could make many of the 56,271 fans stand and high-five their neighbor. At other times, he could make them shake their heads and mutter some not very nice words – often on the same drive.

And no one should realistically expect anything else.

Being a major college quarterback is hard. Being a major college quarterback with just five games as a starter is harder. Being a major college quarterback with five starts playing behind a suspect offensive line is – well, you get my drift.

Call last Saturday the continuing trial-by-fire education of a young quarterback. Smith passed – and not on the curve either. He got at least a B with his last test the drive in the second overtime that ended with his 9-yard touchdown run to give the Red Raiders a tense 33-30 win over No. 25 Houston.

Can a quarterback lead a team to a win when he throws three second-half interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown? Can a quarterback win when he’s sacked five times? Can a quarterback win when the only points in the second half came on a 47-yard field goal with three seconds left?

Obviously this one can. That’s because there was a lot of good among the bad. There were flashes of promise mixed in with the hard reality of the present.

The flashes, oh they were there all right. Smith was 36 of 58 for 351 yards. He fired two accurate strikes that were turned into 43- and 54-yard first-half touchdowns. He had a fourth-quarter TD pass dropped by the normally reliable Jerand Bradley. He led Tech 46 yards in the last 37 seconds to tie the game.

At 6-foot-5 and 230 pounds, he made plays with his long legs. Take away the sacks, and he rushed for 67 yards.

The question has been asked, would the less mobile and injured starter Tyler Shough have won this game against a relentless Cougar pass rush? The answer: probably not.

In the education of a college quarterback, Smith had to overcome his own mistakes. His underthrown pass on what could have been a touchdown was intercepted.

Misreading coverage, his slant pass was picked off by Jayce Rogers and returned 54 yards to tie the game at 17-17 in the fourth quarter. An intentional grounding call can be checked off as inexperience.

But here’s a trait that could make Smith special. He has a short memory. He doesn’t dwell on mistakes or get into a funk. The next play is opportunity or redemption.

In the first overtime, Tech trailed 27-20. On its possession, Smith was sacked for a 4-yard loss, threw an incompletion, and then sacked again for a loss of 6 yards. Tech had to convert a ridiculous fourth-and-20 at the 35-yard line or the game was over.

Smith was flushed out of the pocket, rolled right, kept his eyes downfield and found Bradley at the 18. He turned upfield and picked up the first down by a yard. Two plays later, Tech scored to go to a second overtime.

“I’m a real spiritual guy,” Smith said. “The biggest thing I’ve been practicing is to ‘let go and let God.’…I just take a second to take a deep breath and say, ‘God, I’m giving this to you.’ I have to be there for the team, so just give me the strength and the will to keep to keep working and fighting.”

In the second overtime with Tech trailing, 30-27, his 9-yard run into the end zone after breaking away from pressure was a game-winner, causing fans to storm the field and Smith to earn Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors two days later.

Smith wasn’t supposed to start the Houston game. This was supposed to be Shough’s offense. By all accounts, he clearly reclaimed the quarterback spot over the spring and fall camp. But Shough reinjured his collarbone in the first quarter of the opener, a similar season-ending injury he had in week four of the 2021 season.

Smith wasn’t supposed to start the last four games last season, but Shough’s injury and Henry Columbi’s ineffectiveness had him on the field, culminating in earning Liberty Bowl Offensive MVP honors.

Before that, he played quarterback all of one year, that at Frenship High School in 2019. Prior to that, he’d been a receiver in Las Vegas, Nev.

Shough may reclaim the spot with a possible return at mid-season, but it’s doubtful. Smith has too much upside, and by then, the answers for the education of this raw quarterback may be a lot easier.

Jon Mark Beilue is a 1981 graduate of Texas Tech. He has been writing about Red Raiders sports for five decades.