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From Whitehouse, Texas to Lubbock
Mahomes grew up in Tyler and Whitehouse, Texas — his father Pat Mahomes Sr. pitched 11 seasons in MLB for the Twins, Red Sox, Mets, Rangers, Cubs, and Pirates. Pat Jr. was a three-sport star at Whitehouse High School, throwing for over 4,600 yards as a senior quarterback while also being drafted by the Detroit Tigers in the 37th round of the 2014 MLB Draft. He chose Texas Tech.
His true freshman year (2014) he served as the Red Raiders’ backup quarterback. By his sophomore season he was the full-time starter under Kingsbury — a former Texas Tech QB himself who had developed Davis Webb and Baker Mayfield in the same system.
The 734-yard game and the Air Raid statistics
Mahomes’ junior year (2016) was his college peak. He threw for 5,052 yards and 41 touchdowns, ran for 12 more, and famously had a 734-yard passing game against Oklahoma on October 22, 2016 — an FBS single-game record at the time. Texas Tech lost that game 66-59, but the tape sold the NFL on Mahomes’ arm.
He also pitched for the Texas Tech baseball team in 2014 and 2015, appearing in 10 games (5.06 ERA). He gave up baseball after his sophomore year to focus on the NFL track. He left Texas Tech holding 17 school records and the FBS record for completions in a season (388).
The 2017 NFL Draft trade-up
Kansas City held the 27th overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft. GM John Dorsey traded up to #10 with the Buffalo Bills, sending Buffalo the 27th pick, the Chiefs’ 91st pick (third round), and a 2018 first-rounder for Buffalo’s #10. Three QBs went in the first round that year: Mitchell Trubisky (#2 to Chicago), Mahomes (#10 to KC), and Deshaun Watson (#12 to Houston).
Mahomes sat behind Alex Smith his rookie year and started Week 17 only after KC had clinched. By 2018 he was the starter and won the NFL MVP — only the third player ever to win MVP in his first full season as a starter, after Jim Brown and Kurt Warner.
More in Where Did They Go to College?
Joe Montana College: Notre Dame and the Cotton Bowl Kareem Abdul-Jabbar College: UCLA's Three NCAA Titles Magic Johnson College: Michigan State and the 1979 NCAA Title Tom Brady College: Michigan, 7th on Depth ChartBackground facts cross-referenced with the Wikipedia article on Patrick Mahomes and Pro-Football-Reference / Basketball-Reference public records. Lead image via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 2.0).