NFL: Who Is Patrick Mahomes?
Patrick Mahomes has made a name for himself over the first four weeks of his second year in the NFL. But for those who follow Texas high school football (and baseball), he's been a household name for awhile. Mahomes' father was a right handed pitcher who played for the Minnesota Twins for five seasons, and later had stints with the Boston Red Sox, Chicago Cubs, and more during a 12-year MLB career. He finished with a record 42-39, and helped teach his son the game of baseball as well. Mahomes was born on September 17th, 1995, and went to Whitehouse High School in Texas. In his senior year, he threw for 4,619 yards and totaled 65 touchdowns, with 50 of them through the air. He also recorded nearly 1,000 yards on the ground.
On the diamond, Mahomes was just as impressive (if not more). He even threw a no-hitter during his final year, which helped him earn MaxPreps Male Athlete of the Year. The Detroit Tigers selected Mahomes in the 37th Round of the MLB Draft in 2014, but decided to continue his football career at Texas Tech University. During his time with the Red Raiders, he became a Big 12 legend. That began during his freshman campaign. Even though he wasn't the starting QB, Mahomes was thrown into action after Davis Webb went down with a season-ending injury. Mahomes did just fine in relief. Against Baylor, he threw for a Big 12 freshman record of 598 yards, six scores, and one interception. He would be named the starter the following year.
Mahomes surpassed 4,000 passing yards in his sophomore season and then finished with 5,052 yards during his junior campaign. His most impressive outing was against Oklahoma in which he totaled 819 yards, 734 of which came through the air, in a 66-59 loss to the Sooners. That performance, along with others, was enough for him to enter the NFL Draft. The Kansas City Chiefs took a chance with him with the No. 10 overall pick. In his second season with the team, Mahomes has blown away all expectations. He's averaging 300 yards on 65.8 percent passing, and 14 touchdowns to zero interceptions. The Chiefs sit at 4-0 after a win over the Denver Broncos, and all of a sudden, a 23-year-old looks like the NFL's next big star.
Photo Credit: Sports Illustrated.
