Doug Haller

azcentral sports

In all his years in football, Arizona State coach Todd Graham has faced the "Air Raid" offense several times.

The best he's seen operating it: Former Houston quarterback Case Keenum. In Conference USA, Keenum tortured Graham's Tulsa defenses, once accounting for seven touchdowns in a 70-30 win.

That's why Graham makes it clear: When he says Texas Tech's Patrick Mahomes II is in Keenum's "ballpark," it is high praise, a challenge the Sun Devils must conquer to win Saturday's clash at Sun Devil Stadium.

"The best guy in the world is who you’re playing next,'' Graham said, taking a jab at traditional coach-speak, "but this guy, Mahomes is a special quarterback."

No one knows this better than Matt Williamson. As defensive coordinator at Stephen F. Austin, Williamson spent the entire summer preparing for Mahomes. Result: The junior quarterback last Saturday threw for 483 yards, accounting for six touchdowns in a 69-17 Texas Tech win.

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Not surprisingly, a well-known NFL scout already has pegged Mahomes – 6-foot-3, 230 pounds – as a dark horse Heisman Trophy candidate. Asked if the quarterback is worthy of such lofty hype, Williamson on Tuesday didn't hesitate.

"Absolutely," he said.

Here's why:

To prepare for last Saturday's opener, Williamson watched eight Texas Tech games from last season. He quickly realized the obvious: Mahomes is elusive. Sacking him in the pocket is a rarity. In fact, of the games Williamson watched, Mahomes was sacked only three times. He estimated that 75 percent of Mahomes' passes (aside from the bubble screens) came from outside the pocket, so Stephen F. Austin's game plan against Texas Tech was fairly simple:

Keep the quarterback contained, force him up in the pocket instead of to the outside.

Something the defensive coordinator didn't account for: Mahomes' "surrounding awareness," a quality most coaches say cannot be taught. Mahomes doesn't have to see pressure, he feels it. At the same time, he knows where his receivers are at all times, a quality Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury showed in a tweet during spring practice. The first play shows Mahomes throwing a no-look pass right after the snap. The second shows him doing it on the run.

That's why Williamson feels the need to explain what he means when he says Mahomes is "elusive." It can be shown in numbers. Last year, Mahomes became just one of five quarterbacks in FBS history to pass for 4,000 yards and 30 touchdowns, while rushing for at least 450 yards and 10 touchdowns.

But there's more to it.

"When I say elusive, it’s not like he’s some unbelievable athlete that just makes people miss,'' Williamson said. "He’s just very aware of the people around him and the pressure he’s facing and how to step up and how to pump fake to basically make people miss."

Aside from Mahomes' talent, this shows a Texas Tech weakness: The offensive line. The Red Raiders lost three starters from last year's front, which helped produce the nation's No. 2 passing offense (behind Washington State, another Air Raid team). Against Stephen F. Austin, Texas Tech started redshirt freshmen at both tackle positions, and at times, it showed.

This could help ASU, known for its attacking ways. Or it could hurt. While Mahomes is buying time, extending plays, ASU's defensive backs will have to stick with their receivers longer, which could be a problem for a secondary that is trying to build confidence after an awful 2015 season.

"You watch their receivers on film, they run their routes and probably 60 percent of the time, most of their routes are done, and once they see him scramble, they take off and run vertical and different routes,'' Williamson said. "They’re just used to him doing that."

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Williamson knows what you're thinking. "Yeah, but that was Stephen F. Austin. A bigger school has better athletes, better defensive backs." That's why he quickly adds: "When we watched all the other teams in their league, they had the exact same issues we did."

Finally, there's Mahomes' arm. He is the son of Pat Mahomes, a right-hander who pitched parts of 11 seasons in the major leagues. The younger Mahomes played baseball at Texas Tech until January, when he decided to give it up and focus on football.

On the football field, he's put the arm to good use. Graham said Mahomes "just flicks it, and it can go 40 yards." And that's if he's off-balance.

"He doesn’t have to be set to throw,'' Williamson, the Stephen F. Austin defensive coordinator, said. "We had a guy who was in his face mask and we were leaning on him and he’s on his back foot and he threw a 65-yard fade route to the field (side) with no problem at all. It was unbelievable."

And no doubt, a problem the Sun Devils will have to solve quickly.

Contact Doug Haller at 602-444-4949 or at doug.haller@arizonarepublic.com. Follow him on Twitter. Download and subscribe to the ASU Pick Six Podcast, available on iTunes, Google Play and Stitcher.