“He’s the best” — Former Texas Tech star Patrick Mahomes once received a special gift from his college teammate
Coming out of Whitehouse High School, three-time Super Bowl champ Patrick Mahomes decided to commit to Texas Tech for his collegiate career. The Kansas City Chiefs quarterback initially played both baseball and football for the program but decided to focus on the latter ahead of the 2016 season.
During his career with the Red Raiders, Mahomes was friends with QB Nic Shimonek. Shimonek was Mahomes' backup after his transfer from Iowa. In 2019, Bleacher Report released a video where Shimonek gave a special gift to his college friend.
In the video, we see Nic Shimonek get together with Dominic Ciambrone, also known as "The Shoe Surgeon," to give Patrick Mahomes a customized sneaker. Since Mahomes is a sneakerhead, they decided to customize a Yeazy 700, which also included the QB's logo on the tongue of the shoe.
In the end, we see the Chiefs QB in awe of Shimonek's gift. Mahomes showed his appreciation for the customization and stated that he was elated to receive a one-of-a-kind shoe from the Shoe Surgeon himself.
Mahomes spent three seasons with the Texas Tech Red Raiders. He served as the backup to Davis Webb during his freshman campaign and recorded 1,547 passing yards and 16 touchdown passes in seven games. He was then named as the QB1 of the team for the 2016 campaign.
That season, Patrick Mahomes led Texas Tech to a 7-6 overall campaign. He tallied a total of 4,653 passing yards with 36 TDs and 15 interceptions. In his final campaign during the 2016 season, he recorded 5,052 passing yards and 41 TD passes. He was then drafted by the Chiefs as the 10th overall pick in the 2017 NFL draft.
Patrick Mahomes once opened up about Kliff Kingsbury's influence in helping him break the 'system quarterback' stereotype
During his collegiate career, Mahomes was referred to by many as a "system QB" who would have a great NFL career. However, that did not hold true, as he has helped develop a winning culture in the Chiefs.
On the "Dan Patrick Show" in 2017, Mahomes talked about how Kliff Kingsbury helped him break the stereotype. He talked about how he was given full control of the offense and had the option to change plays as he pleased to help the Red Raiders to victory.
"Hey, they don't understand that I'm changing plays. I'm signing on all the plays, like we're looking at a sign. I'm in total control of that offense, and I feel like, with the throws, I could change any play at any time. Coach Kingsbury let me do that, so I feel like he prepared me well to have that freedom in the NFL." (2:00 onwards)
Mahomes led the Chiefs to its third title in Super Bowl LVIII. So far this season, they remain undefeated with a three-game winning streak. It will be interesting to see if Mahomes and his team will three-peat the Super Bowl championship this season.