Patrick Mahomes got hurt last Thursday in Texas Tech's 55-19 win over the Kansas Jayhawks. Backup Nic Shimonek came in and threw four touchdowns and put the game away in the 4th quarter.

Receiver Jonathan Giles, who caught a touchdown from Shimonek, was full of praise for the back up QB in this week's Texas Tech press conference.

Giles was most impressed with Shimonek's attitude. "When Nic came out, he was so hyped and energetic and we were all like, let's keep it going then," said Giles.

It's tough when your star player goes down. It's worse when the star player is also playing at the most important position in college football. Most teams would have a drastic step down if their Heisman candidate went down in a close game. But Shimonek sensed the opportunity to let the moment affect the team and came in with a fire that brought the team back into the moment.

According to Giles, Shimonek hit the field and simply said: "Let's keep it going." Giles said the team stood behind him because of that. Shimonek's energy and passion are genuine. The team believes in him. "That's the kind of person that Nick is," Giles reiterated.

This team will likely need Shimonek to bring that same fire and passion to the Kansas State game in Manhattan this weekend. Hopefully, there will be little to no drop-off in Klifff Kingsbury's offense with Shimonek manning the helm.

One thing I know for sure: It doesn't hurt to have receivers as talented as Giles.

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