The 50 most important college players in Texas in 2017 — No. 15: Texas Tech's Nic Shimonek

The importance of a player is not always defined by their skill level. The most important player on a team or in a unit is not always the best player on a team. This list is designed to breakdown the 50 most important players in Texas college football for the 2017 season. It is not a ranking of the 50 best college football players in the state. Importance can be defined by position, need, skill or leadership. We’ll count down the list through the summer, all the way to No. 1. Previously:50 – Lamar DE Daniel Crosley / 49 – TCU WR KaVontae Turpin / 48 – UTEP QB Ryan Metz47 – UMHB RB Markeith Miller / 46 – Sam Houston State DE PJ Hall / 45 – Baylor WR Blake Lynch44 – Texas Tech WR Jonathan Giles (transferred) / 43 – Texas Tech RB Justin Stockton42 – PVAMU WR Joshua Simmons / 41 – Rice RB Samuel Stewart / 40 – UNT WR Jalen Guyton39 – Texas RB Chris Warren / 38 – Rice OL Trey Martin / 37 – Texas A&M Commerce QB Luis Perez36 – Baylor DL K.J. Smith / 35 – Texas State LB Gabe Loyd / 34 – Texas State WR Thurman Morbley33 – Houston DB Khalil Williams / 32 – Texas Tech LB Jordyn Brooks / 31 – SFA DL John Franklin30 – SMU DE Justin Lawler / 29 – Texas State QB Damian Williams / 28 – ACU QB Dallas Sealey27 – UTSA QB Dalton Sturm / 26 – Texas A&M RB Trayveon Williams / 25 – UTSA WR Josh Stewart24 – TCU LB Travin Howard / 23 – Texas Tech OL Travis Bruffy / 22 – Rice LB Emmanuel Ellerbee21 – UNT DT Bryce English / 20 – TCU LB Ty Summers / 19 – UTEP LB Alvin Jones18 – The Baylor QB / 17 – UTSA LB Josiah Tauaefa / 16 – Texas A&M OL Koda MartinThe History For Texas Tech to be successful, the Red Raiders need someone who can throw the ball well in Kliff Kingsbury’s faced-paced offensive attack. For the last few years, Red Raiders’ fans have been fortunate enough to have one of the best quarterbacks in school history throwing the ball around the field. But with Patrick Mahomes gone to the Kansas City Chiefs, it looks like Nic Shimonek will be the guy at the helm of the offense in the fall. Texas Tech got a glimpse of what to expect when Shimonek was thrust into the starting role against Kansas for an injured Mahomes last season. He threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns while tossing just six incompletions in the game. Shimonek, who attended Mildred High School in Corsicana, put up video game numbers in high school. He was a two-time all-state award winner and received recognition at the district level as a freshman and sophomore. In his career, Shimonek threw for 8,211 yards and 97 touchdowns before committing to play at Iowa. After realizing the offense didn’t quite fit his skillset, Shimonek packed up and transferred to Lubbock where he sat out in 2014 before serving as a backup for the last two seasons. The Skillset Shimonek (6-3, 220 lbs.) is a true gunslinger, and his talent appears to be a good fit for what Texas Tech is going to do offensively. He won’t be able to replace the electrifying ability Mahomes had — Shimonek is not as mobile and is more of a pocket passer. But in his limited action last season, he took care of the ball while making good decisions and was efficient moving down the field, which is what the Red Raiders need heading into the fall. The Impact Kingsbury was hoping that former Mansfield Lake Ridge star Jett Duffey would compete for the starting job this season, but Duffey was suspended for the spring and summer semester and won’t rejoin the team until mid-August. That leaves the door wide open for Shimonek, who has a lot of inexperience behind him at the position. Texas Tech will certainly miss Mahomes, but Kingsbury will look to Shimonek to fill the void and lead a talented offense into 2017.

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