Patrick Mahomes has declared for the NFL draft, what's next at QB?

Texas Tech's junior signal caller, Patrick Mahomes, announced his intentions Tuesday morning to leave Tech early and enter into the 2017 NFL draft. Mahomes, who started 29 career games at Tech, will leave a lasting legacy of miraculous, jaw-dropping, "did he just do that?" deep throws, an uncanny ability to create a big play, gaudy stats, and an unparalleled amount of toughness and grit.

With Mahomes now officially announcing his decision, let's take a quick look at his career in the scarlet and black, and what's next at quarterback for Texas Tech.

Mahomes entered college as a member of the 2014 signing class. The lightly recruited three-star QB had only two years of QB experience when he came to Texas Tech and split time in high school (and in his first few years of college) between multiple sports. While Mahomes possessed a lot of uncoachable attributes -- a cannon for an arm being chief among them -- he still needed to be developed into a true Division 1 quarterback.

Looking back at his 32 career games suiting up for the scarlet and black, it is probably safe to say that Mahomes and Kingsbury not only accomplished that goal, but exceeded expectations by making Mahomes one of the most exciting signal callers to watch over the past two seasons. Mahomes even showed glimpses of his potential as a true freshman, as well.

Mahomes not only developed into a playmaking-god at the college level, he developed the skills and tools necessary to be a certifiable NFL prospect, as well. Mahomes will presumably become the first Tech QB to be drafted since B.J Symons was drafted in the 7th round of the 2004 NFL draft. And could be the highest Tech QB taken in a draft since Billy Joe Tolliver was taken in the 2nd round in 1989.

Mahomes leaves Lubbock with 11,252 pass yards, 93 passing touchdowns, and a career 63.5 percent completion percentage. He also finishes his career with 843 rushing yards and 22 rushing touchdowns. He posted back-to-back 5,000-yards of total offense seasons and saved his best performance for last as he recorded 5,052 passing yards while also accounting for 53 total touchdowns (41 pass, 12 rush) and only 10 interceptions during his 2016 campaign.

This season, Mahomes led the NCAA in total offense, passing yards, total touchdowns, and points responsible for. He won the Sammy Baugh Trophy for his efforts.

Mahomes' name litters the Texas Tech record books as the QB ranks third all-time in passing yards, passing touchdowns, and career total offense. His career total touchdown mark of 115 puts him second all-time in that category. Mahomes owns two of the top-four total offense marks in school history, owns two of the top-eight passing touchdown and passing yard marks, and owns four of the top-nine highest passing yard games in school history.

Mahomes is also a record-setting NCAA QB as well as he tied the record this year for passing yards in a game (734 yards) against Oklahoma and set the record for total offense (819 yards) in that same game.

Texas Tech has a small, but capable, crop of quarterbacks on the roster. Many of Tech's quarterbacks have all the tools to be successful, but are very green in the experience factor. One thing is for certain, if any of these QBs are to be successful in 2017, the offensive line needs to step up their game and Tech's ground game needs to be an aspect that can be relied on. However, Tech returns a large majority of players from their NCAA-leading offense and returns 18 starters overall for next season.

While Mahomes set the bar sky high in regards to stats and other worldly play-making ability, he finished up his final two seasons with a 12-13 record and only won 13 total games at Tech. The bar was set for stats, but the QBs below are going for wins.

THE CANDIDATES:

Shimonek, who transferred to Tech from Iowa in the summer of the 2014 season, is considered the front-runner to take the job following Mahomes' departure. The 6-foot-4 quarterback saw some live game-action this season, going 38-58 for 464 yards and six touchdowns (with one INT) in three games. The highlight of Shimonek's season being a spectacular 271-yard and four touchdown performance against Kansas when Mahomes went down with an injury during the middle of the game.

Shimonek and Mahomes definitely have the same gunslinger mentality. Shimonek has been lauded by multiple players for his toughness and leadership ability. He is not as mobile as Mahomes, so improved line play if Shimonek gets the nod will be crucial. He has shown the ability to make quick decisions and ended fall camp last year with the highest completion percentage, according to Kingsbury.

He has been in the system for three years, now, but has only seen live game-action in four games over two seasons.

The redshirt freshman quarterback has the play-making ability in the mold of Mahomes, as he was a major threat through the air and on the ground during his final high school season. He accounted for 4,444 total yards and 48 total touchdowns in high school and earned Mr. Texas Football honors following his final season in 2015.

Duffey, who was an early enrollee out of high school, has been under Kingsbury's tutelage for almost a whole year and Kingsbury has made mention of his positive progress on multiple occasions. He has the wheels to not only move around in the pocket but can take off for chunks of yards if necessary. He has a smaller frame than Mahomes (6-foot-3, 230 compared to 6-foot-1, 200) but is much quicker.

Duffey would have to show that he is ready for the bright lights of CFB to over take a senior Shimonek.

Carter was offered in late November and signed with the Red Raiders in December as a December graduate. Carter will be here in the spring. While it may seem that Carter was brought in to make up for the loss of Mahomes via depth, make no mistake that Carter expects to come in and compete for the job immediately. Carter has three years of eligibility -- with no redshirt available -- so expect him to make the most of his opportunities day one.

Carter attracted Kingsbury out of high school as they offered him a preferred walk-on spot in 2015. Carter when the JUCO route to prove himself, and prove himself he did, as he was the most prolific passer at the JUCO level this season and took home multiple All-American and MVP honors. He is a bigger-framed QB but is very mobile.

Like Duffey, the left-handed QB will need to show that he is ready for the jump from JUCO football to Big 12 football. He will have all spring to compete with Shimonek to prove his worth.

The best thing for Martin to do right now is to take a redshirt, but just like Carter, Martin absolutely expects to come in and compete. Martin is an early enrollee and will be here in the spring. The athletic dual-threat QB had a high school career very similar to Duffey as he was a legitimate threat running and throwing, even clocking in a laser-timed 4.4 40 this year. He also knows how to win as his Steele squad has won 29 games in two seasons and came 8-points short of a State Championship this season.

Martin needs some time to work on his mechanics and add some weight, but he is an electric playmaker. While he probably won't factor into the equation this season, he could be a threat to guys like Duffey and Carter down the road, once he figures out the nuances of the position.