Over his three seasons leading one of the top offenses in college football history, Graham Harrell orchestrated countless memorable moments inside Jones AT&T Stadium. Harrell will add one more on Oct. 25 when he is formally inducted into the Texas Tech Ring of Honor.
Harrell will become the 12th member of the prestigious Ring of Honor as his name will be unveiled on the West Stadium Building to Jones AT&T Stadium at halftime between the Red Raiders and Oklahoma State. Texas Tech will also host an induction ceremony in his honor on Oct. 24 with additional details to be announced later this summer.
"We are proud to celebrate not only Graham's induction into the Ring of Honor this season but also his selection to the College Football Hall of Fame," Director of Athletics Kirby Hocutt said. "He represents the best of the best of Texas Tech Football, and we're excited to add his name to the walls of Jones AT&T Stadium to live on in history."
Over his three seasons leading Texas Tech's record-setting offense, Harrell torched opposing defenses to the tune of 15,793 passing yards from 2005-08. Harrell finished fourth in the 2008 Heisman Trophy voting, narrowly topping teammate and fellow Ring of Honor inductee Michael Crabtree, who was fifth overall after a memorable season that saw the Red Raiders finish 11-1 in the regular season and rise to No. 2 in the national polls. Texas Tech combined to win 28 games during Harrell's three seasons as the starting quarterback
Harrell was named the Sammy Baugh Trophy winner as a junior in 2007 before claiming the Johnny Unitas Award as well as AT&T All-America Player of the Year and Sporting News Co-Player of the Year honors in 2008. He was also tabbed a first team All-American by the AFCA following a 2008 season where he threw for 5,111 yards and 45 touchdowns.
Harrell previously threw for 5,705 yards through the air in 2007, which ranks third all-time in NCAA FBS history and second in school history only to fellow Red Raider signal caller B.J. Symons. To this day, Harrell remains Texas Tech's career leader for passing yards, touchdown passes (134), pass attempts (2,062), completions (1,403), passing yards per game (350.9), 300-yard games (32) and 400-yard games (20). He broke seven NCAA records during his playing career and remains in the top five of seven FBS statistical categories, including career passing yards and career touchdown passes.
A three-time All-Big 12 honoree, Harrell led Texas Tech to a share of the 2008 Big 12 South title as he still holds the conference all-time records for career completions and touchdown passes. He ranks second in Big 12 history for career passing yards, career attempts and career completion percentage (69.4). He also remains the only quarterback in Big 12 history to lead the league in passing yards in three different seasons.
In the classroom, Harrell was a model student-athlete as a three-time Academic All-Big 12 honoree and a 2008 National Football Foundation National Scholar-Athlete and NFF William V. Campbell Trophy finalist. He graduated from Texas Tech with a degree in history in 2007.
Following his time as a Red Raider, Harrell signed with Saskatchewan Roughriders of the CFL in 2009. He later signed with the NFL's Green Bay Packers, serving as a backup quarterback from 2010-12 while earning a ring for Super Bowl XLV. Following his playing career, he entered the coaching profession with stints at North Texas, Southern California, West Virginia, and Purdue. He is currently the offensive coordinator at Abilene Christian.
Harrell was previously selected this past January to the 2025 class of the NFF College Football Hall of Fame as he will be inducted Dec. 9 in Las Vegas. He will become the seventh Red Raider in program history to be inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame.
The Texas Tech Football Ring of Honor was established in 2012 with the purpose of selecting an elite group of former players and coaches that made outstanding contributions to Red Raider Football. Candidates for the Ring of Honor are chosen and screened by a selection committee. Once the committee has determined a suitable candidate(s) for induction, the group makes a formal recommendation to the Director of Athletics. The Ring of Honor is proudly displayed on the West Stadium Building at Jones AT&T Stadium so that the accomplishments of the inductees are celebrated each year.
TEXAS TECH FOOTBALL RING OF HONOR
Donny Anderson (inducted 2012)
E.J. Holub (inducted 2012)
Dave Parks (inducted 2012)
Gabe Rivera (inducted 2014)
Zach Thomas (inducted 2016)
Michael Crabtree (inducted 2021)
Elmer Tarbox (inducted 2021)
Patrick Mahomes II (inducted 2022)
Thomas Howard (inducted 2024)
Andre Tillman (inducted 2024)
Wes Welker (inducted 2024)
