Already Impressed With Patrick Mahomes’ No-Look Pass, Clark Hunt Reveals the Moment He Knew Chiefs QB Was “Pretty Special”

Clark Hunt‘s Kansas City Chiefs has emerged as one of the top teams in the NFL in the past few years. The CEO’s team has won eight back-to-back AFC West championships and lifted the Lombardi Trophy thrice in the past five years. One of the pivotal factors in the Chiefs’ rise to the top has been their quarterback, Patrick Mahomes.

The 10th overall pick of the 2017 Draft proved to be the secret ingredient that was missing in the Chiefs. In his seven-season-long career, Mahomes has amassed 28,42 passing yards, 219 passing touchdowns, and 63 interceptions. Hunt recently spoke about the time he realized that their rookie quarterback has the potential to “change the franchise.”

Clark Hunt was stunned at Patrick Mahomes’ No Look Passes

The Texas native has often been compared to several NFL greats, including legend Tom Brady, and Hunt recognized the potential soon after the QB’s draft.  In a recent interview with NFL on ESPN, the CEO was asked about the eureka moment when he realized that Mahomes would prove to be special for the franchise.

Hunt shared that the staff initially weren’t aware of the jackpot lying in their hands. Mahomes was the backup to Alex Smith in his first season as a rookie. The then-general manager, Brett Veach, would periodically send video clips of Mahomes’ practice sessions to Hunt for general evaluation. It was during one of these watching that Hunt spotted something unique.

Hunt was curious to spot ‘no-look passes’ among Mahomes’ practice clips. While the businessman knew that they existed in basketball, he hadn’t heard of the term in use in the NFL. He inquired about the same with Veach, who simply told him to watch the clip. It was after watching the clip that Hunt got the first glimpse of Mahomes’ budding talent.

“I had to call Patrick I had to call Brett [Veach] and say, what’s a no-look pass? I know what it is in basketball, but it doesn’t really exist in football. He said, “Yeah, it does. Watch the clip.” And sure enough, in practice, he’d [Mahomes] be looking this way and throwing that way,” said Hunt.

Hunt saw Mahomes play against Pittsburgh and the Chargers, securing wins for his team, and the CEO knew “knew he was going to be pretty special.” Mahomes’ no-look pass has now become his signature move, and there is an interesting story of how it came to life.

The story behind Mahomes’ no-look pass

In his debut season, Mahomes had everyone talking when he hoodwinked the defense by looking in one direction and throwing in another to a perfect pass. Though the practice is commonplace in the NBA, no one had seen it before in football. When the rookie quarterback used it in 2018, viewers and even his own teammates were left stunned. Though the move seemed effortless, it was hours of practice that led to its perfection.

In a video segment for Jeff Darlington, Mahomes confessed that the now-popular no-look pass started off as a “little joke” from his time at Texas Tech. The QB and his teammate, Nic  Shimonek, explained the origins of the pass, “Say we have three receivers over to the right, the furthest inside receivers running a little bubble screen. I’m doing the same action. I’m looking at the bubble screen like I’m about to throw it, and then I just throw the slant right behind.”

What started practicing the tricky pass as fun experimentation between Mahomes and his former teammate later turned competitive, where the duo kept trying to “one-up each other.” It was this healthy competition and love for the sport that perfected the pass for the quarterback. The no-look pass’s debut was just the trailer of what would prove to be a very exciting and triumphant journey for Patrick Mahomes.

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