Texas Tech junior Henry Colombi will start at quarterback when the Red Raiders play West Virginia on Oct. 24, coach Matt Wells said Wednesday.
Colombi, a transfer from Utah State, will supplant Alan Bowman, who started the Red Raiders' first four games.
This season, Colombi has relieved Bowman twice; for three quarters in an Oct. 3 loss to Kansas State and for a quarter in Saturday's loss to Iowa State. Colombi has completed 74% of his passes (40-of-54) for 359 yards and three touchdowns. He has also rushed 51 yards.
"I think Henry has come in and played well," Wells said.
In Colombi's two relief appearances, Wells said he "was aggressive. I think he jump-started the offense. I think guys around him responded, we moved the ball better ... and he did a nice job with the offense."
Colombi joined Texas Tech this summer after spending the past three years at Utah State, where he signed for and spent two seasons under Wells and Texas Tech offensive coordinator David Yost, before both coaches moved on to Texas Tech in 2019.
At Utah State, Colombi appeared in 13 career games and backed up Jordan Love, a 2020 first-round draft pick of the Green Bay Packers.
Bowman has been the Red Raiders starter since 2018, though his first two seasons were disrupted by injuries. He left the Kansas State game because of an ankle injury but returned to start the next week against Iowa State. Bowman this season has completed 64.7% of his passes for 881 yards, seven touchdowns and four interceptions.
"Alan has played OK," Wells said. "He has not played bad. He's not the reason we're 1-3."
