"I guess there's similarity," said Tannehill, a redshirt freshman. "Hopefully, I'll be able to move back by the end of the year."
There's more irony this weekend, when the Aggies (2-4, 0-2 Big 12) play the seventh-ranked Red Raiders (6-0, 2-0) at Kyle Field. Tannehill was a Texas Tech fan growing up, even wearing a helmet and uniform as a youngster to show his support.
"Right now, I'm not proud of it, but it is what it is," Tannehill said.
Tannehill wasn't recruited by Texas Tech, but the Red Raiders will surely notice him this week.
He's A&M's leading receiver, with 28 catches for 401 yards and three touchdowns. In last week's 44-30 loss to Kansas State, he caught 12 passes for 210 yards, both freshman records.
A&M coach Mike Sherman tried out Tannehill at receiver in August practices, while senior Stephen McGee and sophomore Jerrod Johnson dueled for the starting quarterback spot.
"He knows coverages, he knows how to sit down in holes, he knows where the windows are," Sherman said. "For a young guy, he's very impressive on his knowledge and is very exciting to be around."
Tannehill still sees himself as a quarterback and Sherman has promised that he'll be back playing there full-time in the spring. He's No. 3 on the depth chart at quarterback now and takes snaps in Thursday practices.
"I still want to be quarterback here at A&M. Hopefully, that's the way it turns out," Tannehill said. "But if things don't happen that way, and Coach thinks I can better help the team at receiver, then I guess I'm OK with that."
