Air Raid: Former Houston QB Clayton Tune Looking Forward to Continuing to Dispel Narrative

There's always been a stigma that has surrounded Air Raid quarterbacks, but that hasn't stopped signal-callers of the offense from performing well at the next level.

*Editor's note: our Crissy Froyd sat down with former Houston Cougars quarterback Clayton Tune ahead of the 2023 NFL Draft to discuss the stigma surrounding the Air Raid, what Tune brings to the table and more earlier in the offseason.

Just about every year, there's a quarterback that comes from an offense with heavy Air Raid or Run and Shoot tendencies that becomes polarizing or looked over to a certain extent by some because of the false stigma that surrounds the offense's simplicity.

In reality, it's easy to argue these types of offenses put more on the quarterback than others because of how much they hinge on consistently superior play from this position. In offenses that throw the ball as much as these do, it's hard to have success without a signal-caller who is consistently solid on the pass.

It's a narrative that former Houston quarterback Clayton Tune will go up against as he prepares for the 2023 NFL Draft. But Tune isn't paying that any mind.

"I'm sure there is (a widespread stigma), but I don't really see it that way," Tune said. "I know there are people out there that may say, 'oh, they're a system quarterback' or this and that, but I don't look at it that way. Not at all."

And he also says that the Houston offense, run under Mike Leach disciple Dana Holgorsen, is more similar to what's done at the next level than some may assume.

"I think the Houston offense is more similar to the way the NFL does things than people think," Tune said. "I think there's a lot of huddle calls that we did this past season. There are a lot of wordy play calls and stuff where I had to basically tell every member of the offense what they were doing, so I think it's similar in that regard. Obviously, we didn't go under center nearly as much as they do in the NFL, so that will be the biggest adjustment, but I don't view it as anything major. I pick things up pretty quickly and it's quite literally not that much different than just taking a snap under center as opposed to in the gun."

As is usual, especially for quarterbacks in these types of systems, Tune's responsibilities at the line of scrimmage grew by the year and in systems like these, the quarterback typically becomes all but a coach on the field by their final year of college football.

"So I get up to the line, obviously look at the front and look at the personnel of the defense and then see the shell, see the coverage and then whatever play is called, whether it's a pure progression or pre-snap look where I'm determining where I'm going based on coverage that's going through my mind, then I call for the snap and whatever happens post-snap, I react to it," Tune said. "So there's a few different things that I go through.

As he enters the final stages of the process, Tune is confident in what he brings to the table as a quarterback, teammate and person.

"I think first and foremost is a tough player," Tune said. "I've played through a lot of adversity in my career. Played through injury in 2021 for basically the whole season and came from behind a lot. Playing tough and pulling through in the clutch when it matters the most and being an accurate decision-maker are things I pride myself on."

Tune was just that when Houston met Memphis in 2022 at Liberty Memorial Stadium. The Cougars were down 19 points with roughly three minutes to play, scoring three touchdowns late in the contest including in the final 30 seconds to secure a 33-32 victory, something he says stands out to him as the biggest turning point in his career and for Houston.

Tune finished out that game 36-of-57 passing for 366 yards with three touchdowns and one interception before ultimately finishing out the season with a 67.3% completion rate, 4,074 passing yards. 40 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.

Following the season, Tune had a chance to get in front of scouts at the Reese's Senior Bowl to show what he could do with an entirely different roster of teammates in a different setting.

"I feel like I've shown my confidence and my abilities throwing the ball and my abilities to process and learn information, learn this new offense that we're being taught and being able to go out there and execute that offense smoothly," Tune said in Mobile, Alabama.

He describes participating in the showcase as a bit of an adjustment, but one he says he believes he handled well with a learning curve he quickly got over.

"It's different. It's definitely different at first," Tune said. "You've obviously got to get used to the new receivers -- everything is new about it. New huddle, new offense, new formations, new players, all of it. But once you get in there, you get in a live setting, you get in seven on seven, you get in the team, all of that goes out of the window pretty quickly and you just revert back to playing ball. So it's an adjustment at first, but it doesn't feel as much like one after a little while."

Moving forward to the NFL, he's welcoming the opportunity to show he can make an even bigger step the same way he feels he did in Alabama.

"I'm looking forward to the opportunity to learn and grow and be the best player that I can be. Obviously, there's a huge jump from college to the NFL and so to be able to keep up, you've got to be able to make a big jump yourself. Just making that stride in my own personal game is the thing I'm most looking forward to."