Patrick Mahomes disputes Donald Trump narrative Tommy Tuberville coached, recruited him

A claim by President Donald Trump on Wednesday drew some national scrutiny, in part because it involved Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes in the lead-up to Super Bowl LIX.

Trump credited Alabama senator Tommy Tuberville with coaching Mahomes while at Texas Tech, despite a two-year difference in their timelines with the program.

Patrick Mahomes addressed the topic head on while doing media ahead of Super Bowl LIX.

“He did not recruit me at the time,” Mahomes said of Tuberville, per Gabriela Carroll of the Philadelphia Inquirer. “I don’t remember if I ever got to meet him or not.”

Tuberville coached at Texas Tech from 2010-12, while Mahomes played at Texas Tech from 2014-16.

Now, it’s certainly conceivable that Tuberville could have recruited Mahomes. Quarterback recruiting often begins as early as the eighth or ninth grade, which would make the comments at least somewhat more understandable.

President Trump’s comments, though, indicated that Tuberville had coached Mahomes.

“And Tommy Tuberville, a great coach,” Trump said during a Wednesday ceremony for an executive order signing. “You know, his quarterback was named (Patrick) Mahomes, he was a great college coach. And I said, ‘How good was he?’ (Tuberville) said, ‘You don’t want to know how good … he made me into a great coach.’ He’s a pretty good quarterback, right? Yeah, he was very good, and he’s a good guy too.”

Even Tuberville had already seemed to walk back the president’s comments on his relationship with Patrick Mahomes a bit. He tweeted on Thursday morning clarifying.

“As a coach, you start recruiting and working with players years before they get to college,” Tuberville wrote. “Patrick Mahomes was one of the best players I ever had the opportunity to recruit and get to know. Looking forward to cheering him on this weekend when I join President Trump at the Super Bowl.”

President Trump is planning to attend Super Bowl LIX in Orleans, becoming the first sitting president to attend the big game. The New York Post said Punchbowl News first reported Trump heading to the Super Bowl, and the news was later confirmed by federal law enforcement sources.