Patrick Mahomes, the Texas Tech quarterback who hopes to hear his name called in the first round of the NFL Draft next month, owns a cannon. It is attached to his right shoulder. Mahomes can launch a football with such distance and velocity that opposing defenses had to fear that one of his wide receivers would beat coverage deep, because if they did, it was game over.

@PatrickMahomes5 working at @teamAPEC today & throws it 65yards from his knees on a dare.. @ESPNCFB @espn #GunsUp pic.twitter.com/nMHqDc6Z1d

— Bobby Stroupe (@bobbystroupe) June 3, 2016

During his three years as a Red Raider, Mahomes took pride in showing off his arm, whether throwing a deep bomb during a game (or even between games) or throwing the football 65 yards from his knees. But the most impressive display of Mahomes’ arm talent came on a windy afternoon when he claims to have rocketed a football almost the entire length of the football field.

“One game at Tech, it was before the game and there was a little wind blowing out and I threw it pretty far. About 80 yards,” Mahomes told STACK. “I can usually get it anywhere from 70 to 75 yards, but the wind has to be behind me a little to get it to 80.”

Research failed to turn up any video evidence of that throw, but it would be unwise to doubt Mahomes’ story. There’s the aforementioned bomb from his knees, and then there’s Mahomes casually launching a 50-yard pass in practice on one of the days we were embedded with him as he trained for the NFL Combine at EXOS San Diego.

Patrick. Mahomes. Dime. City. pic.twitter.com/P5Cy1xUYUW

— Jordan Zirm (@clevezirm) February 7, 2017

“I love stretching the field,” Mahomes said. “You need that in an offense. It really makes the defense be honest.”

Wherever Mahomes ends up in the NFL, he’ll have no problem keeping defenses honest.

RELATED: Patrick Mahomes Had No Idea He’d Thrown For Over 700 Yards Against Oklahoma