Patrick Mahomes is greeted by UT Tyler president Dr. Kirk Calhoun during the East Texas Speakers Forum’s “An Evening with Patrick Mahomes” Saturday, April 1, 2023, at the UT Tyler Cowan Center. (Les Hassell/News-Journal Photo)

Excitement filled the UT Tyler Cowan Center on Saturday night as Patrick Mahomes ll came home to pay homage to the community that helped raise him.

The hometown hero and two-time Super Bowl champion was as humble, graceful and funny as ever as he was interviewed by Mitch Holthus, play-by-play announcer for the Chiefs since 1994.

During the “Evening With Patrick Mahomes” question-and-answer session hosted by the East Texas Speakers Forum, Mahomes spoke about his childhood, memories in East Texas, what it’s like playing in the NFL and the role his faith and family play in his success.

“This is awesome. It means the world to me to be here back in East Texas, back in Tyler; seeing the people I grew up with, seeing the people that supported me along the way — getting to enjoy this with them,” Mahomes said. “Little different being on the stage, but I still feel like the kid that went to Whitehouse High School, but at the same time, it’s really cool.”

Growing up, Mahomes said he received a lot of support from his parents who taught him to have fun while playing the game. He also credits the area for helping him learn that resilience and determination it takes to achieve dreams.

“One thing I always learned about being from East Texas is hard work,” Mahomes said. “As an East Texan, it’s in your blood; you go out there, you work hard every single day, and you go take what’s yours and you seize the opportunity. Those are the lessons that have stuck with me that I’ve taken to Kansas City with me to this day.”

Another thing he thanks East Texas for is his favorite post-game meal — Whataburger.

Mahomes mentioned high school football coach Adam Cook who gave the young player a lot of freedom to make calls at the line of scrimmage and also let him play his trademark style. Mahomes talked about beating Tyler High 55-53 his senior year and how much it meant to him to get over the hump that was John Tyler.

“It was hard for us to beat (them) in a football game, and really any sport — they dominated us when they moved down to our division,” Mahomes said. “Our senior year we won the district championship at Whitehouse High School at the Wildcat Stadium. Winning that game and getting the monkey off our back … with those same dudes that I grew up with, we just kept going, kept grinding , winning that game, it meant the world to me. I still remember the play that I ran — a quarterback sweep to the right to score a touchdown and that was the game winning touchdown.”

“You’ve had the Wasp, the Snow Globe, Corndog,” Holthus said. “Did you have a name for that play?

“It was a run-pass option … We had Crawfish to the left, which was a bubble screen and had the 39 sweep right … the offensive line blocked it well and I got into the end zone,” Mahomes said.

Another topic the two got into was how tough was it for Mahomes to navigate being a three-sport star with the MLB Draft knocking on the door, Division 1 basketball scholarships and being a three-star football recruit as the son of a former professional athlete.

“Really for me it was always baseball or football,” Mahomes said. “The biggest opportunity I thought I had was in the MLB Draft. My dad (Pat Mahomes Sr.) played professional baseball, obviously, so I think probably 90% of this crowd when I was growing up thought if I was going to play professional sports it was going to be baseball. So for me it was like, do I want to leave straight from high school and go to the MLB and enjoy that process, which is hard of traveling the world and trying to make a big league team, or should I go to Texas Tech and go to college, get a degree and see where football took me … The rest is history.”

Mahomes said while playing on the field in high school, he never would’ve dreamt he’d be winning Super Bowls as a professional quarterback. He encourages everyone, in any field, to follow their dreams.

“When I say follow your dreams, I say work at your dreams,” Mahomes said. “I thought I was going to college for three years and then I’m going to the baseball draft again … Luckily for me I kept following my dream, I had a lot of great people around me, and now I’m sitting in this chair today because I worked at it and worked at it and am still working at it, trying to get better and better.”

Mahomes gave interesting insight throughout the interview while also drawing laughs from the crowd along the way; one of those being the touchdown to Skyy Moore in the Super Bowl. Mahomes explained how the receivers were not lined up the way they drew it up at practice and that head coach Andy Reid was trying to call a timeout but couldn’t get it in on time because Mahomes realized on the fly that the Eagles defense was vulnerable and made it work anyway.

Of course Mahomes couldn’t go long without mentioning how much the Chiefs coaching staff has helped him along the way.

“Coach (Andy) Reid is the exact same guy you guys see on TV when he’s not on TV. He truly cares about you more as a person than a player,” Mahomes said.

Having deep relationships with his coaches also leads to deep conversations. One of those being with defensive coordinator Steve Spagnoulo in which they both agreed one of the best feelings is seeing the joy their success brings to family and friends.

Holthus mentioned throughout the interview that his favorite thing about Mahomes is how grounded he is and how loyal he is to the people around him. Patrick gave all praise to his faith that he says has grown with each passing year.

“Obviously I want to win Super Bowls and be a great football player,” Mahomes said. “But the platform I’ve been given from God is more than that. It’s to be a role model and to set a good example for the kids that come behind me … Every day I think about how to be a better football player, husband, father and role model for the next generation.”

Mahomes shared personal stories about being a dad to two under two, and even gave some insight into what it’s like when he plays the role of a viewer rather than a player. When he watches games at home alongside his wife and fellow Whitehouse graduate Brittany, he’s standing up and screaming at the TV about calling or not calling timeouts.

In closing, Mahomes made it clear he and Travis Kelce are coming for Joe Montana and Jerry Rice’s record in touchdown passes. Holthus also encouraged the community to visit the website of Mahomes’ nonprofit organization, at www.15andthemahomies.org, to help enrich the lives of children in communities everywhere.