The best thing TCU coach Gary Patterson can say about a player

If Gary Patterson is going to say something good about a player, there is no higher compliment than this:

“He has a defensive mentality.”

That means you think like the TCU head coach. That’s how freshman receiver Jalen Reagor has come across.

“He’s an offensive guy who’s been raised with a defensive mentality,” Patterson said of Reagor, the son of former Texas Tech and NFL defensive end Montae Reagor. “That’s really why Jalen is the way he is.”

Reagor is at the head of a freshman class that may have six or more players as starters or primary backups for the season opener Sept. 2 against Jackson State, judging from Patterson’s comments.

Running back Kenedy Snell, defensive tackle Corey Bethley, safeties La’Kendrick Van Zandt and Garrett Wallow and quarterback Shawn Robinson emerged as possible first- or second-teamers after 2  1/2 weeks of fall camp.

Defensive end Dennis Collins worked with the first unit last week. Receiver Omar Manning has been limited by injury, but the four-star freshman also figures in the Horned Frogs’ plans.

“They have a different mindset, this group, compared to the last couple of years,” Patterson said last week of the 18-member freshman signing class, part of a recruiting haul rated 28th by 247Sports.com.

“They really had a purpose coming in here,” Patterson said. “Consider the two strong safeties that are freshmen being in the two-deep, Corey Bethley in the two-deep — maybe even the starter — Jalen Reagor. I’ll tell you, a guy that’s saved us is Snell. He’s playing running back, he’s doing all of it. Reagor and Snell, the two Waxahachie guys, have had an unbelievable two weeks.”

What is it about Reagor and Snell?

“They don’t seem to get tired,” Patterson said. “That’s a tribute to the way they practice at Waxahachie. They’re used to this kind of rigor and the way we do things.”

Waxahachie coach Jon Kitna, a former NFL (including Dallas Cowboys) quarterback, is not surprised.

“Those two, there’s a reason they’re there. They love working,” said Kitna, in his third season at Waxahachie. “They set the tone for us from the day we got here. You never had to kick-start them. They have professional mindsets, honestly. They go to work. They don’t mind being coached, and they were coached hard here.”

Monte Reagor can see why his son is considered to have a defensive mentality. He put it there.

“I’ve always instilled in him that just because you’re a receiver doesn’t mean you have to be a pretty boy, can’t get dirty, won’t block,” Reagor said. “You have to be a complete player if you want to be the best. So you’re going to have to put your face in there. I’ve told him you have to learn how to block, how to hit, how to be one of those guys that’s a true player.”

That’s the first step in getting a good word from Patterson. Especially for a freshman. That Reagor, Snell and the other freshmen have done enough for a public pat on the back speaks volumes.

“You know me,” Patterson said. “I wouldn’t say anything positive about them if I didn’t think they had done good things.”

This story was originally published August 17, 2017 at 3:54 PM with the headline "The best thing TCU coach Gary Patterson can say about a player."