The Big 12’s best coaches and players explain why TCU’s defense drives offenses crazy
The sample size for how dominant TCU’s defenses have been in the Big 12 has gotten as big as an offensive lineman’s appetite.
But what makes the Frogs so consistently tough on that side of the ball?
“He does as a good a job as anybody at two things, and I preach this to our coaches all the time and I like to think we’re getting better at, but you recruit speed and length because you can’t coach it,” Texas head coach Tom Herman said at Big 12 Media Days.
Herman wasn’t the only one singing Patterson’s praises at the Big 12’s official kickoff of the 2018 football season, which took place at The Star on July 16-17. As he often does, West Virginia head coach Dana Holgorsen presented his opinions a little bit more bluntly.
“Gary is widely recognized as the premiere defensive coordinator in the country,” Holgorsen said. “I’ve got a lot of respect for that guy.
“He doesn’t care what their (recruiting) stars are. He does a good job of evaluating guys and recruiting guys he knows he can coach. It’s not tricky. They are hard to block. They’re relentless.”
This year, Patterson brought in his second highest-rated class in program history, which still only came in No. 25, according to 247Sports. The average of Patterson’s five classes before that: 31.
Last season, like many others, the Horned Frogs proved that the recruiting rankings are a bit of an illusion, as their defense gave up fewer yards and points per game than any team in the Big 12. Nationally, the unit ranked tied for 19th in yards allowed per game and 12th in scoring defense at 18 points per game.
When Patterson took over as defensive coordinator in 1998, he installed his now-vaunted 4-2-5. He was promoted to head coach in 2001 and, thanks in large part to that scheme, has become one of the most successful and highest-paid coaches in the Big 12.
The Horned Frogs left the Mountain West to join the Big 12 in 2012. At the time, programs like Oklahoma, Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, among others, were shaping the Big 12 into arguably the best offensive conference in the country. And some pundits and fans wondered whether TCU could slow opponents down, let alone stop them.
In their first six seasons in the league, the defense has allowed the fewest points per game twice and never finished in the bottom half of the league.
What’s more impressive is that they have surrendered the fewest yards per game three times. Two of the remaining three seasons, they finished second in that statistic.
So, why haven’t these football geniuses solved Patterson, his scheme and his players?
Last season, the one team that absolutely owned TCU’s defense was Big 12 champion and college football playoff participant Oklahoma. The teams met once in the regular season and once in the conference title game, as the Sooners racked up a combined 994 yards of offense and outscored the Horned Frogs 79-37.
But 2017 Heisman Trophy winner Baker Mayfield, who accounted for 791 total yards and seven touchdowns in those two games, is no longer around. And even after the Sooners’ 41-17 victory in Norman last November, head coach Lincoln Riley and Mayfield still had high praise for the opposing defense heading into the Big 12 title game.
As for what frustrates everyone else, there was one descriptor that came up most often: speed. On the current roster, just five of the 20 defensive backs weigh-in at 200 pounds or more. Only one of the nine players listed at defensive end weighs more than 260 pounds. And not one of the 11 players listed as a linebacker weighs more than 235 pounds.
Yet, the Horned Frogs still allowed the fewest rushing yards per game (104) and rushing touchdowns (8) of any team in the conference last season. Since the program joined the Big 12, the Horned Frogs have allowed the conference’s fewest rushing yards per season three times and never finished worse than fifth.
Oklahoma and West Virginia are viewed ahead of TCU as the favorites to win the Big 12 this season. And Patterson and his staff do have to replace six departed starters on defense. But with 19 lettermen returning to replenish the first unit, opposing coaches and players on offense are keenly aware that the Horned Frogs are going to make their lives very difficult.
West Virginia joined the conference the same year as TCU and has consistently been able to attract talented offensive players to fit its creative scheme. Despite putting up solid scoring totals, the Mountaineers have dropped four of their six matchups against the Horned Frogs.
When West Virginia visited Amon G. Carter Stadium last October, quarterback Will Grier (a 2018 Heisman Trophy candidate) and star wide receiver David Sills V combined to produce 491 total yards of offense and five touchdowns. But even during a sub-par performance, the Horned Frogs defense made several late-game stands against one of the Big 12’s highest-scoring offenses to seal a 31-24 victory.
Last season, Sills finished the season tied for the most touchdown receptions in all of college football with 18.
“They’re very fundamentally sound and they don’t blow a lot of assignments,” Sills said. “...our offensive coordinator did a great job of attacking where the weaknesses and voids were in their defense, and there weren’t many of them.”
The unit’s discipline is also accompanied by a multitude of consistencies at all three levels. Aside from 2012, the defense has always finished in the top five in the Big 12 in passing and rushing yards allowed per game.
Last season as a true freshman, Kansas State’s Alex Delton had the misfortune of making his first career start at quarterback when the Wildcats hosted the Horned Frogs. Delton averaged just 2 yards on 19 carries and completed just 38 percent of his 29 pass attempts, as Patterson’s defense allowed just 6 points (two field goals) for the entire game.
“I had a headache after that game thinking about some of the stuff they did that I hadn’t seen on film (before),” Delton said. “Hats off to them, because they were, in my opinion, the toughest defense I faced last year.”
TCU’s ability to provide new looks is effectively coupled with an aggressive approach instilled by the scheme and the personality of its’ architect. Dating back to the program’s first season in the Big 12, Patterson’s defenses have, with one exception (2016), ranked in the top five in fewest third down conversions allowed. Over that same time span, TCU has never failed to finish in the top five in sacks.
“One thing I notice with TCU, as an offensive lineman, is that they communicate really well,” Kansas State offensive lineman Dalton Risner said. “...you can tell that they know what they’re doing, know where they’re going.
“If there’s a team that understands what we do as an offense, it’s TCU. So, I am not fond of them, but they are a great defense.”
From 2011 to 2014, Herman blossomed as the quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator under Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer. As the head coach at the University of Houston (2014 to 2016), he led the Cougars to a combined 20-4 record thanks to a highly proficient offense that averaged just over 38 points per game by the end of those two seasons.
When Texas came up to Fort Worth last season, Patterson and his defense held the Longhorns to just one touchdown and a total of just nine yards rushing en route to a thorough 24-7 victory.
“What he (Patterson) has also done is taken kids at one position in high school and projected them at another in college...the examples are numerous. He does such a great job in evaluation, development, believing in a system and not deviating from it,” Herman said.
Baylor head coach Matt Rhule said that he’s only been studying TCU’s defense closely for a little over a year, but he lauded Patterson’s attention to detail that allows for subtle in-game adjustments. And while certain circumstances have created another difficult program rebuild for the 43-year-old, it helps that Patterson has provided a different kind of blueprint for success in the conference.
“I think the one thing Coach Patterson’s defense did for us last year was that it showed us you can play defense in the Big 12,” Rhule said. “He’s doing it at a high level. Sometimes you see the way that they play and we kind of play something similar, so it makes you really want to be good at what you do.”
This story was originally published July 31, 2018 at 7:30 AM.