Despite impressive debut, TCU’s Shawn Robinson says he still has ‘a lot ... to clean up’

TCU quarterback Shawn Robinson admitted he had first-game jitters on Saturday. He missed throws he expects to make.

“I’ve just got to calm down and throw the ball,” Robinson said. “That’s all I’ve got to do – just sit back there and deliver it.”

Robinson eventually settled in and it’s hard to see much wrongdoing with the results. Robinson accounted for five touchdowns in the first half of TCU’s dominant 55-7 victory over Southern at Amon G. Carter Stadium.

Robinson threw for three touchdowns and ran for two in the first half, his only action on the day. It’s the first time a TCU quarterback accounted for five touchdowns in the first half since Jeff Ballard in 2006 against San Diego State.

Robinson finished by completing 17-of-24 passes for 182 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 45 yards on two carries (both TD runs).

The sophomore from DeSoto avoided being sacked or intercepted. He seemed to do everything right.

But accuracy questions were raised with Robinson missing three open receivers for would-be touchdowns on the day. For his part, Robinson knows those can’t be misses when TCU faces schools at its own level.

“There’s a lot of stuff I have to clean up,” Robinson said.

Robinson bounced a ball short of an open Jarrison Stewart in the end zone on third-and-5 from the Southern 8 on the first drive, forcing the Frogs to settle for a field goal. He couldn’t connect with Jalen Reagor on a deep post on the second drive.

And he misfired to an open Reagor again on a first-down play from the Southern 15 midway through the second quarter.

The good news, though, is that Robinson rebounded from the latter two errant throws. Three plays after missing Reagor on the post route, he had a nice QB keeper for a 36-yard run up the middle for a score.

And, two plays after missing Reagor in the second quarter, Robinson found him for a 12-yard score.

The resiliency didn’t surprise his teammates.

“I figured that out about Shawn when I first got here,” Reagor said. “He always stresses, ‘Let that one go. Let that last play go.’ You don’t want to let one play dictate the whole game, or dictate your play for the whole game.”

Asked if Robinson would make those throws going forward, Reagor said: “Oh, of course. Shawn’s a monster. There’s not too many like Shawn. There’s not too many like him.”

In the end, Robinson had a streaky day. He opened by completing 4-of-8 passes, including two missed TD chances, then went through a stretch in which he completed 11-of-12, including two TDs. He finished his day by going 2-for-4.

But he flashed his running ability, too, scoring on his only two runs.

“When you look at him, you don’t really think that Shawn can run like he can,” Reagor said. “But dude can make unbelievable throws away from his body – running to the left, throwing to the right, running to the right, throwing to the left. He’s just a playmaker. There’s very few times you have him sacked. He’s very mobile and he’s slippery.”

One of the more encouraging developments from the opener is Robinson’s better understanding of his surroundings. He stayed in the pocket more and didn’t solely rely on his feet.

The TCU coaching staff has emphasized the importance of staying upright to Robinson and limiting the number of times he exposes himself to big hits in the open field.

“A younger Shawn would’ve ran a couple times,” coach Gary Patterson said. “But he stayed in the pocket and threw the ball down the field.”

It’s hard to find much wrong with TCU’s 48-point victory, but it wasn’t perfect by any stretch – starting with the starting quarterback.

But, as Patterson said, the beauty of having a season-opener against an FCS, Division I-AA school is that “there’s nothing better than learning and winning.”

And Robinson will only be better for it.

“It was awesome just to be out there with my guys,” Robinson said. “We’ve been working since January, so just to finally get out there and get a game under our belts was a really, really cool experience.”

This story was originally published September 1, 2018 at 4:43 PM.