Always ‘amped up’ Garret Wallow showing flashes for TCU defense after position change
TCU coach Gary Patterson always told Garret Wallow he’d be a linebacker one day.
Wallow, the No. 3-ranked safety in Louisiana coming out of John Curtis Christian School in the New Orleans area, thought Patterson was messing around. But Patterson wasn’t.
Wallow has made the transition from safety to linebacker as a sophomore, and the early signs indicate Wallow is on his way to becoming another position-switch success story for Patterson.
Wallow had an impressive debut at linebacker against Southern Saturday. He had four tackles, one sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and a QB hurry in TCU’s 55-7 season-opening victory.
“It wasn’t really that much of a struggle [to switch positions],” said Wallow, who made a name for himself last season as a special teams weapon with a team-high seven tackles.
“At safety you cover a lot, and at linebacker it’s almost like strong safety because you still have to cover. It has been a really good transition for me, and I really like it and feel that it is the position for me.
“We are a very fast team, so when [Patterson] switches people to linebacker, it’s because he wants speed at the linebacker position. It honestly makes sense when it all comes down to it.”
Wallow used his speed well in his linebacker debut, and appears to have a knack for the position. He shined brightest in critical situations.
Against Southern, Wallow registered the QB hurry on a fourth-and-3 Southern was going for from the TCU 22 late in the first quarter. That pressure resulted in an interception for safety Innis Gaines.
In the second quarter, after Southern had connected on a 55-yard touchdown on the previous offensive possession, it made another big play to get into the red zone. The Jaguars had a first-and-10 from the Frogs’ 18, but found themselves facing a third-and-29 after losing 9 yards on a sack by Wallow.
“I was amped up and excited to make that play for my team,” Wallow said of the first sack in his young college career. “It put us in a great position to put the offense back on the field.”
Wallow is always “amped up” when he steps on the football field. Coach Gary Patterson compared Wallow to Jason Phillips from an intensity perspective.
Phillips, who is now a defensive analyst on Patterson’s staff, finished his college career with 315 tackles, leading the team in tackles in three of his four seasons and then enjoying a four-year NFL career.
Wallow would love to follow in those footsteps.
“[Patterson] did compare me to Jason Phillips because I know one speed and that’s 100 percent,” Wallow said. “He always tells me that so he always tells me to slow down a little bit.”
How do you slow yourself down when you’re wired like that?
“In order to slow myself down, I just talk to my other linebackers and read the formations that we have and talk it out with my safeties,” Wallow said.
So far, so good.
Wallow, as stated, is following in a long line of players who have made successful position switches. His predecessor, Travin Howard, made the same transition from safety to linebacker and ended his college career last season as the leading tackler in the Patterson era.
Wallow isn’t alone on this year’s defense, either. Ty Summers, a standout linebacker most of his college career, flashed big-play potential as he’s moved to defensive end this season.
Summers registered a sack and caught the eye of Southern coach Dawson Odums.
“I think No. 42 [Summers], I don’t know his name, is one of the better players in the country,” Odums said. “We’re not talking about this ballgame. I am talking about in the country – NFL, college, high school – he is one of the best.”
Maybe Wallow will receive similar praise one day.