Southern coach on this TCU player: ‘NFL, college, high school – he is one of the best.”

Ty Summers has never viewed himself as a defensive end.

“I played a little D-end when I was about 10-years-old,” Summers said, smiling.

Well, Summers is playing that position again as a fifth-year senior at TCU. So far, so good for Summers, who was a standout quarterback in high school and transitioned to linebacker at TCU.

Summers registered a sack in the season opener against Southern on Saturday, and had the best edge grade (87.4) of any Big 12 player in Week 1, according to Pro Football Focus.

It’s no surprise Southern coach Dawson Odums had high praise for Summers afterward.

“I think No. 42, 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.”

Summers is determined to keep impressing on the field in his new role going into Friday night’s game against SMU. There will be a family twist, too, as his sister Faith is on SMU’s women’s golf team.

“I was so happy for her [when she committed],” Summers said. “My parents were even more thrilled than I was because they get to drive to one area of the country to see both of us, and the chance of that happening when she was getting recruited from everywhere was super small.

“She supports me in football and I support her in golf.”

For now, it’s football season and Summers is off to a fast start. He started once at defensive end against Oklahoma State last season, and is now looking to make it his new home.

TCU coach Gary Patterson likes the speed that Summers brings off the edge. This is a player who ran a 4.5-second 40-yard dash in front of NFL scouts last spring.

That speed helps Summers compensate for what might not be ideal size for a pass rusher (6-foot-2, 235 pounds). His teammate, Ben Banogu, is built like a more prototypical defensive end in today’s game (6-foot-4, 249 pounds).

But Summers understands the benefits of him making what’s been a seamless transition so far. TCU feels good about its linebacker depth to absorb the loss of Summers moving to end, and showcasing pass-rush skills is only going to make Summers more attractive to NFL teams.

“If you show versatility, that’s how guys stay on teams,” Summers said. “Not because they play one position, but because they’re able to do two or three different things, including special teams.

“A lot of people can play linebacker and play it well. But if you can go play linebacker and defensive end and do special teams, that’s how you make yourself useful and stay on a team. So Coach P is really helping me out with that by putting me in that position to be able to show I can play this. Now, I just got to go and make the most of it.”

Summers has done that throughout his college career. He has always been a team-first guy, making the most of his opportunities.

Summers, in fact, almost didn’t end up at TCU. He had been committed to Rice coming out of San Antonio Reagan, but ended up with TCU when a linebacker spot opened.

Summers had no delusions of playing quarterback in college, and had no hesitation moving to linebacker in order to play in a Power Five conference.

“I was like, ‘Hey, I would play nose guard if I could come play for a Big 12 team,’” Summers said. “I was like, ‘You know what? I’ll go have fun out there. Go hit some people, crack some heads a little bit.’”

Said Patterson: “He ran a 10.9-second 100-meter. He was intelligent, played quarterback and was the best available guy left.

“Usually if you get anybody with a little bit of football sense, has some intelligence and they know how to work hard, is a good person, has the framework to be able to be big and do it, you have a chance for that guy to have a chance to be a good player.”

Summers has been more than a “good” player for the Frogs. He’s been one of their most consistent and most productive.

He is the Frogs’ active leader in tackles (276) and starts (26).

“I’ve had a chance to be on the field,” Summers said of his numbers. “I appreciate Coach P for giving me that opportunity and for everything they’ve taught me. As you know, I played quarterback in high school so I didn’t have any history of defense in any way.

“The fact that I’ve been having that kind of success, of course I give all glory to God for giving me the ability to have that opportunity, but then Coach P for teaching me what I needed to learn to become successful. It’s been a long journey but I’ve enjoyed every minute of it.”