Mike Collins? Justin Rogers? Max Duggan? A grad transfer? Assessing TCU’s 2019 QB options
Shawn Robinson has transferred to Missouri. Mike Collins underwent surgery and isn’t expected to do much this spring. Justin Rogers still isn’t 100 percent. And Max Duggan hasn’t stepped on campus yet.
Oh, and there remains the grad transfer market, something that coach Gary Patterson said his program is monitoring closely.
All of it begs the question: Who is going to be TCU’s starting quarterback next season?
The short answer: Nobody knows yet.
Maybe it’s Collins, the most experienced QB on the roster as of now. Collins sustained a season-ending injury in the Baylor game and has been last seen using a scooter to get around. But he provided a spark and flashed potential when he took over for Robinson in the Oklahoma game.
In nine games, including four starts this season, Collins went 79 of 140 passing (56.4 percent) for 1,059 yards with six touchdowns and two interceptions. He also had 111 yards rushing on 38 carries with three TDs.
Maybe it’s Rogers, the prized 2018 freshman recruit who sustained a severe knee injury his final season in high school. Rogers is dealing with a drop-foot condition and is still not 100 percent.
Rogers had a similar injury to Cowboys linebacker Jaylon Smith, who has needed almost three years to return to being the high-end talent most projected he’d be coming out of Notre Dame. So, while Rogers played in last month’s Cheez-It Bowl and is doing all within his power to return to being the player most expected in high school, it’s difficult to picture TCU banking on him in 2019.
Patterson doesn’t even know when Rogers may get back to being 100 percent. In leading up to the bowl game, he mentioned that even doctors aren’t positive. There were doctors on various NFL teams who didn’t think Smith would ever play football again, something he has since done.
Rogers has done it, too, given his series in the Cheez-It Bowl.
“I’m just a ball coach, so it’s above my pay grade,” Patterson said last month. “We’ll see. All we can do is just get up every day and see if it keeps getting better. I think he’s better than he was when he started the season.
“One day I hope he wakes up and says it’s all good.”
Maybe TCU turns to Duggan, a true freshman who joins the program ranked as the No. 3 dual-threat quarterback in the country, according to 247 Sports. This is a freshman who had offers from Notre Dame, Ohio State and Nebraska, among others, and will step onto campus as the program’s fastest quarterback (even if Collins and Rogers were fully healthy).
Heck, Patterson made it clear that Duggan is going to get plenty of reps this spring. So he’ll have a chance to show what he can do.
And, in today’s college football world, there’s no reason why a true freshman can’t step in right away. The last three national championship games have had teams in it that were led by true freshmen – Alabama’s Jalen Hurts in the 2016 season, Georgia’s Jake Fromm in 2017 and Clemson’s Trevor Lawrence this season.
In last year’s championship game, Alabama’s true freshman, Tua Tagovailoa, replaced Hurts to lead the Crimson Tide to the title.
Heck, we saw Iowa State have success when true freshman Brock Purdy stepped into the starting role for the Cyclones this season. So it’s not too far-fetched to think Duggan could win the job and have success.
“He’s going to be the most athletic quarterback on the roster, speed-wise, even if Mike Collins and Justin Rogers are fully healthy,” said Jeremy Clark, recruiting guru and publisher of Horned Frog Blitz.
“He comes from a coaching family. He started as a freshman in high school. Obviously college is a lot different than high school, but he’s not afraid to play against older competition. And he’s going to get thrown into the fire right away, more than any freshman has in recent memory.
“I don’t think it’s likely [he’ll win the starting job], but I don’t think it’s far-fetched either.”
The wild card for TCU next season is the grad transfer market.
Buffalo’s Tyree Jackson is an intriguing name, although he could enter the NFL Draft. Other names could hit the market, too. Alabama’s Hurts is a sexy name, although he hasn’t announced any intentions to transfer yet.
If Hurts decided to look for another home, of course TCU and dozens of other programs would be interested.
But TCU should be an attractive landing spot to land a coveted grad transfer. The Frogs have had success with transfers before such as Kenny Hill, who ended his college career by leading them to an 11-3 season and Alamo Bowl victory in 2017.
And next year’s team boasts one of the more dynamic receivers in the country, Jalen Reagor, and returns its top two running backs in Darius Anderson and Sewo Olonilua. The offensive line should improve, too, with more competition and holdovers such as Lucas Niang, Cordel Iwuagwu and Anthony McKinney.
At the end of the day, TCU’s quarterback situation is one of the biggest storylines going into next season. As for who starts? The answer for now is worth repeating: Nobody knows yet.
This story was originally published January 3, 2019 at 8:00 AM.
