TCU football coach Gary Patterson called this a ‘cool moment’ in season-opening win
TCU coach Gary Patterson called it a “really cool” moment.
Freshman running back Darwin Barlow scored TCU’s final touchdown of a 39-7 victory over Arkansas- Pine Bluff in the season opener on Saturday night, dedicating the score to his late high school coach.
Longtime Newton coach W.T. Johnston passed away in May after battling Graft-versus-host disease for more than three years.
“I thought it was a cool thing,” Patterson said. “Barlow scoring a touchdown for his coach at Newton. He’s a good player.”
Barlow scored on an 8-yard run with 48 seconds left in his college debut. He finished with 45 yards rushing on eight carries.
Newton has been a pipeline of late for TCU. Along with Barlow, fellow freshman safety Josh Foster played for Newton and the top-rated recruit of the 2020 class, defensive end James Sylvester, is from Newton.
The plan for Barlow and fellow freshman running back Daimarqua Foster going forward is to split game action. Patterson would like to preserve the redshirt for each, meaning TCU will attempt to have one available in eight games this season.
Other takeaways from the game:
▪ Patterson said the linebacker play must improve, particularly the middle linebacker spot with inexperienced players in sophomore La’Kendrick Van Zandt and freshman Dee Winters. One missed play that stands out is an open wheel route UAPB completed for 24 yards in the second quarter.
“Probably a third of their (UAPB’s) offense came from the MIKE linebacker,” Patterson said. “I’m not telling the people that we’re going to play against anything new. They already know that already.”
▪ TCU’s defense created just two sacks on the night, one each by linebacker Garret Wallow and defensive tackle Ross Blacklock. Defensive end Ochaun Mathis flashed with seven tackles and 2.5 tackles for loss. Patterson feels the pass rush will improve, as Mathis was the only player with experience in TCU’s system.
Defensive end Shameik Blackshear finished with two tackles, and Parker Workman had a tackle.
▪ Patterson wasn’t overly pleased with the performance by his team in the opener. But he also knows he has a fairly young and inexperienced team.
“I can’t come down too hard cause we need to grow up,” Patterson said. “You need to have confidence and you need to go forward. The best part about this is we get Sunday, and then we get Tuesday and Wednesday, so we have three get-better practices.”
This story was originally published September 1, 2019 at 2:00 PM.
