‘Once we get going, it’s scary what we can do.’ TCU’s Reagor poised for strong finish.
Deadly combination.
That’s how sophomore free safety Trevon Moehrig described TCU’s 1-2 punch at wide receiver with Jalen Reagor and Taye Barber. Unfortunately for the Frogs, that combination wasn’t seen much in the first half of the season with Barber battling an injury.
But it became evident what that receiving threat can do during the Frogs’ 37-27 victory over No. 15 Texas on Saturday.
Barber and Reagor were the two leading receivers in the game. Barber finished with a team-high 94 yards receiving, while Reagor had 55 yards and a touchdown.
Reagor believes it’ll only get better down the finishing stretch, especially with true freshman quarterback Max Duggan getting more settled in as the season progresses.
“I’m telling you, once we get going, it’s scary what we can do,” Reagor said. “Taye is dangerous. He’s very dangerous.”
Said Barber: “If we keep doing the games like we are doing in practice, we’ll be just fine.”
Reagor hasn’t lost any confidence in his play-making abilities even though his numbers may be down compared to last season.
Coming off a sophomore season in which he had 72 receptions for 1,061 yards and nine TDs, most expected Reagor to have an even better junior season.
But, with TCU’s quarterback play sorting itself out between Duggan and fifth-year senior Alex Delton early on, Reagor has gotten off to a slower start than expected. He’s on pace for less than 600 yards receiving and 43 receptions.
Reagor, though, has kept a positive mindset throughout.
“I’ve got to stay positive since I’m a leader on this team,” said Reagor, who has shined in special teams and ranks first in the Big 12 and third in the country with 232 yards in punt return.
“I make sure to keep my energy high, keep the team’s morale high and keep pushing and come back to work.”
As far as Duggan, Reagor sees strides taken every week.
Asked if it’s taken time for him and Duggan to get on the same page, Reagor said: “I catch tons of passes from him in practice. That’s just routine.
“It’s just a matter of being more consistent in games because in practice it’s like clockwork. Just translate it over to Saturday.”
Reagor and Duggan have done that in the second half of games in recent weeks.
Reagor and Duggan hooked up for two TDs at Iowa State in the second half, and then Reagor had a season-high 85 yards on eight catches at K-State with many of those yards coming in the second half.
Against Texas, Reagor didn’t have a reception in the first half. But Duggan found him for a 44-yard score in the third quarter that broke a tie game and gave TCU a 27-20 lead — a lead the Frogs wouldn’t surrender.
Duggan is becoming more comfortable taking shots down the field and opening up the offense. After all, Saturday was only his fifth career college start.
As Reagor said, “That comes with maturity. I compared Max to myself. He’s very savvy like I was. Once you settle in, you become more free.”
Plus, it helps with more playmakers on the field such as Barber.
Duggan and Barber had a 51-yard pass play in the third quarter, setting up a game-tying TD. In the fourth quarter, Duggan went to Barber again on a pivotal third-and-14 on the offensive series that sealed the victory.
Defenses will have to account for Reagor and Barber going forward. TCU hopes it becomes a ‘pick your poison’ situation.
“The problem is we haven’t had some of those people to throw it to [deep],” Patterson said. “If they’re not fast enough to outrun the guy then it doesn’t do you any good to throw deep. And we’ve started to get some of those guys back. Now that they’re back, everybody doesn’t double-cover Reagor like they have.
“Some of the younger players [made plays]. When those kind of things happen, then they gain more confidence in the quarterback, and the quarterback gains more confidence in throwing to them.
“It’s that time of year when we need a little confidence, to be honest with you, which was a great thing.”
This story was originally published October 28, 2019 at 5:00 AM with the headline "‘Once we get going, it’s scary what we can do.’ TCU’s Reagor poised for strong finish.."
