NFL evaluators ripped TCU’s Duggan. But Patterson says he’s ‘a great leader’ on the rise
TCU coach Gary Patterson isn’t worried about what NFL analysts thought about quarterback Max Duggan or the offensive struggles last season.
The Horned Frogs’ offense has been scrutinized in recent weeks as professional teams evaluated receiver Jalen Reagor. Reagor’s limited production was written off by some NFL teams based on Duggan’s play.
“[Reagor] played with possibly one of the worst college football quarterbacks I’ve ever seen in my life,” an NFC coordinator told NFL.com.
Said another coordinator in the same report: “The Reagor kid is interesting because his quarterback play was so atrocious.”
Patterson was aware of the criticisms during the NFL Draft last week, recalling: “I heard Kirk Herbstreit say that [Duggan] was terrible and the offense was terrible. It’s easy to say that.”
The criticism is fair to an extent. TCU had the Big 12’s second-worst pass offense and worst pass efficiency rating. Duggan completed only 53.4% of his passes, throwing for 2,077 yards with 15 touchdowns and 10 interceptions.
On the flip side, Duggan was only a true freshman and played more than most expected. He flashed promising signs, too, such as his play in victories over Texas and Texas Tech.
Just about every Big 12 coach, from Oklahoma’s Lincoln Riley to Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy, had good things to say about Duggan throughout the season.
“He’s an impressive kid, man,” Riley said last season. “He’s athletic, an aggressive runner and he’s got a really good guy [TCU offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie] coaching him, so you know he’s going to get better quickly like he has.”
At the end of the day, TCU and Patterson believe that Duggan’s best days are ahead. This criticism by NFL personnel will serve as motivation, rather than shake Duggan’s confidence.
Patterson pointed to the journey most of his quarterbacks have taken. TCU went 8-5 in Andy Dalton’s first season in 2007 before reaching double-digit wins the next three seasons for a combined 36-3 record, highlighted by a Rose Bowl victory in 2010.
In Trevone Boykin’s first two seasons, TCU went 7-6 in 2012 and 4-8 in 2013 before winning the Peach Bowl in 2014 and going 11-2 in 2015 to finish in the top 10 both seasons.
“We don’t listen to everybody else. Almost every head coach before the ballgame in warmups came up and said, ‘Your freshman quarterback is going to be a great player,’” Patterson said. “Max is a great leader. Is there a lot of things he needs to get better at? Yes. The things he is really good at — he’s a really tough guy, he’s a competitor, and I’d rather start with all of those things and go forward.
“It’s always been a two-year process for me. It’s no different with Max. We’ve got to get back to what he can do well and keep maturing him so we can expand the offense and what our offense can do well.”
