TCU football coach says five-star RB Zach Evans has plenty of room for improvement
TCU coach Gary Patterson doesn’t rely on recruiting hype or the number of stars next to a player’s name when he fills out the depth chart. Instead, the players who give the Horned Frogs the best chance of winning games are going to play on Saturdays.
Most expect that group to include five-star running back Zach Evans this fall, but Patterson tapped the brakes on the buzz around the highest-rated recruit in program history last week.
In assessing his running back corps, Patterson said: “They look young.”
Patterson chuckled briefly before mentioning junior Emari Demercado and redshirt freshman Darwin Barlow as the exceptions to that statement early on in training camp.
“Everyone else needs to keep getting better,” Patterson said.
That includes Evans, the Galena Park North Shore standout who was once regarded as the nation’s top 2020 prospect by 247Sports. He ended up as the No. 16 prospect in the country, landing at TCU after a bizarre recruiting process in which he initially signed with Georgia.
Asked where Evans needed to grow, Patterson said: “Like all freshmen — everything.”
Patterson kept his answer short again when asked if he could see the high-ceiling potential in Evans as many recruiting experts did, saying: “Not right now. He’s learning how to go through college.”
TCU is expected to rely heavily on its running game much like it did last season. The Horned Frogs will be starting the season with an unproven quarterback in Matthew Downing, who has assumed the starting job with Max Duggan sidelined indefinitely with a heart condition.
But TCU’s rushing attack faces the same unknowns as the QB position. The top four rushers from last season won’t be available when the season starts, and the running back room has a new coach with Bryan Applewhite replacing Curtis Luper.
So questions remain whether TCU can replicate, or improve, upon what it did last season when it had the Big 12’s third-best rushing attack. Darius Anderson closed his college career by leading the team with 823 yards rushing. Duggan ranked second with 555 yards, while Sewo Olonilua had 537 yards as a senior. Former quarterback Alex Delton finished with the fourth-most rushing yards with 100.
Demercado is the most experienced runner in this year’s group, entering his third season with the program. He redshirted last season after rushing for 224 yards in 2018. Barlow joined as a highly-touted running back out of Newton and averaged 4.5 yards a carry in three games last season.
Patterson said Barlow has gotten bigger and stronger this offseason, the reason he’s impressed so far in camp.
Another redshirt freshman, Daimarqua Foster, was also highly-touted coming out of high school. He finished as the leading rusher in the history of high school football in the city of Wichita Falls.
Then there’s Evans, who drew comparisons to Adrian Peterson in high school, as well as fellow incoming freshman Kendre Miller.
TCU opens its season against SMU on Sept. 12 at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
This story was originally published August 25, 2020 at 5:00 AM.
