Saturdays are judgment days, but TCU’s Patterson is pleased with QB Downing for now
TCU coach Gary Patterson always likes to say quarterbacks are judged on Saturdays. That philosophy isn’t going to change anytime soon.
In the meantime, Patterson continues to speak positively about sophomore quarterback Matthew Downing taking the place of projected starter Max Duggan.
Patterson brushed off any notion the Horned Frogs may have a limited playbook with an inexperienced quarterback such as Downing, a former walk-on who has never played in a game at TCU.
“He’s not an eighth grader. He’s a college quarterback,” Patterson said. “At the end of the day, he was a quarterback at Georgia before he came here. You have a competitor and a really smart kid. You know how I judge quarterbacks — we’ll see what he looks like on Saturdays. That’s how they get judged. It doesn’t matter how you look in practice.
“We’ve got two weeks left to get ourselves to where we need to get to and what we need to do.”
Outside of Downing’s development, Patterson said the offense has other areas that must improve. The offensive line lost its top three tackles and best interior linemen from last season, while the receiving corps lost its most explosive player in Jalen Reagor.
TCU has talent and potential within those units, but it’s an unknown for now. Just like quarterbacks, every other position is judged on Saturdays too.
“It’s not Downing,” Patterson said. “We have to make sure all our wide receivers get on the same page. Offensive line, you’ve got a younger offensive football team.
“We’ve shown signs of being pretty good and there’s days where it’s not. That’s pretty normal.”
Patterson also emphasized that expectations remain the same for the program regardless of who is quarterback. They expect to win games and compete for championships when the season starts against SMU on Sept. 12 (this game is subject to be played on Friday, Sept. 11. The Big 12 is expected to announce kickoff times/TV information on Tuesday).
Patterson mentioned the 2018 season when his team gained bowl eligibility despite needing four quarterbacks to get through an injury-plagued season. TCU went on to win a bowl game with fourth-stringer Grayson Muehlstein starting the game.
“Expectations are nothing has changed,” Patterson said.
As Patterson alluded to, Downing has seen game action in major college football when he walked on at Georgia in 2018. He was the third-string quarterback behind Jake Fromm and Justin Fields. Downing played in four games, completing 8 of 10 passes for 88 yards.
Downing had a standout high school career at Alpharetta (Georgia) High, throwing for 2,659 yards with 24 touchdowns and five interceptions his senior season. He also rushed for 386 yards and three TDs in earning the Region 7, Class 6A offensive player of the year honors.
But, at 6-feet, 205 pounds, Downing wasn’t a highly recruited player. In fact, he didn’t even have a ranking by the recruiting website 247Sports.
At TCU, Downing has impressed. He moved ahead of Justin Rogers on the depth chart last season and is now in line to be the starting quarterback.
Behind Downing, it sounded as though JUCO prospect Stephon Brown has emerged as the backup to open the season. Patterson said the offense will find ways to get the 6-foot-5, 230-pounder involved in a wildcat-type package.
“He’ll have a package as he keeps learning the offense. He’s a very physical quarterback as far as size,” Patterson said. “He brings a different dimension to the quarterback run game.”
Patterson provided a brief update on Duggan, too, saying the sophomore still has a chance to return this season. Duggan is sidelined with a heart condition discovered during COVID-19 protocol but is in the recovery stages. For now, he is taking part in meetings.
“We’ll see how it goes,” Patterson said.
