TCU’s Ochaun Mathis channels ‘Coach P,’ sheds ‘Gary’ as he starts to play up to hype
Coach Gary Patterson likes to talk about his two different personalities.
Coach P is the fiery and intense coach on the sidelines. Gary is the relaxed guy off the field who plays guitar and raises money for local charities.
For Patterson, he wants his players to become their own version of “Coach P” on game days. He wants them to have the same fire and intensity, and he’s starting to see it from sophomore defensive end Ochaun Mathis.
Mathis had a career-high three sacks in TCU’s 34-18 victory over Texas Tech on Saturday.
“I told him he needed to act like Coach P, not like Gary — get a little bit more attitude about him,” Patterson said during the Big 12 coaches teleconference Monday. “He really had a good ballgame last week. We need him. We’re excited about him. He’s got a great future here.”
Patterson has been praising Mathis since he stepped on campus three years ago out of Manor High School. During one of his weekly radio shows during the 2018 season, Patterson said Mathis “might be before he’s done the best defensive end that ever played here.”
Mathis has always passed the eye test at 6-foot-5, 250 pounds with the ability to run a 40-yard dash in the high 4.5s, low 4.6s range. But it’s taken time for him to develop.
Mathis started every game last year, finishing fifth with 40 tackles and tied for second with nine tackles for loss. But he only had 2.5 sacks on the season. In four games as a true freshman to maintain his redshirt status in 2018, Mathis had three tackles, including one for loss.
This year, though, he’s showing signs of putting it all together. He had a limited offseason after undergoing a cleanup procedure, coupled with COVID-19 shutting things down, but is in the midst of a breakout season.
Mathis is second on the team with seven tackles for loss, including a team-high four sacks. He also has 23 tackles and one QB hit.
The key is consistency and stringing together performances such as how disruptive he was against Texas Tech.
“He’s been frustrated because he’s a young player,” Patterson said. “We’ve been working really hard to get him confidence and get him to where he can start playing at the ability he can play at. Last week he got an opportunity and played like that.”
TCU travels to West Virginia this weekend. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. Saturday in Morgantown.
