TCU football’s rebound from slow start a ‘really satisfying feeling,’ Patterson says
TCU football coach Gary Patterson wouldn’t describe his team’s fight to get back to the .500-mark following a 1-3 start as “rewarding.”
As Patterson explained on Monday, “I don’t know about rewarding because all of us want to win all of them. But I do have a great deal of respect for the kids who have fought through, all of our younger guys who keep growing up.”
That’s because it would have been easy for them to hit the off switch this season amid the coronavirus pandemic. Given the uncertainty of games being played each week and the number of protocols to play amid COVID, it’s understandable why some players have decided to forego football this fall.
Heck, a handful of TCU players have done so with 10 players from the opening-day roster no longer on it, either opting for the NCAA transfer portal or out all together.
Those opt-outs, coupled with season-long injuries, have left TCU without 30-plus scholarship players the past few weeks. But the Frogs have persevered and won three of their last four games. The latest came with a dominant 59-23 victory at Kansas.
TCU (4-4, 4-4 Big 12) would like to add another victory with No. 23 Oklahoma State (6-2, 5-2) coming to town on Saturday. Kickoff is set for 11 a.m. at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Assuming the game is held as scheduled, it would mark the end of Big 12 play for TCU. The Frogs are still actively looking for a 10th regular-season game against a nonconference opponent — possibly SMU — but the Oklahoma State game is the last on the schedule for now. Sources have indicated a decision on a 10th game could come as early as Tuesday.
“It’s only going to be nine ballgames, but it seems like it’s been about 15 ballgames since we started,” Patterson said. “You have to take your hat off, and I’d say this about every university we’ve played ‘cause I’ve watched how they’ve handled their kids and done things, there should be a lot of cheers for them from the simple standpoint of all the things that kids go through to play.
“It’s been a really satisfying feeling, especially with your staff and everybody else with how they all handled it.”
Patterson went on to praise TCU brass, particularly Chancellor Victor Boschini. Boschini, who is the chair of the Big 12’s board of directors, pushed to play a football season when conferences such as the Big Ten and Pac-12 were canceling fall seasons in early August.
“Our chancellor was one of the leading people who pushed for us to move forward and play,” Patterson said. “And it’s shown to be a great decision. We’ve got one game left to get done with the season as far as the conference is concerned and then go from there.”
Recruiting news
TCU received another commitment for its 2021 class on Monday.
Wide receiver TJ Steele, a three-star prospect out of Lubbock Estacado, announced his intentions to play for the Horned Frogs. He flipped from a prior commitment to North Texas.
“I am extremely excited about this opportunity that coach (Malcolm) Kelly, coach (Sonny) Cumbie, and coach (Gary) Patterson have offered me!” Steele wrote on his Twitter account. “I can’t wait to get to campus and hit the ground running!”
