TCU’s future looks promising as true freshmen are starting to shine late in season
The TCU football team got off to a slow start, losing three of the first four games. But it has been a different story in the second part of the season with the Frogs winning five of their last six.
The latest was a dominant 52-10 victory over Louisiana Tech on Saturday. As TCU coach Gary Patterson likes to say, his team has “grown up” as the season progressed.
The good news is that those players who have “grown up” include a number of freshmen and underclassmen who are expected to make an impact next season and beyond.
Just look at Saturday’s game where true freshmen stole the spotlight. Of the seven touchdowns scored by TCU, true freshmen scored six.
As Patterson said succinctly, “Well, yeah, those guys are good football players.”
Wide receiver Quentin Johnston and running backs Zach Evans and Kendre Miller accounted for two TDs apiece and combined for 400 of 494 yards of total offense by TCU.
Johnston finished with 133 yards on five catches, including a 76-yard TD reception and a 1-yard TD run; Evans had 130 yards on seven carries with two TDs, including a 75-yard score on the first play of the second half; and Miller had 136 yards on five carries with two TDs, including an 89-yard TD run.
Johnston, the one-time University of Texas commit, is the first TCU true freshman in the last 25 seasons with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games. Johnston reached that mark Saturday by the end of the first half, hauling in the 76-yard TD reception from quarterback Max Duggan in the second quarter.
Johnston also scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter.
“Quentin is a super talented kid,” Duggan said. “He’s so talented and such a good playmaker, I’m going to try to get him the ball as fast as I can just so he can do his thing. Obviously you can see what happens when he gets the ball.”
Evans flashed similar play-making potential, averaging 18.6 yards a carry. He scored on a 4-yard run in the first half and then went for the 75-yard score in the second half. Miller had an even better clip, averaging 27.2 yards per carry after the 89-yard score.
Asked about Evans and Miller, Duggan said: “I think just the attitude and the effort they bring every day, that’s the biggest thing. They have an attitude that they want to come to work every single day and they want to do anything that can help us win. I’m just happy that I’m seeing success from them and for them on the field.”
Another true freshman who figures to play a big part in TCU’s future, wide receiver Savion Williams, had the first catch of his career on Saturday.
Outside of the true freshmen, don’t forget that Duggan is a true sophomore and the offensive line featured sophomore starters in Steve Avila (right tackle) and John Lanz (left guard). Andrew Coker, who started the first eight games at right tackle before being sidelined the past two weeks, is a redshirt freshman.
Defensively, sophomore defensive end Ochaun Mathis continues to make strides. He had two sacks on the night, his third multi-sack game of the season. Of his team-leading nine sacks, eight have come in the last five games.
“Coach P has done a great job pushing me. He’s been picking on me,” Mathis said, smiling. “A lot of it is the mentality. The coaches are really hard on me. It seems like whenever they make me mad, I get real angry and that’s what makes me play hard.”
Khari Coleman, a true freshman who starts opposite of Mathis at defensive end, has put together a case to be the Big 12’s newcomer of the year. He had 1.5 tackles for loss, giving him 15 on the season.
The secondary features sophomore cornerbacks Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, who is living up to his name and leading the Big 12 in pass breakups, and C.J. Ceasar II, who has struggled at times but had two interceptions on Saturday.
Of course, TCU is going to miss its more veteran players such as linebacker Garret Wallow. And if a guy such as safety Trevon Moehrig bolts for the NFL Draft, that will leave a noticeable void. But the future is bright.
That much has become clear as the season has gone on.
“The younger guys have all grown up,” Patterson said. “The guys in that room are so much stronger and more mature than they were in August. This younger group has grown up and done their thing and got ready to go.”
