Quarterback situation remains a work in progress, TCU football’s Sonny Dykes says
Sonny Dykes has an eye for quarterback talent. His track record tells the story over the years.
As offensive coordinator at Arizona, he brought in Nick Foles. At Cal, he landed Davis Webb and Jared Goff. Most recently at SMU, he helped develop Shane Buechele and Tanner Mordecai.
So who will emerge as Dykes’ first quarterback during his TCU tenure? That answer won’t be known until fall camp.
In the meantime, Dykes and his staff intend to use spring practices to evaluate the in-house talent thoroughly and then see what other quarterbacks may become available via the transfer portal in May.
“Like anything else, we’re always looking to add a player,” Dykes said during his national signing day news conference on Wednesday.
“The good thing is, at this juncture, we’ll be able to go through spring ball and see what we have at that position and then assess it at that point. I think we all know there’s going to be a lot of really good, quality quarterbacks that are going to lose the starting job this spring that are going to go in the portal. This quarterback stuff will start all over again. There will be a higher number that go in in May than there was in December.”
TCU was in the mix for quarterbacks who entered the portal in December, but there wasn’t the right fit.
The biggest name was Quinn Ewers, the former Southlake Carroll star who has since landed at Texas. Ewers met with TCU’s staff, although Dykes was not part of the contingent due to a prior commitment.
Other quarterbacks linked to TCU included USC transfer Jaxson Dart, who went to Ole Miss, and UCF transfer Dillon Gabriel, who headed to Oklahoma.
“We had some kids that reached out to us that were interested in coming,” Dykes said. “We’ve done well with transfer quarterbacks in the past. It’s a quarterback-friendly offense. It’s a good supporting cast. We engaged with some guys and went down the road a little bit. Just like anything else, you get to know them and ask, ‘Are they a good fit?’ Then you make decisions as you go along. They were doing the same thing with us.”
By not landing a quarterback via the portal, Dykes and his staff will see an ample number of reps this spring from the in-house candidates.
Max Duggan, who has started 29 of the last 32 games for the Frogs, returns for his senior season. He threw for 2,048 yards with 16 touchdowns to six interceptions and a 64% completion percentage last season. Duggan underwent foot surgery following the season but is expected to be ready for spring practices.
Another option is redshirt freshman Chandler Morris, who started two games last season. Morris had a breakout game in leading TCU to an upset victory over then-No. 12 Baylor on Nov. 6. In limited action, Morris completed 66% of his passes (50 of 76) for 695 yards with three TDs and no interceptions.
Redshirt freshman Sam Jackson and true freshman Josh Hoover are other quarterbacks with potential in the room. Redshirt freshmen such as Trent Battle and Alexander Honig could be in line for position changes. Honig is listed as a tight end on TCU’s roster but that has not been finalized yet.
Luke Pardee, a sophomore walk-on, is another quarterback on the roster.
At the end of the day, the QB competition remains the top storyline going into spring practices. The Frogs are scheduled to start spring practices March 22 with the spring game set for Friday, April 22 at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
