Quentin Johnston out to prove he’s TCU football’s unquestioned ‘deep ball’ threat
Quentin Johnston would like one description whenever people see his name during a football game.
“They automatically think, ‘OK, big receiver. Jump ball. High point. Deep ball. Everything.’ I need to have that,” Johnston said. “You know, have it right next to my name — Quentin Johnston, deep ball receiver. Like automatic. No question. I take a lot of pride in that.”
Well, Johnston will have an even greater opportunity to solidify himself as that home-run threat going into his junior season at TCU. Johnston is expected to transition into the “X” receiver role in the version of the Air Raid offense run by first-year coach Sonny Dykes and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley.
Johnston played the “Z” receiver spot in TCU’s previous offensive scheme. While he was used as a big-play weapon, he’s expected to get more explosive looks from the “X” spot.
As Dykes explained, “X is more of your vertical guy. They end up running more vertical routes than anybody else on the field and that’s his strength. You want the X to be able to take the top off the defense, which he can do. Sit back and look at his skill set and how it plugs into what we want those guys to be able to do, X is a natural position for him.
“I think he’ll have an opportunity to excel there and just continue to get better with his fundamentals. The one thing he’s got to do is continue to get more consistent. He makes a lot of the big and splashy catches but he’s got to be able to do the little things that take you from being a really good receiver to a great one.”
Johnston is driven to become one of the top receivers in the country. He’s flirted with greatness at times, such as hauling in seven catches for 185 yards and three TDs at Oklahoma last season, but he’ll also have games where he produces more pedestrian numbers.
By moving to the “X,” though, Johnston sees no reason why he can’t have more OU-type games given his natural athletic ability and becoming bigger this offseason. Johnston added 10 pounds during the offseason program, checking in at 6-foot-4, 212 pounds for spring practices.
Johnston, like several players early on this spring, have pointed to TCU’s new strength and conditioning program led by Kaz Kazadi, who holds the title of assistant athletics director for football human performance.
Asked about Kazadi, Johnston said: “The intensity. We’ve got it on our shirts, ‘discipline.’ I feel like we already had a great deal of discipline, but we didn’t realize how much we needed it until he came and completely turned us around.”
For Johnston, who was a four-star prospect coming out of Temple in 2020, it’s about building off what he’s done in his first two seasons with the Frogs. As a true freshman in 2020, he finished with 22 catches for 487 yards and two TDs. He also rushed for two TDs in 2020.
Last season, Johnston had a team-leading 612 yards receiving on 33 catches with six touchdowns in nine games. He missed time with a knee injury but Johnston looks back to his old self this spring.
He’s made a few highlight-reel catches and beaten defensive backs more often than not during the first four practices.
“You saw last year, I did pretty good but I wasn’t as consistent with the deep ball like I’m expected to be,” Johnston said. “I have to solidify myself as that big receiver.”
TCU will go through practice No. 5 of 15 of the spring on Thursday. The spring game is set for 7 p.m. Friday, April 22 at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
This story was originally published March 30, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
