TCU football practice report: Defense has a day as spring practices reach midway point
TCU football passed the midway point of spring practices Thursday. The Frogs took the field for Day 8 of 15 and the defense had itself a day.
TCU’s defense forced takeaways and got to the quarterback throughout practice.
During the 7-on-7 portion, Frogs safety Bud Clark intercepted a deep ball by senior quarterback Max Duggan. Later on, linebacker Dee Winters came down with an interception on a ball that deflected into the air as Duggan tried to fit it in a tight window for tight end Geor’Quarius Spivey.
During the team portion, the defense should’ve had two more interceptions on Duggan. Senior cornerback C.J. Ceasar dropped an interception during one series but then redeemed himself by picking off a pass that bounced off the hands of Quentin Johnston.
From a pressure standpoint, redshirt freshman Landyn Watson had a sack on Duggan during the team portion. Linebacker Marcel Brooks registered a sack, too, during a team series with Chandler Morris at quarterback.
Watson also had a tackle for loss on a run by Trent Battle during the team portion, and senior defensive end Colt Ellison batted down a pass at the line of scrimmage by Morris.
Overall, it was a productive day for the defense. Forcing takeaways and improving the pass rush are among the top priorities to get the defense turned around.
TCU forced just 12 takeaways and ranked second-to-last in the Big 12 with 15 sacks last season.
Other takeaways from Day 8:
▪ Of course when the defense has several impact plays that means the offense had a rough day. And they did for the most part. Duggan’s interceptions stand out more than his 7-of-9 passing numbers during the team portion. Morris, meanwhile, went 3-of-8 passing during his work with the team. Again, neither quarterback has separated himself to this point.
▪ Duggan’s best completion was a deep pass to Blair Conwright, who got by senior cornerback Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson.
▪ Sticking with the QBs, Morris worked with the first-team the first two series then Duggan in the last series. Coach Sonny Dykes and offensive coordinator Garrett Riley continue to split the first-team reps evenly between the two quarterbacks. It’s safe to say that both are being given a fair look this spring but it feels like the QB battle won’t be decided until the fall.
▪ Third-string quarterback Sam Jackson continues to flash ability with his legs. He also had one of his better days from a completion percentage standpoint, going 3-of-3 passing in his two series with the third team. It’ll be interesting to see if Jackson pushes his way into some first-team reps at some point this spring or in the fall.
▪ Running back Emani Bailey, a junior transfer from Louisiana, is getting touches in both the running and passing game. At 5-foot-8, 197 pounds, he’s a prototypical change-of-pace back who should see his number called plenty this season.
▪ Nothing out of the ordinary but there were a couple of times where it got chippy and players got into heated exchanges Thursday. There’s a more intense feel during practices with them being open to fans and media. As right tackle Andrew Coker said, “Whenever you have people out there, you have a little different juice, a little different vibe. It’s one of those practices that you’re looking forward to it. It’s not one of those where you’ve got to, it’s you get to. So it’s been a lot of fun. I’m looking forward to finishing spring ball strong and heading into fall camp.”
This story was originally published April 7, 2022 at 1:04 PM.
