Colorado transfer Mark Perry quickly becoming a leader in TCU football’s secondary
Mark Perry is a name that has come up often throughout TCU football’s spring practices. For the right reasons.
Coach Sonny Dykes mentioned Perry as a player who has emerged as a leader on the defensive side. So has defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie.
Perry is also making plays from the strong safety position. He’s intercepted passes. He’s made tackles. He even had a sack during Tuesday’s practice coming off the edge on a blitz.
“Spring ball has been good,” Perry said during a recent interview. “I’ve been fortunate enough to get here and help out in our room and on the defense overall. I think we’ve gotten better every practice. I think it’s been a good experience so far.”
Perry joined the Frogs less than four months ago, transferring from Colorado after three seasons. He started 12 games at free safety for the Buffaloes last season, finishing with 72 tackles and three interceptions.
Perry, who is listed as a junior on TCU’s website as players were granted an extra year of eligibility amid the pandemic in 2020, is best known for his speed. Along with playing football, Perry was a sprinter on Colorado’s track and field team last spring, running the 100 meters and the 4x100-meter relay. His best 100-meter time was 10.65 seconds.
Perry is not looking to run track at TCU, though, focusing solely on the football field. But football practice can turn into a track meet at times, especially if Perry is defending a receiver such as Derius Davis, who has been clocked running a 4.36-second 40-yard dash.
“It’s a lot of speed. My first day I lined up against D Davis and I was like, ‘I’m gonna have to get on my horse,’” Perry said, smiling. “You’ve kind of got to learn each receiver and what they do and what their strengths are. When I lined up against him, I knew his strength was speed. Consciously, I’m going to have to get on my horse because he’s about to run deep. It’s been good. I like the competition.”
For Perry, it’s been a relatively seamless transition into a new program. Learning Gillespie’s 3-3-5 scheme hasn’t been too burdensome as he went through different defenses every year at Colorado. And becoming a vocal leader in the secondary has become second nature given his experience.
“When I came in as a freshman, I played under Mel Tucker at Colorado,” Perry said. “That was probably one of the biggest things he harped on when I was a freshman — you’ve got to talk if you’re going to be a safety. You can’t just walk out there and not say anything. We’re the quarterback of the defense. He was always on me about it. This past year, the DC Chris Wilson was always on me about it.
“It’s just kind of been a thing I heard over and over. I developed on it last year, so it wasn’t as hard for it to carry over.”
That has been a positive for a safety unit that lost two veterans in the room with T.J. Carter and La’Kendrick Van Zandt pursuing professional careers. Perry has filled that void early on.
Finally, for what it’s worth, Perry acknowledged that he already has TCU’s opener at Colorado circled on his calendar. Perry is ready to go against his former team on Friday, Sept. 2 in Boulder.
“It’s been circled since I made my decision. It was in the back of my head and I knew of it,” Perry said with a grin. “I’ve had that question a lot going back up there. I’m excited for it. I was at Colorado for three years and it was good for me and I appreciate every person up there. It was good, but it was just time for a change.
“But I’m excited for sure to go see all my old teammates and compete.”
This story was originally published April 14, 2022 at 5:00 AM.
