Sonny Dykes wants his quarterback to be TCU’s point guard
When it comes to the looming quarterback competition, TCU head coach Sonny Dykes has a clear vision for what he wants from the winner.
“I always thought that playing quarterback is like playing point guard. You’re distributing the ball to other guys and your job is to make them look really good. The guy that makes everybody look the best is typically the best player,” said Dykes, the first-year coach who opens camp next week.
There are currently five quarterbacks on the roster with Max Duggan and Chandler Morris expected to be the primary contenders for the job.
All of them, including redshirt freshman Sam Jackson, will be starting with a clean slate as Dykes searches for his field general.
“I’m not concerned at all with the politics of any of it. I don’t care who the starting quarterback was in the past, I don’t care who was the highest-rated guy is, I don’t care who has the highest ceiling,” Dykes said. “I don’t care about any of that, I care about who gives us the best chance to win.”
There many factors Dykes will consider in that regard like ball security and decision-making. However, the most important might be confidence.
“Tom Brady is Tom Brady because he can walk in the huddle and everybody in the huddle believes this guy is going to figure out a way to help us to win this ball game. That’s what you’re looking for, a guy that commands everybody’s respect. Somebody that everybody believes in,” Dykes said.
Whoever emerges as the winner will be in the line to be the latest quarterback to thrive under Dykes. His track record is well known as he coached No. 1 overall pick Jared Goff and fellow NFL quarterback Davis Webb at California.
Shane Buechele was first-team All-AAC in 2019 and Tanner Mordecai was second-team in 2021. It’s a system that’s certainly quarterback friendly. The key to that success has been less about the Xs and Os and more about adjusting to the quarterback and the rest of the offensive personnel.
“Our thing has always started with players,” Dykes said. “The thing I’ve always liked about what we do on offense is you can build your scheme around the players and not building the players around the scheme. All the different skill sets have a place in this offense.”
Whether it’s tailoring the offense to showcase a quarterback’s running back ability or arm strength, Dykes adjusts as needed.
Dykes has a number of options to consider with Duggan, Morris, Jackson and even true freshman Josh Hoover. He broke down what they can bring to the table.
On Max Duggan: Duggan battled through injury to start 10 games as he passed 2,048 yards, 16 touchdowns and six interceptions. The senior added 352 yards on the ground and three touchdowns.
“One of things I was always impressed with Max when I played him at SMU is watching how he dealt with adversity and tough things that happened to him. He’s a tough-minded guy. I always liked that toughness that he brought, he’s a physical guy. I think he commands a certain level of respect because he is tough-minded, he has played through injuries. He’s had ups and downs and all the stuff that makes you better,” Dykes said.
On Chandler Morris: A former Under Armour All-American, Morris appeared in four games including the upset of Baylor where he accounted for 531 total yards of offense and three touchdowns.
“I saw him do things like that when he was a high school player at Highland Park when I was at SMU. I saw the kind of leader he was and he was one of the guys that made everybody look better,” Dykes said. “He just had an ease to playing the game, a quiet confidence about himself. I think there are some guys that seem to have a knack for playing. I go back and look at my history with quarterbacks, a lot of times their dads were coaches.
“Those two guys have the experience, Max has more than Chandler, but you put on the film and watch Chandler vs. Baylor and you go ‘Wow,’ this is one of the best quarterbacks in college football.’ Put the film on the next week and it doesn’t look the same. We just have to figure that stuff out.”
On Sam Jackson: The redshirt freshman played in two games last season, completing the lone pass he attempted.
“Sam Jackson’s a really talented guy, I really like some of the things he can do. He just hasn’t had a chance to do them yet on Saturdays. My hope is he can become good enough during fall camp that we can give him a chance on Saturday to go out there and see what he is capable of and how he responds to doing that. He’s very talented and can do some stuff that’s very unique,” Dykes said.
Josh Hoover: Hoover was ranked a three-star recruit and the No. 41 quarterback in the 247Sports composite rankings after passing for nearly 10,000 yards at Rockwall-Heath. It will be tough for him to leap Morris, Duggan and Jackson but Hoover did enroll early.
Luke Pardee: The redshirt sophomore has yet to appear in a game.
This story was originally published July 28, 2022 at 7:00 AM.
