TCU offense showcases big-play ability in third practice
In the first two days of camp there hasn’t been much information to gather from the 11-on-11 portion of TCU football practice besides who was running with the first team or taking the first snap at quarterback.
That changed on Thursday as TCU generated a few chunk plays during the open portion of practice, which was the first day of full pads. This part of practice is still mainly about the offense getting used to playing fast, but it looked like the Horned Frogs are starting to settle in offensively.
Max Duggan took the first snaps Thursday as head coach Sonny Dykes continues to rotate him and Chandler Morris. Morris had the best throw of the week. Running with the second team, he completed a beautiful pass to wide receiver Blake Nowell that went for a touchdown.
“They’ve gone through it a little bit with us and they’re learning the nuance of what we’re after and what we’re trying to accomplish. It’s good to see some of that, we’re getting challenged over there defensively everyday by (Joe) Gillespie,” offensive coordinator Garrett Riley said of the offense’s performance.
That wasn’t the only big play of the morning. Thanks to a key block from true freshman Jordan Hudson, running back Trent Battle sprung the longest rush of the week. It generated plenty of cheers from the rest of the offense as TCU closed out that portion of practice.
Defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie hopes Thursday will serve as a learning opportunity for the defense.
“Today we gave up a few explosive plays that we would like to have back. That’s one of the things we don’t want to do which is give up any explosive plays at all. This defense is built to try and sit there and stop those things,” Gillespie said. “We’re also putting them in some precarious positions right now because we want to find out can we do those things and how can we do it better if isn’t working?”
More observations from TCU’s third practice of the preseason:
Horton held out
On the injury front, senior defensive lineman Dylan Horton was held out of practice Thursday and in street clothes.
After being held out of Wednesday’s practice and missing a chunk of Tuesday’s, offensive tackle Marcus Williams returned to action Thursday. It’s a good sign that the injury wasn’t more serious.
Tight end D’Andre Rodgers practiced Thursday, but was wearing a red no-contact jersey.
Hodges has the look
One defensive player that has stood out is out Navy transfer linebacker Johnny Hodges. A physically, imposing presence Hodges looks the part of what you want from a modern-day linebacker.
“Johnny’s an old-school backer. He’s very intense, he’s what you want in a linebacker. He studies the heck out of the game, the thing with Johnny that makes him great is he understands his strengths and also understand where his deficiencies are. He makes up for that with his mind,” Gillespie said.
The defense hasn’t done much hitting during the open portion of practice, but Hodges has still flashed. Another linebacker that made a few plays Thursday was Thomas Armstrong, who ran with the second team defensively. Armstrong had a stop that would’ve been a tackle for loss a few plays before Morris’ touchdown pass to Nowell.
“He flashes everyday. He flashed everyday during the spring, he flashed everyday so far these first three days,” Gillespie said.
Defensive fundamentals a key theme
After 11-on-11 the Horned Frogs spent most of the next 20-30 minutes rotating through various stations to work on defensive fundamentals.
There was a drill designed to help players taking the proper angle in pursuit. Another where they needed to shed a block and wrap up a large rolling medicine ball. It was fast paced and quick with each group rotating stations every three minutes or so.
It’s the smaller details that will be key if TCU is to be much improved on defense this year.
More nuggets
With Horton out on Thursday, the first defensive line group was Soni Misi, Terrell Cooper and Colt Ellison. The first group was solid going against Duggan and the first-team offense, though TCU hopes to get Horton back soon.
At wide receiver the first group was Quentin Johnston, Taye Barber and Quincy Brown on the outside. The sophomore started the final nine games last year and is still holding firm to that spot opposite Johnston. Geor’Quarius Spivey has been running first team tight end.
Along with Nowell, Derius Davis and Blair Conwright were the second team receivers. TCU’s wide receiver group is one of the deeper parts of the roster.
On the offensive line another name to watch is Arizona State transfer Ezra Dotson-Oyetode. He’s far from the biggest player in the unit, but is running with the second team and could be a player that provides depth for the Horned Frogs up front.
When asked which position group had been standing out, Riley mentioned the offensive line as rave reviews continue to roll in for the men up front.
“The key is we have some older guys and some continuity up front. It starts there, we have some experience at the quarterback position, so anytime you have that you can build off that. But I think the o-line would be the one that stands out,” Riley said.
This story was originally published August 4, 2022 at 11:00 AM.
