Highs and lows of the first week of TCU football practices
With the season opener at Colorado less than a month away, we learned a fair amount about where the TCU football team after the Horned Frog’s first week of preseason practice.
Saturday featured a lengthy 11-on-11 segment. Typically, TCU does three series with Max Duggan, Chandler Morris and Sam Jackson leading the first-, second- and third-team offenses. Duggan and Morris have alternated each practice.
Head coach Sonny Dykes switched it up Saturday as the Horned Frogs doubled the amount of series to six and also threw Josh Hoover in the mix.
“I feel like we had four really good, solid days. We started slow day one and built off of that. I was really pleased. I think the guys have been really excited to practice everyday. That’s been the biggest, most pleasant surprise,” Dykes said.
The defense continued to impress after bouncing back on Friday. The unit forced Kendre Miller to fumble on the first series and there was another fumble when Morris couldn’t bring in a snap.
Running with the second team, Morris had the best completion of the day: a nice crossing route to Chase Curtis while running with the second team.
Duggan started the session with the first team, but Morris also had a chance to lead the first team in the fourth series.
The defensive front seven’s ability to generate penetration and gap integrity stood out. Running room was hard to come by for the offense.
Emari Demercado had the best run of the day with a rush for about 10 yards with the second team.
Dykes said the team was able to answer the biggest question he had over the summer with their first week performance.
“The guys did a great job in the weight room, with nutrition and all the little things we wanted them to buy into. Is it going to carry over to the field? That’s a question we all had. What’s the mentality going to be transitioning from the weight room to the field? I think everybody’s been impressed,” Dykes said.
More takeaways from Saturday’s practice and the week overall:
Names to watch on defense
Two players that constantly flashed all week, including Saturday, were corner Josh Newton and linebacker Thomas Armstrong. Newton finished the week strong with a pass breakup, a near tackle for loss and he also got some reps with the first team defense.
Expect him to factor into the cornerback rotation. The same could be said for Armstrong. The linebacker core of Johnny Hodges, Dee Winters and Jamoi Hodge is already solid, but having a guy like Armstrong makes the unit better. Marcel Brooks had some good moments as well throughout the week and is up to 210 pounds according to the updated roster.
Shadrach Banks also had a tackle for loss on Saturday.
The QB competition
With each series the quarterbacks lead only lasting about four or five plays, the media has only been allowed to observe a small sample of the quarterback battle. Duggan and Morris received roughly eight to 10 reps and roughly two dozen plays for each over the week.
Based on the early 11-on-11 practices, Morris appears to have a slim early edge. Morris has completed the biggest passes on Thursday and Saturday and has been the most consistent during individual drills.
When the media has been able to observe, Duggan hasn’t played poorly, but has yet to generate that big play.The race is far from being decided and the last hour of practices will have a bigger impact on Dykes’s decision.
“I’ve seen exactly what I wanted to see (from the quarterbacks). I’ve seen improvement from the spring, from all four quarterbacks,” Dykes said. “They’ve handled themselves well. To me the next week we’ll be able to figure some of that stuff out a little more. We’ll have everything installed.”
Outside of that, TCU may have one of the most athletic quarterback rooms in the Big 12. Maybe the country. Morris, Duggan and Jackson all had nice runs throughout the week including a scramble from Duggan after eluding a potential sack Saturday.
Expect the read-option and more designed quarterback runs to be a big part of the offense.
Receiver, o-line appear to be set
While there have been plenty of rotating players across the position groups, the wide receiver and offensive line haven’t had much deviation.
At receiver Quentin Johnston, Taye Barber and Quincy Brown have received a lion’s share of the first team reps along with Geor’Quavius Spivey at tight end. Blair Conwright and Derius Davis would be the next two names up at receiver. Blake Nowell, Gunnar Henderson and Jordan Hudson are a few more names to watch.
Up front, it’s pretty much been Andrew Coker at left tackle, Brandon Coleman at left guard, Steve Avila at center, John Lanz at right guard and Michael Nichols at right tackle. The defense has challenged that group the last two days, but overall it was a solid week.
“They’re strong, I like we’re getting movement. You want to see the line of scrimmage move. Steve is a really good football player. You watch him, he plays with great technique, he’s a really great leader. I’ve never been around a good football team that hasn’t had a ton of leadership on the offensive line. I love the way that group is leading and I think it’s led by Steve,” Dykes said.
Key injuries to watch
The Horned Frogs got through the week mostly healthy, but there a few players unable to participate over the last few days.
Defensive end Dylan Horton missed his third straight practice, but was able to work out. All Big-12 corner Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson was also in a walking boot on Saturday and Ish Burdine was also out Saturday.
Dykes said all three injuries were minor as Burdine is dealing with a hamstring issues. Hodges-Tomlinson is nursing a nagging ankle and Horton suffered a foot infection due to wearing a new pair of cleats. Horton could’ve practiced the last two days, but the staff wanted to be cautious.
The hope is to have all three back for practice on Monday.
This story was originally published August 6, 2022 at 10:35 AM.
