Quentin Johnston rises to the occasion at perfect moment in TCU win over Kansas
TCU fans have seen their fair share of impressive receiving performances the last decade or so.
Add Quentin Johnson’s performance in the Horned Frogs 38-31 win over No. 19 Kansas on Saturday to the list. as Johnston had a monster game. Johnston caught 14 passes for 206 yards and the game-winning touchdown with just over 90 seconds. remaining
His 206 yards is the most by a Horned Frogs receiver in a single game since 2016. His 14 catches were the most since Josh Doctson had 18 against Texas Tech in 2015.
Simply put, it was one of the best performances by a TCU (5-0, 2-0) receiver and it came when his team needed him most, only made it more impressive.
Head coach Sonny Dykes had an idea Johnston was about to explode leading up to the Top 25 showdown.
“Quentin, I know was excited to get back on track. He had a great week of practice, we felt like coming into the game he was going to perform at a really high level,” Dykes said. “I know Max looked at him all week in practice, typically when that happens it carries over to the game. We certainly needed it.”
Entering Saturday’s game, Johnston had started slow. He was more of a decoy as he faced double coverage in the Horned Frogs’ first four games. Despite all the chatter of him being a potential first-round NFL draft pick, Johnston had just 12 catches for 114 yards and no touchdowns.
His approach to this craft never wavered and helped him stay mentally ready to perform the way he did.
“At the end of the end of the day if you love football, you’re going to go get it every single day. Day in and day out,” Johnston said. “Everyday since the summer I’ve been going full speed, my GPS tracker is off the charts. That was just more of a battle between me and myself to try and get better.”
Not only did Johnston basically double his production, he also set career-highs across the board. The sense of gratification he felt wasn’t just about the win or his stats, it was about making the people close to him proud.
“I call my mom everyday and say, ‘Look I’m going hard for y’all.’ That’s my kind of motivation for why I keep going,” Johnston said.
Max Duggan came out with a clear goal of making sure his star receiver was involved. With the way Kansas was trying to guard TCU, it opened up opportunities to find Johnston in single coverage.
When the opportunity came, Duggan kept going back to what was working.
“When you get the ball it helps the offense just flow a lot better. With the ball in his hands, you can see how talented he is and what he can do,” Duggan said. “Seeing him burst out against was fun to watch. I just think we made a priority to target him and try to look for him. Whether that’s scheming up plays to get him the ball or tagging him with the ball quickly, that was my mindset this week at practice.”
While the scheme played a big role in Johnston’s performance, Dykes kept going back to how he did at practice as the main reason he excelled on Saturday.
“He had a couple of games that he maybe wasn’t healthy and wasn’t able to prepare. It really goes back to practice, I know that’s the lame answer, but he had such a great week of practice. Max threw him the ball over and over and over in practice and he made plays,” Dykes said. “I think those two guys really felt a connection and thought we had a matchup in what they were doing defensively. We needed him to have a big game.”
Johnston did it in a variety of ways. He broke tackle on short screens, he took modest plays and made them chunk plays. Like after Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels fumbled at the one yard. TCU was only leading 3-0 and had struggled offensively to that point.
The first play after the turnover? A 53-yard gain by Johnston. The second play? A 29-yard gain by you know who. It set up a short touchdown by Kendre Miller that put the Horned Frogs ahead 10-0.
His biggest play was the last one as Johnston fought off a pass interference to make a toe tap catch in the back of end zone for the game winner.
How was he able to make him the catch with a defender trying to pull and hold his jersey?
“I’m still processing that,” Johnston joked after the game. When it came down to it, it was about him wanting the ball more than the defender.
“At the end of the day we’re playing football and I am a receiver. I had to go out and make those plays. It was all confidence,” Johnston said.
After his record-setting performance Johnston leads TCU in receptions and yards like we all expected in the preseason.
One game can change your season and with Johnston back on track, an already explosive offense could find another gear.
