Receiver, QBs and big plays highlight TCU’s spring football game. Here are 5 standouts
TCU ended spring football practice with a literal bang Friday.
The Horned Frogs held their Friday Night Lights spring game at Amon G. Carter Stadium in front of a solid crowd of a few thousand fans. The multifaceted scrimmage lasted roughly a hour and TCU ended the night with a fireworks display.
Stars from last year’s 13-2 squad also came out to support future Horned Frogs. Among them were Quentin Johnston, Kendre Miller, Taye Barber, Dylan Horton, Derius Davis and Emari Demercado.
It was a festive close to the spring, and the game itself featured plenty of big plays. Now the focus for Sonny Dykes will be to build upon what he saw from his team in 15 practices.
“I thought we made some strides this spring,” Dykes said. “We’ve got good skill, I think when we put all the pieces together, get some guys back healthy and start game-planning and doing some things like that it’s going to come together well.”
Here are five standouts from TCU’s spring game:
WR JP Richardson
Arguably the top player during the spring, Oklahoma State transfer JP Richardson was superb in the spring game. He scored on the opening drive on a pass from Josh Hoover where he shed a number of tackles before strolling into the end zone. Hoover found Richardson again for a near 60-yard touchdown later in the scrimmage.
Richardson likely should’ve had another, but Chandler Morris missed him after he beat a defender on a deep post route. In totality Richardson finished with well over 100 yards and was the best player on the field.
QB Josh Hoover
If Richardson is MVP, then the redshirt freshman quarterback Josh Hoover might be the most improved. Hoover was accurate and successful on a number of deep shots. He had another great pass to Major Everhart when the Horned Frogs were working on their redzone offense.
On the first play, Hoover fit a ball in nicely between two defenders to Everhart, who was brought down at the 1 yard line. The drive ultimately stalled out, but overall it was another strong day for Hoover, who hopes to push Morris for the starting job.
RB Trey Sanders
Trey Sanders had the best day of the running backs as Emani Bailey had to exit the spring game with what appeared to be a concussion. Sanders made the most of his opportunity, scoring two touchdowns, one on a wheel route from Morris and another run where he was untouched.
The battle over RB1 will extend into the fall, but TCU has two good options with Bailey and Sanders.
LB Shad Banks
The quarterbacks and offense are always the biggest headlines during the spring, but Banks led a solid first-team defense. Banks was a tackling machine and always in or near the pile. The Horned Frogs’ first-team defense didn’t allow many plays and forced the offense to be methodical all night.
Banks played a big role in that as the run defense was stout most of the night. There was a lot on Banks’ shoulders as Jamoi Hodge and Johnny Hodges didn’t play, but it was just another growing opportunity for Banks, and he excelled as the leader in the middle of the defense. Banks could be TCU’s leading tackler in the fall.
QB Chandler Morris
Chandler Morris didn’t have the jaw-dropping throws that Hoover did, but he was also facing an experienced first- team defense. Forced to take what was in front of him, Morris looked comfortable attacking the underneath of the defense. After going three and out on his first drive, Morris bounced back on the next one.
In what felt like a nine or 10-play drive, Morris kept the chains moving and eventually rolled out to find DJ Rogers for a touchdown. He led two more scoring drives that were capped by Sanders to finish off a productive night. He did miss Richardson, but other than that Morris was more than efficient as a distributor.
