TCU football will be without Jack Bech, Savion Williams in New Mexico Bowl
TCU will be without receivers Savion Williams and Jack Bech in the New Mexico Bowl, Sonny Dykes announced on Wednesday.
The Horned Frogs’ top two receivers both sustained injuries in the regular season finale against Cincinnati that will keep them on the sidelines when TCU faces Louisiana on Dec. 28.
“(Williams) is probably not going to play this game, he was pretty banged up coming off of Cincinnati,” Dykes said. “Neither will Jack, Jack’s got a sprained knee that’s probably going to be a four or five week deal. Neither one of those guys is playing.”
Bech led TCU with 1,034 yards and nine touchdowns in a breakout season that led to him earning second team All-Big 12 honors. Williams finished fourth on the team with 611 receiving yards, but he was also a catalyst for TCU going 5-1 in the second half of the season.
Williams rushed for 322 yards and six touchdowns as he took direct snaps and handoffs in the backfield. Williams was second on the team in total yards from scrimmage with 933 and had a team-high 12 touchdowns.
Replacing both could be a challenge but TCU will have receivers JP Richardson and Eric McAlister available. Both players had over 650 yards receiving this season and McAlister added four touchdowns and has plenty of experience being a No. 1 receiver from his time at Boise State.
While Williams and Bech’s careers as Horned Frogs are done, their absence will open up the door for a few other players to get some reps.
“You’ll see Blake Nowell, he’ll be big. He has a lot of experience, he’ll kind of plug and play there,” Dykes said. “We’ll bounce some guys around I think you’ll see Jordyn Bailey on the field a little more, which we wanted to get him out there and play him more. The good thing is we have a lot of good options.”
Nowell is a senior receiver that stepped up big when Bech got hurt against Cincinnati. He filled in with three receptions for 75 yards and has 159 yards on the season.
Bailey, the younger brother of former TCU running back Emani Bailey, has nine catches for 52 yards and two touchdowns this season. One of those was a one-handed grab against Baylor in the endzone. He’s also added 65 rushing yards and a touchdown.
TCU has a plethora of young receivers that redshirted or had to wait their turn this year. Notre Dame transfer Braylon James could also be in line for reps when TCU faces the Ragin’ Cajuns.
As for replacing Williams’ impact in the backfield, that role could now be true freshman quarterback Hauss Hejny’s according to Dykes.
“I think he can for sure with a little bit different element,” Dykes said. “We needed Hauss to be able to win a game at Cincinnati, he played a huge part in us winning that football with his ability to run the ball and get some good numbers in the box. I would expect him to do the same thing a week from Saturday.”
