TCU notes: Backup quarterback job has two favorites

TCU coach Gary Patterson said Monday that senior walkon Bram Kohlhausen and redshirt freshman Foster Sawyer have set themselves apart as the favorites to be the backup quarterback.

The odd man out is redshirt freshman Grayson Muehlstein, but not by any mistake of his own.

“I think the two that are fighting for it are Bram and Foster,” Patterson said. “That doesn’t mean Grayson hasn’t done it, that just means at some point in time you have to get to three.”

Kohlhausen played in four games last season, completing 7 of 9 passes for 43 yards.

Sawyer, from Fort Worth All Saints, threw for 3,175 yards, 48 touchdowns and won a second straight SPC championship his senior year. The 6-foot-5, 228-pounder was rated the No. 2 quarterback in Texas and No. 13 nationally by Scout.com.

Muehlstein, 6-4 and 210 pounds, has a similar resume.

The redshirt freshman from Decatur was ranked No. 4 in the state and No. 31 nationally by Scout.com. He is more of a dual-threat option than Kohlhausen and Sawyer.

“Even Grayson’s done some good things,” Patterson said.

It makes the conversation of next season even more interesting when Kenny Hill, the Texas A&M transfer from Southlake Carroll, will be eligible to play.

So far, Hill has been everything TCU has wanted, serving in the role of scout team quarterback.

“Kenny, he had A’s and B’s in summer school,” Patterson said. “No problem. Worked his tail off. His body is totally different from when he got here. He’s been unbelievable.”

Running back depth

When Patterson took a moment to think back on some of the deepest running back corps he’s taken into a season, this 2015 edition is among the best, he said.

While senior Aaron Green should be the bell cow of the group, rushing for 922 yards and 9 touchdowns last season, all four members of a committee that includes Kyle Hicks, Trevorris Johnson and Shaun Nixon enter the season as No. 1’s on the depth chart, Patterson said.

It harkened back to some of TCU’s best and most surprising rushing performances, such as Robert Merrill’s 1,107-yard season as a redshirt freshman, when he began the season as the third-string running back.

The only group that might best this season’s foursome is TCU’s 1998 edition.

“Only probably LT [LaDainian Tomlinson] and Basil Mitchell,” Patterson said. “That was a pretty good 1-2 punch and then George Layne was a fullback and he played in the NFL. That was some pretty good dudes.”

Defense makes strides

Patterson still wasn’t impressed with his defense Monday, but it is a vastly improved unit from when practice began, he said.

In TCU’s last scrimmage Friday, the unit performed up to expectations in pass defense, but had some issues lining up before the snap.

It’s a whirlwind of information for these young players as the mornings are spent working on game plans for Minnesota and Texas Tech and the afternoons are for improving the unit internally, Patterson said.

The key is making assignments reactionary.

It all begins with the linebackers, a talented but inexperienced group that has three true freshmen, a redshirt freshman and a junior competing for playing time.

“Marcus Mallet was a 5-flat but played like a 4.5,” Patterson said. “Now I’ve got to get the 4.5’s to stop playing like a 5-flat.”

This story was originally published August 17, 2015 at 8:28 PM with the headline "TCU notes: Backup quarterback job has two favorites."