TCU DT Pierson to miss SMU game with undisclosed injury

Pierson has not played this season due to an undisclosed injury, but Patterson had said on his weekly teleconference Monday that there was a chance the 6-foot-2, 305-pound lineman would see his first action this week.

Pierson, a preseason All-Big 12 honoree, entered the season as TCU’s active leader in starts and sits tied with senior quarterback Trevone Boykin with 31.

Pierson recorded 30 tackles last season, including three for a loss, and had 3  1/2 sacks.

Junior Aaron Curry, a transfer from Nebraska, stepped into the vacancy on the defensive line for the first two games and is tied with safeties Derrick Kindred and Denzel Johnson for the team lead with eight unassisted tackles.

With dual-threat quarterback Matt Davis leading SMU on Saturday, the TCU coaching staff enlisted a little more help than just Texas A&M transfer Kenny Hill to give the defense a strong scout-team look.

Freshman wide receiver Tony James took snaps for the scout team to simulate the athleticism that has helped Davis gain a team-high 240 yards rushing and 337 yards passing in the Mustangs’ first two games against Baylor and North Texas.

“It was a mile a minute,” Patterson said. “We just told them, ‘if you don’t see it, run.’ ”

Playing quarterback his senior year at Arlington Bowie, James threw for 1,784 yards and 22 touchdowns and rushed for 610 yards and five scores. He worked alongside Hill, who led A&M in total offense last season, rushing for 156 yards and passing for 2,649 in eight games.

Redshirt freshman running back Shaun Nixon has practiced all week and will play Saturday, despite getting “bruised up” against SFA.

Nixon, of Lake Travis, spent most of Saturday’s game lined up in the slot, catching two passes for 31 yards. In TCU’s two games, Nixon has caught seven passes for 74 yards.

Patterson said sophomore Travin Howard and freshman Montrel Wilson will start at linebacker Saturday, with Ty Summers and Paul Whitmill available.

Patterson said he still isn’t confident in who will fill the shoes of weak safety Kenny Iloka, who was injured against SFA, but he appreciates the work ethic of sophomore walk-on Michael Downing, who stepped in for the majority of Saturday’s game and tops this week’s depth chart.

“Michael is a really smart player. As I told him, he just needs to turn in his paper,” Patterson said. “He doesn’t need to do extra credit. He’s always trying to do more. No, just turn in the paper.”

TCU began the season shorthanded at safety with Chris Hackett leaving early for the NFL Draft and George Baltimore leaving football for medical reasons.

Patterson said some of his worries could be solved if he had a cornerback who could step up and take the starting role opposite Ranthony Texada, freeing up safety Nick Orr to move to safety. Orr had played cornerback in both games this season, but has split time between drills with the cornerbacks and safeties at practice since the beginning of fall camp.

“We need to get to where he can do one or the other,” Patterson said. “We need to have some guys improving to where we can trust them.

Patterson said he was slowed because of a tweaked knee, but has done well on special teams and is close to filling a significant role somewhere on TCU’s defense.