TCU, Boykin now digging deep at wide receiver

Asked to describe the trust level between him and quarterback Trevone Boykin, sophomore Desmon White said, “It’s getting there.”

No time like the present.

TCU can use all the developing trust it can find between Boykin, one of the best quarterbacks in the country, and the receiving corps, which began the season as one of the deepest spots on the team but now is having the same problem as many other areas on the team — it’s getting hurt.

The Horned Frogs have Josh Doctson, who caught a school-record 18 passes last week and leads the nation in receiving yards. But there was a reason he was used so much.

Kolby Listenbee sat out the Texas Tech game and was limited for much of practice this week. Emmanuel Porter and Ja’Juan Story got banged up in Lubbock and also weren’t 100 percent in practice. Ty Slanina is recovering from a shoulder injury against SMU that still threatens the rest of his season.

The Frogs dug so deep last week at one point they sent out three true freshman as trips receivers on a second-half drive — Kavontae Turpin, Jarrison Stewart and Tony James.

Ordinarily, that wouldn’t be necessary. But remember, TCU began the year already missing Deante’ Gray, who is going to take a redshirt year for an extra 12 months’ recovery from knee surgery, and Cameron Echols-Luper, who transferred out less than two weeks before the opener.

The fourth-ranked Frogs still have plenty of bodies at receiver as they get ready to play Texas at 11 a.m. on Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium. But some of those bodies are having to learn on the run as a Big 12 championship race begins.

“We’re not asking them to jump over a building,” Boykin said. “We’re not asking them to do anything impossible, really. We’re just asking them to make routine reads, communicate, be you — you don’t have to be bigger than yourself — and just go out and try to make plays.”

That has been Turpin so far. He caught touchdown passes against Stephen F. Austin and SMU and has been a part of the offense from the first game.

Stewart, a freshman from Mesquite Horn, emerged last week as the biggest contributor off the bench. Boykin targeted him eight times in Lubbock, and he caught five passes for 88 yards, four for a first down.

“He catches everything that’s thrown his way,” White said of Stewart, who caught 20 touchdown passes last year in high school.

White, who missed a game with his own injury, caught four passes last week. Starting in Gray’s spot, the sophomore from DeSoto has 10 catches for 134 yards.

It’s not plug-and-play. But two years into the Air Raid, the Horned Frogs are better positioned with experience and numbers to make up for injuries at receiver.

“It’s execution,” coach Gary Patterson said. “You’re not changing the game plan every week. There are certain plays against certain coverages; you’re not going to run different within that play call. You may run the route different because of the way they’re playing the coverage. I’d be doing an injustice to say, yeah, you can plug in a guy and go; that’s not what they tell me.”

Jaelan Austin, a freshman from South Grand Prairie, has played in the last three games.

Charlie Reid and Preston Miller each caught a pass against SFA.

Andres Petties-Wilson, reinstated from a team suspension linked to an arrest on assault and robbery charges, practiced this week.

“They know they’re going to have to step up,” White said. “They know their time is coming. They’re going to prepare well. Coach is going to get them ready, and they’re going to come in and make some plays. They make plays in practice all the time.”

Boykin still has an experienced playmaker in Josh Doctson. But he has used 14 other pass-catchers this year.

If he has to use more, he will. They have already been told.

“We have a lot of young guys, and we preached all week that young guys play big roles,” Boykin said after the Tech victory. “Guys like Turp out there making plays, J-Stew out there making plays. And really, they’re just routine plays. We do it all the time in practice. It’s just about executing when the lights are on.”

No time like the present.

This story was originally published October 2, 2015 at 1:07 PM with the headline "TCU, Boykin now digging deep at wide receiver."