TCU’s Patterson: ‘No update’ on Josh Doctson injury
TCU coach Gary Patterson said he had “no update” on Biletnikoff Award candidate Josh Doctson, who left Saturday’s game against Oklahoma State late in the second quarter after a defender fell on his arm.
“I’m being honest with you,” Patterson said Monday during the Big 12 coaches conference call. “I haven’t heard any [updates]. I don’t have anything to report yet. So, we’ll see.”
Patterson said he hoped to hear something later about the injury, which could sideline the Horned Frogs’ leading receiver for an extended period. He did not return to the game and had his left arm and wrist in a wrap.
Obviously, I think sometimes it becomes frustrating to them because we have had so many people down. But you know, they’ve fought through it.
TCU coach Gary Patterson
on his team and injuriesDoctson, who leads the nation in receiving yards, would be just another in a long line of injuries for TCU this season. Four defensive starters and a reserve receiver are out for the year.
But two other defensive starters have returned from injury, and Patterson said receivers Emanuel Porter and Ty Slanina could return soon.
Defensive tackle Tevin Lawson also apparently joined the injury list. Patterson said he did not play against Oklahoma State.
“We’re playing without a lot of people,” Patterson said.
He acknowledged that the team is affected by the number of injuries.
“Obviously, I think sometimes it becomes frustrating to them because we have had so many people down,” Patterson said. “But you know, they’ve fought through it.”
Patterson said the Frogs won’t have their best team until their bowl game.
“You get a month after the season to get people healthy,” he said. “Right now, our job is to fight through it, find a way to win the next three ballgames. And that’s what we’re trying to do. If I show any weakness, they will.”
OSU credit
Trevone Boykin threw for 445 yards as TCU racked up 663 yards of offense. But Patterson credited Oklahoma State with a “good” defensive game plan.
“They didn’t want us to beat them deep, then they made some plays underneath and really didn’t let us run the ball that well,” he said.
Patterson said if the Frogs had converted a fourth-and-3 at the Oklahoma State 14 in the second quarter with the score 21-9, or if Boykin had scored on fourth-and-goal from the 1 in the fourth quarter with the score 42-23, or if Jaden Oberkrom’s 49-yard field goal attempt with 49 seconds left in the first half had been good, the game would have been different.
“It’s easy to play the woulda-coulda-shoulda,” Patterson said. “Bottom line is, you’ve got to give Oklahoma State credit for getting after us.”
Boykin advice
Patterson said he would tell Boykin, who was intercepted a career-high four times against Oklahoma State, that he has help in moving the offense.
“The biggest thing, and I’ll tell Trevone when I see him, is you don’t have to do it all,” Patterson said. “We still got plenty of good players to go make plays.”
Asked if Boykin’s interceptions were the result of good plays by the defense or bad throws or miscommunication, Patterson said, “I think you’re right on both cases.”
Kickoff times
The Big 12 announced that the start time for TCU’s game at Oklahoma on Nov. 21 will be announced after this week’s games. The possible times are 11 a.m., 2:30 p.m., 6:30 p.m. and 7 p.m. The game will air on Fox, ABC, ESPN or ESPN2.
The kickoff time for Baylor-Oklahoma State will also be announced after Saturday’s games.
The conference announced 11 a.m. kickoffs for the Nov. 21 games between Iowa State-Kansas State and West Virginia-Kansas.
For Dec. 5, the league announced an 11 a.m. kickoff for Texas-Baylor and a 3:30 p.m. kickoff for West Virginia-Kansas State.
Carlos Mendez: 817-390-7760, @calexmendez
Kansas at TCU
11 a.m. Saturday, FS1
This story was originally published November 9, 2015 at 1:09 PM with the headline "TCU’s Patterson: ‘No update’ on Josh Doctson injury."