Finally healthy, Kindred has been a ‘dog’ this season for ailing TCU

The name Derrick Kindred brought an image to TCU linebacker Travin Howard’s mind.

“Dog,” he said. “That’s the one word. He’s a dog. That’s him.”

Among a circle of male friends, or on the football field, that’s about the highest compliment possible. It means tough, reliable and non-stop.

No wonder Howard used it to describe Kindred in 2015 for the Horned Frogs.

The senior safety played hurt all season and yet finished as the second-leading tackler on the team (behind only Howard). He started every game, one of only three players on the defense to do so.

And was in pain every week.

“Here’s a guy that was basically our leader on defense, and this is the healthiest he’s been probably since the beginning of the season,” Patterson said.

Kindred’s injury or injuries were not disclosed officially, but coach Gary Patterson referred to a hip pointer after Kindred was shaken up against Iowa State. Patterson said the team held Kindred out of contact in practice most weeks, restricting his hitting to games.

The plan was clear — get Kindred to the game on both feet. He would do the rest from there.

“Ended up first-team All-Big 12,” Patterson said.

The Horned Frogs will count on Kindred one last time, Saturday in the Alamo Bowl against Oregon, in his hometown.

“I’m 100 percent now,” he said. “Just got to go out there and play hard.”

It sounds like that will be nothing new.

“I’ve been playing hard all year,” he said, asked how his best health of the season could impact his play. “I don’t think it’ll make me play any different. It was just something I had to overcome and had to fight for my team and be strong.”

On top of playing hurt, Kindred also had to be a teacher much of the year. The Frogs used three backup safeties after Kenny Iloka went out with a season-ending knee injury in the second game, and they moved two other safeties to linebacker.

“It’s been a challenge,” Kindred said. “I just have to lead the guys and let them know it’s going to be alright, we’re going to get through this and things like that. And also growing up the younger guys. We played with a lot of freshmen this year, a lot of newcomers. It’s all about making them feel calm on the field and slowing the game down for them.”

Howard said it made a difference for him.

“He helps me out all the time, even at linebacker,” Howard said. “He plays safety. But he knows the whole defense.”

A month ago, Kindred was about at his lowest point physically.

He recovered a fumble and made five tackles in the season finale against Baylor, a game played in cold and non-stop rain for four hours. Even for the healthiest players, it was difficult.

“I was kind of sick,” Kindred said. “A wet and cold game. I was a little banged up.”

He paused.

“But you know, it was all worth it.”

The result of dogged effort, no doubt.

This story was originally published December 29, 2015 at 6:01 PM with the headline "Finally healthy, Kindred has been a ‘dog’ this season for ailing TCU."