TCU quarterback competition has shades of 2014 won by Boykin

The Kenny Hill and Foster Sawyer competition for the starting quarterback job has shades of the Trevone Boykin and Matt Joeckel competition from two years ago.

It’s transfer vs. veteran.

It’s friendly.

And it won’t be decided until fall.

Coach Gary Patterson said both have been taking reps with the first team.

“I expect that to be the case the rest of the spring and then going into two-a-days,” he said.

But Friday could help make a case for one or both quarterbacks. Hill and Sawyer are both expected to play in a 7 p.m. public scrimmage at Amon G. Carter Stadium, wrapping up 15 spring practices.

“It’s a day-to-day thing,” Patterson said. “But you know, you can tell every day we keep getting better. It’s very similar to what it was two years ago when we had an offensive changeover. I expect when we get done with spring and through the summer going to two-a-days to make drastic improvement.”

Two years ago, TCU installed the Air Raid offense with the arrival of co-offensive coordinators Doug Meacham and Sonny Cumbie. Boykin won the competition with his work in the fall scrimmages, but he credited Joeckel — who knew a similar offense from his time at Texas A&M — for helping him learn the system and provide a model of how to prepare and study.

Sawyer remembers seeing it firsthand.

“I got to see that perspective, two quarterbacks competing for one spot,” he said. “They did a good job teaching me how to communicate with players, with each other. Whoever the quarterback is on the field, we’re going to lead the offense. It’s definitely going to be a healthy competition.”

Sawyer embraced Hill from the beginning, inviting him to be his roommate when he arrived at TCU in June.

“From the minute I got here, he’s been cool to me,” Hill said. “He took me in immediately. We became friends. He’s helped me out in the offense, with Fort Worth in general. Immediately when I got here, it was, ‘Hey, you want to come eat with us, you want to go do this with us?’ ”

Sawyer has more experience at TCU. He played in four games last year, starting one at Oklahoma. For his career, he is 11 for 27 for 155 yards, two touchdowns and three interceptions and has rushed for 53 yards.

Hill has more experience overall and is a stronger runner. He started eight games at Texas A&M in 2014, completing 214 of 321 passes for 2,649 yards, 23 touchdowns and eight interceptions. The yards, completion percentage and touchdowns all rank in the top five for a single season at A&M, despite Hill’s year being cut short by the loss of his starting position and then a suspension.

“For us to be what we need to be, we need both those guys to become better players than they were a year ago,” Patterson said.

Sawyer said both quarterbacks know the stakes. But as friends, they believe they can compete without animosity. Being roommates started them on that road.

“It was cool to go ahead and get that out of the way — the awkwardness, the elephant in the room,” Sawyer said. “He and I hit it off. He’s a likable guy, a real likable guy. He’s a good, genuine dude. I’m honored to be his teammate and his friend.”

This story was originally published March 30, 2016 at 8:41 PM with the headline "TCU quarterback competition has shades of 2014 won by Boykin."