QB Big Question At TCU
TCU is aiming to again be part of the national championship picture and sorting out the quarterback position will be a major factor on whether that is possible.
Record-breaking quarterback Trevone Boykin has departed and either junior transfer Kenny Hill or sophomore Forest Sawyer will be at the helm. Horned Frogs coach Gary Patterson says the decision will be made about 10 days prior to the season-opening contest against South Dakota on Sept. 3.
“If it’s before then, because it becomes very obvious who it is, then it’ll be before then,” said Patterson, who received a two-year contract extension through 2022 on Tuesday. “You have to name a guy about nine or 10 days out. You can’t go any later than that.”
There was no leader in the derby as fall practices commenced but Hill certainly has more game experience than Sawyer. Hill passed for 23 touchdowns in eight games for Texas A&M in 2014 before losing the job and eventually transferring to TCU.
“You just go in and try to get better every day,” Hill said at TCU’s Media Day. “I’m just trying to play the best I can and be consistent, that’s the biggest thing. Be consistent from day to day and just keep growing as a player every day.”
Sawyer started one game when Boykin was injured and threw 27 passes last
season. He is making a significant push and co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie termed the competition as 50-50.
“Both of them are really motivated,” Cumbie told reporters. “This summer, you could tell there’s a difference in how they approached the weight room and throwing. Foster is bigger, throws the ball really well, moves around well. Kenny is a little more elusive but is still accurate, gets the ball out of his hand quickly.”
TCU’s defense figures to be sturdy as it chases its third consecutive 10-victory season. Helping matters is that four key players — defensive end James McFarland, linebacker Sammy Douglas, cornerback Ranthony Texada and safety Kenny Iloka — are back from injuries that either cost them most or all of last season.
It also doesn’t hurt to have one of the most stable coaches in college football. Only Iowa’s Kirk Ferentz and Oklahoma’s Bob Stoops have been at their respective schools longer than Patterson and Tuesday’s extension gives Patterson the opportunity to spend at least 21 years as TCU’s coach.
“This has been in the works for a long time,” athletic director Chris Del Conte told reporters. “We just worked out the particulars and ensured that Coach Patterson is a Frog until he desires to retire.”
