The time came for TCU’s Gary Patterson to make a football decision. Specifically, a quarterback decision.
It was close. Took a while. Could have gone either way.
To settle it, the Horned Frogs’ 19th-year head coach turned to a tried and trusted criterion: Experience.
Alex Delton, a graduate transfer from Kansas State, has it on his side, more than Max Duggan, a true freshman and the other finalist for the job, or anybody else in the QB room. In Patterson’s world, old is gold.
“One’s older, one’s a freshman,” the coach said Tuesday at his weekly press conference. “Right now, one’s the sixth man on the basketball team, and one is going to be the starter, just because he’s older.”
Duggan will get snaps before the first quarter of the season opener Saturday is over, Patterson promised. And the coach didn’t shut the door on continued competition. There’s a bye week next for more tinkering, and an entire season lies ahead for Mike Collins and Justin Rogers to continue to heal and improve.
But Delton’s 20 games with six starts in four seasons at Kansas State mean something to Patterson, as do the 32 games in four seasons at South Carolina from another graduate transfer, defensive end Shameik Blackshear. They’ve played, lived and seen. Delton was a bowl game MVP. Blackshear lined up against Clemson three straight years.
Both sought out TCU. Both approach their final seasons as college football players with a sense of purpose Patterson respects.
“He and Alex have been, really, a lot of the same,” the coach said of Blackshear, a 6-foot-5 rush end who’ll come off the right side. “You’re a grad transfer; you can act a certain way. And really, they’ve worked their tails off all season and the summer time. They want an opportunity. He wants an opportunity. That’s why he came here — an opportunity to maybe play at the next level.
“He’s been great while he’s been here, as far as working hard. And we’re not one of the easiest places as far as how we practice and how we do things.”
To the banked football knowledge of the quarterback and defensive end, add the 55 combined starts from starting cornerbacks Jeff Gladney and Julius Lewis, both seniors.
“Really helps having two older corners,” Patterson said.
Also add 21 starts from another senior, offensive tackle Lucas Niang.
Throw in the track record of junior receiver Jalen Reagor, senior guard Cordel Iwuagwu and senior running backs Darius Anderson and Sewo Olonilua, four upperclassmen with 72 starts among them.
Truth be told, this is actually a youngish TCU team that will open its season Saturday night against Arkansas-Pine Bluff. The Frogs have a tradition. Newcomers perform in a talent show. It was a long show this year.
“Out of 85 guys, we had 40 guys that went through talent show,” Patterson said. “That means either they were a freshman or new. That’s a lot of new people. Now, that doesn’t mean anything. That just means they’re new to it all, they haven’t been here, they don’t know what it means to be a Horned Frog. … We got half the team that doesn’t know what it means to play like a Horned Frog.”
But a lot do. And the rest soon will.
In many key areas, including quarterback, the Frogs have played, lived and seen. Their maturity could shape a season with roadies to Iowa State, Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Oklahoma.
Delton is at the forefront. The signal-caller from Hays, Kan., will get the chance to demonstrate the value of his experience and to flex the personal character traits that impressed Patterson from the time the quarterback called out of the blue to inquire about transferring in.
“The biggest thing that it came down to was the leadership aspect,” Patterson said of the QB decision. “Him being here in the spring was great. I think that was a big key. Just talk to our kids. The way he was thought of at Kansas State tells you a lot of the story. And he left the place, right? And they still said great things about him. I think that pretty much sums up Alex Delton.”
And maybe a season.