It’s been a few days since TCU defeated South Dakota State 59-41 and fans and media alike are freaking out about the TCU Defense. Some are in full panic made after just one game. I’ve even seen a national columnist ask if TCU ever played defense. I get it, 41 points is too many to give up, but it was the first game of the season and South Dakota State is a very good team. TCU had three new starters on defense, a corner who missed two-thirds of last year and a defensive end who missed all of last year to injury. Anyway, instead of making excuses I thought about what Gary Patterson may do going forward to change some things up. With so many players with such position flexibility here are my thoughts on what we might see on the TCU Defense.

Shakeup at Safety

There were some mix-ups in the secondary on Saturday against South Dakota State that led to some big plays. Over the past few years TCU has been blessed with some outstanding safeties with Sam Carter, Chris Hackett, Elisha Olabode and Derrick Kindred. What these four have in common is an ability to change the game by forcing turnovers. Hackett and Kindred were able to get on the field because they could play all three safety spots. Maybe moving some guys around could spark something in this group. One suggestion is Travin Howard moving from linebacker to weak safety with Nick Orr moving to free safety. This allows Howard to stay close to the line of scrimmage Orr to use his cover skills deep. I really think Travin would be best back at his true position of strong safety, but they already have Denzel Johnson over there. Well, moving Denzel to free safety is one less move for the defense and only Denzel would be learning a new position with Nick and Travin playing positions they already know. It also gives Patterson a free safety with some thump, much like Derrick Kindred provided.

Sammy Douglas and Ty Summers Starting at Linebacker

I have said since the end of last season that I would like to see Travin Howard move back to safety. The only reason he moved to linebacker last year was because of an injury to Sammy Douglas. In my opinion, Sammy Douglas and Ty Summers are the best linebackers on the team. Coach Patterson said on Tuesday that Ty Summers will likely start against Arkansas. I wouldn’t be surprised if Douglas joined him in the near future or even Tyree Horton, the JUCO All-American, once he is at 100% and knows the playbook a little better. They need to get bigger at the linebacker spots and Summers (230), Horton (225) and Douglas (220) can do that.

3-3-5 Defense

Not something we’ve seen much from Patterson, but I did see it against South Dakota State for at least one play. Joe Broadnax and Ross Blacklock are two of the biggest defensive tackles Patterson has had in 17 years at TCU. Either of them could take on two blockers and allow McFarland and Carraway to rush the passer. Put Travin Howard, Ty Summers and Sammy Douglas as the linebackers and you’ve got one of the fastest defenses in college football. Travin Howard and Sammy Douglas have the ability to cover receivers so you would have seven men that can cover. It also gives you a lot of different blitz packages that would really confuse an offensive line with guys coming from all over the field.

Let me know your thoughts about this on Twitter: @geoffrey_craig and #GoFrogs