If you look at twitter, TCU has it’s answer at quarterback. Heck, if you look at the time split under center tonight, TCU probably has it’s quarterback.
But, at least in name, TCU has two quarterbacks.
TCU coach Gary Patterson said after his team’s 34-13 win at Purdue that both quarterbacks Max Duggan and Alex Delton will play going forward.
“We’re still going to have two guys play,” Patterson said. “We’re going to do this all year.”
The grad transfer started the game and played the first two drives, and one more in the second quarter, but it was the true freshman that played the entire second half and three drives in the first half.
Duggan finished with just seven completions on 18 attempts for 70 yards, but he did throw a 22-yard touchdown pass to an unbelievably wide open Al’Dontre Davis. Delton completed just one of his six passes for five yards and had an interception.
Those stat lines leave a lot to be desired. But the wide receiving corps had at least six drops.
“We gotta catch it,” Patterson said. “We’ve got to get Taye Barber back. Gotta get Mikel Barkley back. Players need to make plays. If you look at who was dropping them it was redshirt freshmen.”
Barber will likely return for the SMU game. Barkley not as likely. But it wasn’t all on the hands of the receivers that couldn’t hang onto the ball. The true freshman has a cannon for an arm.
“Max is going to have to realize he can’t always throw fast balls. Some of those guys might have dents in their hands,” Patterson said. “He has to throw a catchable ball. It’s good to win and learn from it.”
Duggan is drawing early comparisons to TCU legend Andy Dalton and Patterson pointed out that Dalton was throwing two picks a game as a redshirt freshman. If Duggan has a career anything close to Dalton’s we’ll all be happy Frog fans. But the sooner that career can start in earnest, the better for all involved.
I’ve seen some good things in Delton. His stats would be a lot better if not for drops tonight and in the UAPB game, but the future has a chance to be now in Duggan. Besides having a more than capable back up in Delton can be a thing of beauty if Duggan starts to slog as his freshman year gets into the thick of things.
We’ve also seen Delton struggle with injuries while at Kansas State. Limiting his touches and increasing Duggan’s could be best for all parties involved.
