TCU Football: Horned Frogs Spring Game show signs of promise
Since 1889 when college football started sweeping across the United States, schools have used the spring semester to practice and boost their teams before the upcoming fall season, which saw competition with rival schools.
Per usual, the TCU Horned Frogs practiced throughout the months of March and April, leading up to one of the greatest traditions in college football, the spring game.
In front of a passionate crowd at Amon G. Carter Stadium, fans got their first glimpse at the 2023 TCU football team after a historic run in 2022. From start to finish, the Horned Frogs dazzled fans and showed off what they could possibly accomplish in the upcoming fall.
Throughout the scrimmage, both offense and defense alike showed their skills and played an almost completely evenly matched game.
On the opening drive, Oklahoma State transfer John Paul Richardson hauled in a pass, bounced off two would-be tacklers, and ran in for the touchdown. Richardson scored twice in the game and showed his impact throughout.
"I know what I can do," Richardson said about his quick impact. "I know what I am capable of. And to have Coach Dykes and Coach Meacham and all of these coaches come in and embrace me with open arms and let me do what I do, it's really appreciated, and I'm definitely happy to be here."
The defense took over from there and made three consecutive stops without allowing a first down. However, on the next drive, Chandler Morris, the Week One starter in 2022, came in, quickly led the Frogs' offense down the field, and capped off the drive with a quick pass in the flat to D'Andre Rodgers for the offense's second score.
In Week One of 2022, Morris was the starting quarterback above Max Duggan but suffered a knee sprain that sidelined him for a number of weeks. By the time he returned, Duggan had earned the starting spot, and Morris spent most of the season on the bench. However, he was glad to step back in his role and let Duggan shine behind the center.
"It really set my mind on not taking a day for granted," Morris said about the injury. "It can really get taken away from you quickly. There were definitely some growing pains this spring, but we adjusted well and adjusted to it. This last week we had a really good week. I think we finished off with a lot of confidence."
After two more impressive defensive stops, the offense drove to the one yard line, but the defense held strong and forced a field goal that Luke Laminack nailed from 34 yards out just before the first half of the scrimmage ended.
Once the second half began, the offense found its groove and scored on back-to-back possessions with a touchdown pass from Morris to Trey Sanders and another from Luke Pardee to Chase Jackson.
On the next drive, Richardson made perhaps the biggest play of the scrimmage when he hauled in a pass from Josh Hoover in double coverage, avoided both defenders, and walked in for the easy score.
However, the defense was up to the task, and on the game's final play, Davieon Crawford picked off a pass and avoided the offense for the pick-six. After all, was said and done, head coach Sonny Dykes was impressed with what he saw, especially from the newcomers on the team.
"It was good," Dykes said. "It's good to see those guys produce like we thought they were capable of. We've got a lot of talent at wide receiver, we've just got to get those guys put in the right spots and let them go out and play."
TCU now enters a long offseason before opening the 2023 season by hosting the Colorado Buffaloes on Saturday, September 2, at Amon G. Carter Stadium at a time to be determined.
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