TCU Football Spring Practice Report
Offensive Coordinator Garrett Riley and Defensive Coordinator Joe Gillespie addressed the media and talked about the transition of working with the players and what they have seen so far. Through almost two weeks of practice, it's been fun for the Horned Frogs, and it all looks to be shaping out just right.
TCU Football has been putting out a lot of buzz lately to get the fans excited as things heat up. There is a lot of upside here in Fort Worth: new players to meet, new coaches to meet, and new staff to meet. Things are changing in the right way.
On the offensive side of the ball:
Coach Riley talked about how good practice has been as they continue to install the new offense and try to understand the players' tendencies. Coach Riley knows dynamic players like Max Duggan, Quentin Johnston, and Kendre Miller. On the offensive side of the ball, they expect plays to continue to come from Taye Barber, and Derius Davis, among other standouts. One of the biggest focuses, with the offensive side of the ball that Coach Riley pointed out, was getting the Tight Ends more involved. Last year, you can count the number of passes a TCU tight end caught and it wasn't many. With this Sonny Dykes offense, the tight end is valuable. Coach Riley stated that the most important position besides the Quarterback is the Tight End. They are versatile. They do so many different things for this offense." Expect many changes from the offensive side of the ball as this Air Raid offense should bring some fireworks to TCU.
On the defensive side of the ball:
Joe Gillespie is excited to be back in Texas. With Coach Gillespie coming from Tulsa and coaching against Sonny Dykes and Garret Riley for a few years, you could say that these three coaches are almost like Lebron, D-Wade, and Chris Bosh teaming up in Miami. Something is exciting about this new brand of football. Coach Gillespie stated, "It's been fun coaching against our offense every day now. They throw a lot of different stuff that helps us grow as students of the game. Each day we are getting better, and each day we are going to continue to install new formations. It's keeping us sharp." Indeed, they have been looking sharp. Coach Gillespie said the only challenge for the defense has been getting them to change from a flowing 4-2-5 defense to a 3-3-5 plug-and-fill defense. The players standing out on defense for Coach Gillespie are Mark Perry. "He gets it. He's flying around making plays and calling out the right adjustments and formation. He's been down that road, and he is only going to continue to get better." Coach also had high praise for Tre Tomlinson. "His size does not matter. He continues to get better as a player. He is a go-getter. He has a Dog Mentality. Yeah, He's 5'9, but he plays like he is 6'1." The change in this program is huge as players are continually growing as football players and men. The Coaches love it.
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