Trevone Boykin is expected to play against West Virginia Saturday, TCU head football coach Gary Patterson said at his weekly press conference.
Boykin had limped off the field near the end of the Oklahoma State game, holding his knee. Patterson confirmed in his post-game press conference that Boykin was hurt, but would not comment on his status at that time.
Patterson would not disclose the severity of Boykin’s injury or whether he would start Saturday’s game. Here are some more highlights from Patterson’s weekly press conference:
Boykin needs to focus on managing games
“Trevone [Boykin] did not play very well last week,” Patterson said. “He throws better when he’s out running. One of his assets is that he can run. On some of his tips, he probably could have run for 35 yards.”
Boykin threw for a season-low 185 yards against the Cowboys, completing 21 of his 40 pass attempts. He averaged 4.6 yards per pass.
Patterson said that Boykin needs to focus on managing a game, instead of trying to make big plays.
”Just go find a way to win,” Patterson said. “Don’t do anything fantastic, just don’t do anything bad. That’s what I said about Andy Dalton about four, five years ago and that’s what Trevone needs to do.”
Patterson to change practice routines
After the team lost three out of its last four games, Patterson said changes needed to happen during the practice week, particularly because of fatigue.
“We didn’t practice Sunday, which is not that big of a deal,” Patterson said. “It’s that time of the year with youth where you have guys who are sore. It seems like we’ve been able to play for three and a half quarters and haven’t been able to finish.”
Patterson said that since the defense played longer than usual Saturday against Oklahoma State, he plans to have his team in full pads for a limited time.
Weather will affect travel plans
Patterson said that the inclement weather of Hurricane Sandy and northeastern blizzards have affected travel plans for the team. He said the team will do walkthroughs, film tests and the team meal on Friday in Fort Worth, then fly that night. He said he expects the team to arrive into Pittsburgh, the city where the team hotel is located, around 10 p.m. Friday.
The travel plan will also affect the team on game day.
“Usually, we like to go to the stadium, see where the locker room is and get the team used to the new stadium,” Patterson said. “In this case, we’re going to bypass all that.”
