Gary Patterson held his weekly press luncheon Tuesday at TCU’s Four Sevens Team Room. Here are a few highlights from the press conference as the Frogs get ready for Saturday’s matchup with crosstown rival SMU.

Wesley should be back
The Frogs’ running game has piled up 875 yards on the ground through the team’s first four contests despite getting little contribution from senior starter Ed Wesley.

That might change this week, though.

Patterson said Wesley is expected to return to action Saturday against SMU after nursing a shoulder injury that’s forced him to miss the Frogs’ last three games.

“Ed’s ready to go,” Patterson said. “He could’ve played last week against Portland State.”
Wesley re-aggravated a previous injury to the shoulder in the second quarter of the Baylor game.

Frogs are prepared for whoever SMU has as quarterback
SMU Head Coach June Jones pulled starting quarterback Kyle Padron two drives into the Mustangs opener against Texas A&M in favor of Kyle McDermott. McDermott has started ever since, but Padron has still seen patches of playing time.

No matter who SMU has at quarterback Saturday, Patterson said TCU has to prepare the same way.

“I don’t known if there’s a difference [between Padron and McDermott],” Patterson said.

“They do a good job over there no matter who they plug in and how they do it. We’ve got to get ready to play for all of them.”

McDermott has thrown four touchdowns, three interceptions and is averaging 283.2 yards per game through the air.

Patterson glad SMU game was moved to Saturday
TCU was originally scheduled to host the crosstown rival Mustangs Friday night at 7 pm. Because of the renovations to Amon Carter Stadium, however, the game was moved to Saturday at 2:30 pm.

The change also means CBS Sports Network, not ESPN, will be carrying the game.

However, Patterson said he prefers day games over night games because day games give his players more time to recover and get back to practice the next day.

“I like playing day games,” Patterson said. “I can’t tell how much more our kids come back on Sunday wanting to practice because they get done by 4 and get a chance to see their parents and get a chance to hang out.”

Patterson praises SMU defense
Going back to his days at Hawaii, June Jones’ teams have always been known for their high-profile offensive attacks.

This year, the Mustangs’ defense might be just as good.

SMU shut out Memphis Saturday and held Northwestern State to seven points the week before. Those two programs may not be on the same level as TCU, but Patterson said the Mustangs’ 2011 defense is the best Jones has had in his time at SMU, and something the Frogs can’t overlook.

“It’s the best defense they’ve had since [Jones] has been there,” Patterson said. “They really play together and do what they need to do. They’re physical. And they’re a good football team, very good football team.”