TCU's football season will have a familiar theme in 2013 as the Horned Frogs hunt for a Big 12 title: a young core of players looking to prove themselves.
The 2012 season featured playing time for 16 true freshmen, a number tied with the University of Texas for most in the Football Bowl Subdivision in 2012. Young players, like redshirt freshman Trevone Boykin, were thrown straight into the fray.
But the young quarterback is one example of what the pressure of the Big 12 did for the inexperienced players: it seasoned and shaped them into a reliable foundation for this year's team. Boykin, safety Chris Hackett and tailback B.J. Catalon all started as true or redshirt freshmen last season and are all expected to play significant roles in 2013.
The team posted a 7-6 record in its first year in the Big 12 and lost its bowl game. But given the circumstances –- a young, inexperienced team facing adversity –- it could have been worse.
Head coach Gary Patterson said he has confidence in his young players this year, even at linebacker, a position where inexperience could be an issue.
“We’re more athletic than we were a year ago,” he said of his linebackers last week.
Junior linebackers Marcus Mallet, Paul Dawson and Jonathan Anderson all saw playing time last season. Freshman Sammy Douglas has a chance to work his way into the third-man role.
Another issue a young team faces is the possibility of wearing down over the course of the season from pressures in the classroom and on the field. However, This year’s schedule will help.
"For the first time in a few years, we're finally going to get an off week somewhere in between [games] on the schedule," Patterson said.
The team does not have a game the fourth week of the season, meaning it will have sixteen days between playing Texas Tech on Sept. 12 and SMU on Sept. 28. That time will be vital in helping young players recover from "the grind," as Patterson calls it.
Youth will certainly create a challenge for the Horned Frogs, but Patterson said he always has to "grow players up." This season is the perfect chance to do that.
