TCU head coach Gary Patterson said Sunday’s practice was one of the best practices the team has had all year at a press conference Tuesday afternoon.
Patterson said that the team is prepared for Saturday’s game against Minnesota, but he wants to make sure the team plays intelligently and doesn’t force big plays.
Junior quarterback Trevone Boykin will once again start at quarterback, but that doesn’t mean that senior Matt Joeckel won’t play, added Patterson.
TCU will be playing its second game under the Air Raid offensive system of co-coordinators Doug Meacham and Sonny Cumbie, a scheme that excites senior wide receiver David Porter.
“[Meacham and Cumbie] have brought a lot of excitement and swag back to the TCU offense,” Porter said. “We can go out there everyday, have fun and just play football.”
Porter praised his fellow wide receivers at the press conference, noting the athletic talent throughout the depth chart.
“As a group we’re very athletic. I haven’t seen anybody on the field as fast as Kolby Listenbee and Deante’ Gray,” Porter said. “We’ve got athletes out there everywhere.”
When asked why he sometimes looks more like a fullback than a wide receiver when carrying the ball, Porter laughed and offered some insight into why he doesn’t go down easily.
“I don’t really like to get tackled because I like to keep my uniform clean, and the best way to keep that uniform clean is to break some tackles,” Porter said.
Junior offensive tackle Halapoulivaati Vaitai said that the offensive line may have lacked in communication last season, but this year the line is on the same page.
“This summer we were able to work on our chemistry as a line, and now we always know what each guy is going to do,” Vaitai said. “Our communication is our biggest improvement.”
Vaitai added that the up-tempo nature of Meacham and Cumbie’s new offensive system was difficult to adapt to at first, but the offensive linemen built up stamina over the summer and are now used to the fast pace.
When asked about SMU football coach June Jones’ resignation, Patterson said that even though relationships between football coaches can sometimes feel like “Days of our Lives,” he’ll miss competing against a great person who really cared about his players.
Patterson will coach opposite a good friend this weekend. Minnesota head coach Jerry Kill was in attendance at Patterson’s wedding, and the two will face off against each other for the first time in their careers at 3 p.m. on Saturday.
