For TCU in spring game, one touchdown is a sign of progress
By all accounts, for the first time in at least a few years, TCU’s first-team offense scored a touchdown against the first-team defense in the annual spring game Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
For sophomore starting quarterback Andy Dalton and coach Gary Patterson, that means confidence is building and hopefully, the offense is progressing.
“That’s exciting to me to see what we have next year,” said Dalton, who hit tight end Shae Reagan in the right corner of the end zone for a 20-yard touchdown pass.
“We had some big plays, and against our defense, that’s exciting to see.”
Patterson said he liked how Dalton and the offense continued to limit turnovers, a trend that began at the end of last season. Dalton threw 11 interceptions last season, but only two came in the final five games, and the Frogs won four of the games.
But the offense has continued to start slowly. Last season, 88 percent of TCU’s scoring took place in the last three quarters.
In Saturday’s spring game before about 1,500 fans, the first-team offense went three-and-out on its first two possessions.
The development of Chris Smith as another big tailback was a key for the Frogs this spring. Reagan and fellow tight ends Evan Frosch and Logan Brock, who was recently sidelined with a minor leg injury, also had good springs.
Reagan and Frosch caught three of the nine passes completed by Dalton and backup Marcus Jackson on Saturday . “It just opens up our playbook even more when everyone can get a piece of the ball,” said senior tailback Aaron Brown, who had 14 yards on six carries and a 6-yard reception from Dalton.
Defensively, Patterson would like to see a better pass rush out of defensive ends Matt Panfil and Jerry Hughes.
And a starter has yet to emerge at weak safety, although the competition between Tejay Johnson and Corderra Hunter was one of the best in the spring.
Hunter played with the first team during the spring game.
“We really emphasized takeaways on defense this spring, and we came a long way with it,” Patterson said.
“And offensively we talked about not turning the ball over, and I thought we were really good the last five days.”
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