Trevone Boykin just wants to play Quarterback

A year ago, if you someone told you that Trevone Boykin would be in Heisman contention, and that his offense would be number two in the country, the assumption would’ve been that that person was on something. Even the more adamant Boykin fans would’ve laughed. The dramatic turnaround in such a little fragment of time is something no one could’ve seen coming.

The Work in Progress

The TCU offseason was mostly optimistic--because anything would’ve been better than last year. Hell, 7 or 8 wins would’ve been a godsend for the Horned Frogs in 2014. The general consensus was that Doug Meacham and Sonny Cumbie would make TCU a great offense, but it would take some time. Some fans were even calling for the freshmen quarterbacks, Foster Sawyer or Grayson Muehlstein, to start. And just about everyone was alleviated when Matt Joeckel transferred from A&M in mid-April. The latter took the conversation precedence over the surging baseball team, led by now Kansas City Royal Brandon Finnegan. It was almost too perfect. And in theory, it was perfect. A guy who had played under an offense not unlike what TCU was bringing to the table could ease the transition, and could teach the successors (Sawyer and Muehlstein) before they would fight it out in 2015. The elusive athlete, Trevone Boykin, would then move to wide receiver, filling in the gap left by the departed Brandon Carter. On paper, it all made sense.

Boykin didn’t get the memo.

Frog fans, understandably, wanted change, but were too quick to assume that Boykin couldn’t get better. Thankful for filling in at quarterback when outside forces called for it, the majority of fans wanted someone else, but loved the idea of Boykin at receiver. It was a pretty lazy game of smoke and mirrors for the TCU community, and while there was never an official "Boykin is moving to receiver announcement", it was just what everyone assumed.

Granted, TCU fans have a history of stubbornness when it comes to their quarterback--and myself included, didn't even warm up to Dalton until midway through the Rose Bowl season. In 2013, Boykin returned as the kid who was briefly praised as he kept TCU bowl eligible and out of obscurity in its first year in a Power 5 conference, but who TCU fans were so quick to throw to the curb when Pachall announced he'd be returning for one more polarizing year--shoes Boykin had to fill once again when Pachall spent the majority of the season nursing an injury.

Statistically, and visually, TCU’s 2013 offense was horrendous. Rusty Burns and Jarrett Anderson, who ran the offense last year and are still with the team this year, aren’t bad coaches. But someone should’ve told them you can’t run the veer against Big 12 speed. They should’ve also told them that in the Big 12, you can’t just be a hard-nosed defense--even if that defense is one of the best in the country. You have to fight fire with fire.

Year 3: The Savior

It’s now year three in the Big 12: Enter Doug Meacham and Sonny Cumbie.

TCU finished the regular season with the number two scoring offense in the country--up one-hundred and three spots from last year. In fact, TCU’s scored nearly double its 2013 output in 2014. But it isn’t just scoring twice as much, or averaging nearly 3 more yards per play; there’s a different mentality. We saw it from the opening drive of the Samford game. Doug Meacham, acting like Rust Cohle on a full pot of coffee, brought an energy to TCU’s sideline that hasn’t been seen in the Gary Patterson era.

The ying to Meacham’s fiery yang, is Sonny Cumbie. The Yoda to Boykin’s Luke. Cumbie, the Lannister-gold haired, former Texas Tech grindhouse quarterback who beat Aaron Rodgers and a Cal team--that some thought deserved to go to the Rose Bowl over a Vince Young Texas team during the 2004 season--turned a hybrid skill player into a Heisman contender in less than a year. Under his tutelage, Boykin went from a kid fans had mentally dismissed, vocally crucified, and made him a hero. While Meacham’s tenure at TCU will likely be over sooner rather than later, it’s Cumbie who holds the power for the future to shape another Boykin.

Matt Joeckel, the senior transfer from Texas A&M, who backed up Johnny Manziel, also accelerated Boykin’s potential through competition. Joekel eased the transition of Cumbie and Meacham’s new offense--a system not far off from the one Kevin Sumlin runs in College Station. So when it became known that Boykin would start against Samford, TCU fans assumed two things: (1) TCU’s screwed and (2), Joeckel must be horrible if he couldn’t beat out Boykin. Never did "hey, this guy actually might be improved" cross their minds. Asking "maybe the competition made Boykin better" or "maybe Sonny Cumbie can fix a quarterback" never crossed their minds either.

Boykin, nearly 20-pounds lighter from the end of last season after cutting out fast food, was touted by the coaches, players, and everyone who got an early look at him as a ‘changed man’. Fans still weren’t convinced, but the anti-Boykin crowd began to drop off after TCU’s opening drive against Samford. Yes, it was Samford--but a drive hadn’t looked that easy since Andy Dalton was quarterback. The anti-Boykin percentage declined even further after the Minnesota and SMU games, but it took a huge plunge after Boykin topped Bob Stoops and then No. 4 Oklahoma in their biggest home win since Gary Patterson took over. The few that weren’t on the Boykin train after that, boarded after the Oklahoma State game, and the criminally insane got on after the Tech game.

The Boykin Progression

YEAR	CMP	ATT	PCT	YDS	AVG	TD	INT	RAT
2014	279	461	60.5	3714	8.1	30	7	146.6
2013	105	176	59.7	1198	6.8	7	7	122
2012	167	292	57.2	2054	7	15	10	126.4

The Snub and the Future.

Boykin, in a lot of ways, is the embodiment of TCU football’s metamorphosis. Let’s just admit it; Boykin’s been the quarterback since joining the Big 12--he’s just had a few sabbaticals. In those sabbaticals, Boykin’s also, at times, been its best receiver and best running back. And as Boykin’s transformed into an elusive butterfly, so has TCU. The  perception that "TCU can’t play in big time games" has been erased this year; greatly due to that butterfly. The butterfly is the line in the sand between the 30-somethings and younger, and the older crowd who don’t even bother showing up in the lower deck for games. In ten, maybe even five years, attendance won’t be a problem. Sure, you’ll have games where people leave early. But there won’t be a sprawl of aging, half-assed alumni who fuel the argument that TCU can’t fill their stands. That’ll be overtaken by those who went to school during the Mountain West comeup, and the first Big 12 leg under Boykin.

Since last December, TCU has lost twice, both to their archrival, Baylor. Boykin only played quarterback in one of those games.

And yet, it’s hard to watch Boykin and remember him as anything but a quarterback. He does this with his greatest, and most important trait of all; the trust and support of his teammates. The first glimpse of this confident Boykin came two years ago in Waco. Boykin cruised. He completed 22 of his 30 passes for 261 yards and four touchdowns, and his versatility and speed were also on display as he rushed for 56 yards and one touchdown. It wasn't so much the stats that were impressive. It was his overall demeanor. He was confident, poised, and dominant. I said this in a piece back in February--which, is a lot easier in a comfortable hindsight time machine--"Boykin looked fluid, confident, and had the poise of a guy who'd been starting for two or three years. If this is the real Trevone Boykin, the possibilities are near limitless". So now, the young kid from Mesquite, who’s been the scapegoat of TCU football the past two seasons, is now its savior.

Heisman Invitees (Courtesy of Mike Gonzales)

Name	BOYKIN	Luck	Klein	McCarron
SEASON	2014	2011	2012	2013
W-L RECORD	11-1	11-1	11-1	12-0
PASSING YDS	3714	3517	2641	3063
TD-INT	30-7	37-10	16-9	28-7
RUSHING YDS	659	150	920	21
RUSHING TDS	8	2	23	0
TOTAL TDS	39	39	39	28
TOTAL YDS	4428	3680	3561	3084

Boykin earned a trip to New York and was undoubtedly a part of the college football zeitgeist in 2014. The Willie Beaman-esque flip into the endzone, seen in both the Kansas State and Texas games, was supposed to be his Heisman highlight. It probably gave Gary, Doug, and Sonny heart attacks. However, the acrobatic electricity that surges through Boykin’s veins are a force of habit to his archetype. That archetype being a great quarterback who’ll "do anything for [his] team to win".

Up until the selection committee gave America their four teams, Boykin’s Heisman hopes and TCU’s playoff hopes seemed tangential. Just two days after dropping three spots after a 52-point win against Iowa State, and thus being knocked out of the playoffs--the most valuable player in the Big 12 didn’t receive an invite to the Big Apple as a Heisman finalist. And maybe it was tangential, just not in the way TCU wanted.

Heisman Winners (Courtesy of Mike Gonzales)

Name	BOYKIN	GRIFFIN	MANZIEL	WINSTON
SEASON	2014	2011	2012	2013
W-L RECORD	11-1	9-3	9-3	12-0
PASSING YDS	3714	4293	3706	4057
TD-INT	30-7	37-6	26-9	40-10
RUSHING YDS	659	699	1410	193
RUSHING TDS	8	10	21	4
TOTAL TDS	39	47	47	44
TOTAL YDS	4428	5007	5116	4250

This is college football’s world right now. It’s one where Tre Mason can sneak in because of his last two games in 2013. It’s one where a guy--who lied, and hid that lie about a dead girlfriend that never existed--can come in second despite mediocre stats.

On the criteria; (1) You want to say Manti Te’o didn’t have the stats but made his team better? Fine. (2) You want to say that Gordon had the stats, but without him they’d probably be the same team? Fine too. Both ends of the spectrum; the jaw dropping stats and the playmaker are just causes for a Heisman, and a Heisman invite. Some players (3), like Johnny Manziel or Robert Griffin III overlap this criteria. Boykin, and J.T. Barrett for that matter, not only have the stats, but if you take those two guys away, TCU and Ohio State aren’t the same teams. Anyone can tell you that Marcus Mariota will win the Heisman--as he will, and as he should. However, to leave out two of the best quarterbacks, who produced two of the best teams and not honor them in New York is unsettling. And if you’re the Big 10, you get over it. If you’re the Big 12, no matter who you root for, this is your loss too.

Staying strong #NeverSatisfied

— Trevone BoyKING (@OGcURIOUSDEUCE) December 9, 2014

In all likelihood, Boykin will be back for his senior year, starting out the season in Heisman contention. For a kid that was thrown into the fire at the most inopportune time over two years ago, Trevone Boykin’s made the best of it. Everyone always wanted someone else; Casey Pachall, Matt Joeckel, Foster Sawyer, and so on. There were even fans who were up in arms about Gary not locking down Johnny Manziel because he wanted the regime savant to transform, and diffuse his swagger into a defensive back. TCU fans are a little late to the table, but are now thankful that what they got in return is a kid who gave everything to be the quarterback for TCU. New York may have passed on him this year, but in the meantime, Trevone Boykin is just happy to be playing quarterback--because he knows that’s the best way he can help his team. He’s known it for quite some time.