Alex Delton named TCU’s starting QB

After an off-season of postulating, Gary Patterson and TCU Football finally named a game one starter Tuesday afternoon, telling media at the season-opening press conference that Alex Delton will be the first man behind center Saturday night.

A depth chart was posted Tuesday morning that had Delton and true freshman Max Duggan listed as co-starters, but Delton was officially announced as the starter just hours later. The redshirt senior, who Patterson has raved about since his arrival in the spring, was a captain for Bill Snyder’s Wildcats and a renown leader at every stop in his journey. Tuesday, Patterson said of his quarterback “he’s the consummate teammate” and once again praised how great all of the candidates in the room had been throughout the process. He also complimented Duggan, saying how glad he is that the freshman is a Horned Frog and intoning that his time will come. Though Duggan will not start Saturday, he is expected to take snaps with the first team in the first quarter, and Patterson said he expects to have him on the field within the first three or four series.

Though Delton has a sub-60% completion percentage as a Wildcat, his mobility is impressive and was a big factor in his success on the field. He will he asked to be a good decision maker and to not turn it over as he takes the helm for a TCU team that has a ton of weapons on offense and one of the most athletic and talented defenses of the Patterson era. Patterson noted that Delton edged out the others based on his experience, leadership, and other intangibles. “One is a senior, one is a true freshman. One is a starter, the other a sixth man.”

Patterson also noted that Mike Collins was hurt by missing time with an injury or he would have been right in the mix of the competition as well. It would not be surprising to see him get playing time Saturday night as well.

We will continue to update this story as information becomes available.