:format(webp)/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_image/image/66888741/Links.0.0.jpg)
Football:
We are getting closer and closer...
Yahoo Sports reported last week that the NCAA Division I football oversight committee was leaning toward a six-week preseason camp, about two weeks longer than the normal beginning to the season.
NCAA approval could come the middle of this month, according to Yahoo.
The COVID-19-forced cancellation of most spring football practices and on-campus workouts has forced significant adjustments in the schedule.
“Well, we’ve always known that we needed to get back somewhere around the middle of July,” Big 12 Commissioner Bob Bowlsby said during a teleconference last Friday at the end of virtual conference spring meetings. “I think we probably have to get started with football activities and football-specific training by sometime around the middle of July.”
He noted that conferences and the American Football Coaches Association had been looking closely at a six-week model.
Where would Jerry Kill be today if health didn’t end career? | 247 Sports
It’s a great swan song for Kill.
Kill sees this stop at TCU as his last in college football, which is somewhat fitting, even if this twilight is not what was desired a decade ago. His college career will be bookended alongside his friend, Patterson. They played together in the mid-1980s and Franchione. They coached against each other in 2014 and 2015. Kill served as the best man at Franchione’s best man.
Their connection runs deep. Kill might be the only man on the planet capable of criticizing Patterson without a rebuttal.
“He’s been an unbelievable hire for me as a head coach,” Patterson said. “To have a guy with that much knowledge and experience to help me on the offensive side of the ball you’re going to see a change in consistency. A lot of those guys that got drafted at Minnesota, they were his recruiting class. He’s a great dude; he’s not only my friend but he’s just a really good ball coach. I’m really excited that he’s on the staff. It’s been awesome for me and I think it’s going to pay big dividends going forward. I’m really excited having everybody that we have and how we tweak things. We’ve got some good players coming back and a whole bunch of guys we got to grow up.”
Calling my shot: TCU depth chart at QB | Horned Frog Blitz
The most interesting battle right now is the guys we hopefully won’t actually have to see on the field.
THIRD STRING – Stephon Brown
Brown has athleticism like Duggan and is even bigger at 6-foot-5, 215-pounds. Brown can make plays with his arm and legs but he is behind others in his knowledge of the offense. Athleticism can only get you so far early on. Although I list him third on the depth chart, I wouldn’t be surprised if he does make some sort of push after being on campus and going through the system for a few months.
FOURTH STRING – Matthew Baldwin
Is he healthy or is he not healthy. On one hand I’ve been told he is throwing in Austin and appears to be doing fine. On another hand, I’m told some issues still persist and he may yet be on the road to having another procedure. I tend to be leaning more toward the second opinion simply because I’ve heard more of that in recent weeks. Listen, I wish nothing but the best for the kid and hope that he is healthy enough to compete in the fall; I think he could add to the competition. It just seems the longer issues persist, the farther back he’ll fall.
2020 NFL Draft: Interview with Titans UDFA OT Anthony McKinney | Music City Miracle
McKinney never really lived up to his potential at TCU after a late start to football, but he certainly looks the part of a pro.
JM: You didn’t start playing football until your junior year of high school. You eventually made your way to TCU by way of JUCO. What was your learning curve like when you first arrived at a big program such as TCU?
AM: I would say that the biggest learning curve was adjusting to the speed of the game. The speed of the game doesn’t slow down for anybody. That’s the truth. Coming from high school and a northern football system, going to Texas and playing football down here is a different animal. Texas became my home. They’re crazy about football down here. It’s been one heck of a ride so far.
JM: Do you remember that first “welcome to TCU moment?”
AM: Yeah, I definitely do (laughs). I remember coming out of the tunnel pre-game getting ready to play against Ohio State. We played that game at AT&T Stadium. I remember walking out of the tunnel and seeing 110,000 screaming fans. That was definitely a welcome to college football moment for me.