FORT WORTH — While others in the Big 12 battled for supremacy last weekend, one sat studying, waiting, healing and eyeing a 2:30 p.m. Saturday matchup with West Virginia at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Its head coach, deadlocked at three games apiece in a series battle with the Mountaineers, sauntered to the podium Wednesday. A wry smirk graced his features as he gripped the edges of the stand and, in a moment of quiet confidence, dropped a mini-bombshell on the room.
“He was out practicing [today], but I think we have to be smart,” Gary Patterson said. “I don’t think it needs to be a 20-25 carry game with him. I think he needs to work himself back into the offense. He doesn’t need to, either. It’s good to have a guy like Darius (Anderson) that’s really come on, Sewo (Olonilua) and (Kenedy) Snell. (Shaun) Nixon’s gotten some reps, too.”
Waxahachie running back Kenedy Snell (13 rush, 69 yards, 1 TD) has been one of the backs to fill the void during Kyle Hicks’ absence (Charleston Gladden/Texas HS Football).
Hicks, an Arlington Martin High School football alumnus and TCU’s leading rusher a year ago, has played sparingly the first four games of the season due to undisclosed injuries. In his stead, the Horned Frogs’ have taken the running back-by-committee approach.
With Anderson (68 rush, 434 yds, 6 TDs) as the team’s leading rusher and Olonilua, Snell, Kenny Hill and KaVonte Turpin accounting for 389 of the 616 remaining rushing yards, TCU ground out yardage against Arkansas, broke Southern Methodist’s sense of balance, and chewed clock against Oklahoma State.
And while the bye week may have offered a mixed bag of benefits to the Horned Frogs, it did the same for a Mountaineer team that’s among the nation’s best in passing yardage and efficiency.
“We may get a couple of people back that can help us but you know in bye week’s you don’t do much,” Patterson said. “We needed to take a couple of days to clear our minds.
The aspect of a score-at-will offense against TCU’s opportunistic yet bend-don’t-break defense may make Hicks possible return and ability to help the Horned Frogs extend drives and take time off the scoreboard all the more important.
In Tuesday’s presser, Gary Patterson said they are expecting the return of leading rusher Kyle Hicks. (Charleston Gladden/Texas HS Football).
“The two weeks gave us an opportunity to study not just their film, but Cal film as well to see what they might do against us,” Patterson continued. “They had two weeks to get ready for us, too. We have to be ready to go because they are a good football team.”
Patterson alluded to schemes against new West Virginia offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, who coached at the University of California in 2016 after spending two seasons at Texas A&M as Hill’s position coach.
The allusion included quarterback Will Grier and running back Justin Crawford. Grier is ranked No. 5 in the Big 12 in completion percentage (65.3), pass completions (94) and pass attempts (144) and No. 3 in passing yards (1,374). Crawford is No. 1 in the Big 12 in rushing touchdowns.
