Coming into the '09 season, Quarterback is one of the positions at which TCU has the most returning depth, but that doesn't mean there aren't any question marks under center.
One thing that is for sure, though, is that this is
Andy Dalton's team. Over his first two years as a starter, our favorite Ginja Ninja has led the Frogs to two bowl victories and earned Offensive MVP honors in both. He's already TCU's 3rd All-Time leader in passing yards, and with his mini-sophomore slump of the beginning of '08 behind him and an oustanding corps of receivers coming back, he's got a real good shot at breaking Max Knake's school record this fall. In TCU's ball-control offense, you've got to have a Qube that can do it all, and his 664 career rushing yards and 13 TD's on the ground are evidence that Dalton's legs are a perfect compliment to his arm. That warm feeling you've got in your soul is the fact that the Frogs have two more seasons with Dalton at the helm.
After a brief stint plying his craft at safety in the spring,
Marcus Jackson has returned to the offensive side of the ball to play the role of insurance policy. It's pretty reassuring when your back-up QB is a 5th-year senior who has earned MWC Player of the Week honors twice in his career. He delivered W's over San Diego State and at Colorado State filling in as a starter when Dalton went down with a knee injury last year, and has over 1,000 career passing yards and 600 career rushing yards.
The #3 spot is where things really get interesting. In the event that Dalton & MJ are both unavailable at some point this fall, are the reigns handed to redshirt freshman
Yogi Gallegos or blue-chip true frosh
Casey Pachall? Pachall certainly came to TCU with more fanfare after a stellar high school career at Brownwood, but Gallegos has more experience in the system, having travelled with the team all last season as the #3 QB. Before you automatically go promoting Pachall because of his recruiting hype, don't forget that at one point many fans thought Jeff Ballard would forever be buried on the depth chart and would likely never see the field. Hopefully, though, this isn't a debate for this fall, but rather for the spring of 2011 after Dalton has exhausted his eligibility.
Two walk-on's will occupy the bottom spots of the depth chart this fall-
Kyle Wilson, a redshirt freshman from Springtown, and
Rick Settle, a true freshman from Olathe, Kansas. It seems like a long-shot for either of these guys to see the field this year- if all four of the scholarship QB's went down, you have to think that
Jeremy Kerley,
Antoine Hicks or any of the other dozen or so Frogs that played QB in high school would be called upon to lead the offense. But remember, walk-on Kyle Kummer did start against Army in '04 when Tye Gunn & Brandon Hassell were both injured, so who knows what chances Wilson & Settle could get if they stick with the program.
Up next: Running Backs
Katy Morton Ranch rising senior, Sam Carter, has reportedly become TCU's most recent 2010 commit. Carter, the lefty who played his first three years at Sharpstown (Houston), is listed in ESPN's top 150 watch list as an athlete and is ranked the 23rd best dual QB for the 2010 class. Last year, Carter, listed at 6 ft 205lbs, passed for over 1,500 yards and rushed for over 1,000. The Frogs snagged Carter over schools including Miami, Houston, Okie State and Baylor.
