FORT WORTH, Texas — Max Duggan started 29 games as a TCU quarterback, and Chandler Morris totaled 531 yards of offense in his only full game last fall. New Horned Frogs coach Sonny Dykes still hasn’t said which of them will take the first shot at Friday night’s season opener in Colorado.
TCU’s initial depth chart lists either Duggan or Morris as the No. 1 quarterback.
“I think we’re in a good place,” Dykes said Monday. “Obviously, Max Duggan has a big resume. He’s played a lot of snaps over the last three years here at TCU, played really well. … Chandler is the same way. You look at some of the games he’s played played in the last year, he played exceptionally well. So they both have experience and they both did it.”
Dykes expects Duggan and Morris to play in Game 1, along with Sam Jackson, the freshman who passed Taye Barber for 77 yards on his only pass attempt last season. The coach said he doesn’t think it matters who starts.
“It’s a fun group. I really like the guys,” Dykes said. “Sam definitely brings a different element to the room. … I expect all three of them to play, and I expect all three of them to play well.”
Duggan, the Iowa Gatorade Player of the Year and a four-star rookie before coming to TCU, passed for 5,920 yards with 41 touchdowns and 20 interceptions in 32 total games for the Horned Frogs. The senior also rushed for 1,433 yards and 19 other scores.
After Duggan played with a fractured foot bone for several games last season, Morris got his first start in a 30-28 win over Big 12 champion Baylor in TCU’s opener after Gary Patterson and the school have mutually agreed to separate. Morris threw for 461 yards, ran for 70 and even caught an assist. His 531 total yards were the second in school history, but he was injured the next game.
Morris, the former Oklahoma transfer, is still listed as a redshirt freshman after completing 50 of 76 passes for 717 yards and three touchdowns in his four games last season. He had a TD run for the Sooners in their Big 12 Championship game win over Iowa State in 2020.
Senior offensive lineman Steve Avila, a team captain, said the Frogs have confidence in the playing quarterback.
“The only thing we really know is that there’s a voice change,” Avila said.
“They all lead the offense in their own way,” Barber said. “They all bring different things to the table, and I think they’re all positive.”
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