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21
players sign with TCU
Coaches say recruits give promising
outlook
By Braden Howell
Staff Reporter
Head
football coach Gary Patterson said in a press conference
Wednesday that every recruiting class starts with the
quarterback and running back positions, and in signing
21 new recruits, TCU had some of the best at both positions.
Patterson
said the 2003 signing class is highlighted by quarterback
James Battle from Denton and a member of the Fort Worth
Star-Telegram state’s top 100 list. He called the
signees an evaluation class, saying the coaches focused
on recruiting athletes and not specific positions.
Patterson
said they recruited Battle to be a future quarterback,
with current starter Tye Gunn, but said the way the
coaches handle Battle will depend largely on the health
of Gunn. He said Gunn is recovering nicely after having
knee surgery, but will not participate in spring practices.
Patterson said he expects Battle to push Gunn for the
starting job.
“I’m
looking forward to the ‘Gunn Battle,’”
Patterson said.
Patterson
said while the coaches recruit players to build them
for the future, they don’t know how soon one of
the new guys may need to contribute.
“We
recruit a lot of guys that are just athletes,”
Patterson said. “It’s our job to grow them
up and then see where they fit best. We evaluate our
class based on our needs, but we tell them they need
to be ready to play coming in.”
Randy
Rodgers, a contributing author to Dave Campbell’s
Texas Football magazine, said the 2003 TCU class is
a great group of athletes. Rodgers was also the recruiting
coordinator at both Illinois and Texas under John Mackovic.
“The
TCU staff does a terrific job of evaluating players
based on ability and potential, not statistics,”
Rodgers said. “They find guys that may not be as
highly recruited and work with them to turn them into
great football players.”
Patterson
said a couple areas they did focus on were the offensive
line and linebacker positions, and that they met their
needs at both positions. Among the three offensive lineman
signed is Will Oliver, another member of the Star-Telegram’s
state top 100 list. Of the four linebackers who signed,
Patterson said he believes Logo Tevaseu, recruited from
Santa Rosa Junior College, will make an immediate impact.
In
a class loaded with players recruited as athletes, Rodgers
said TCU has found some impact players. Rodgers said
Tommy Blake, an all-state running back from Aransas
Pass, could be a great tight end or defensive end at
the college level because of his size of 6-3, 230 pounds.
Rodgers said high school teammates, quarterback Brian
Bonner and wide receiver Ervin Dickerson from Beeville,
are great additions to the class.
“Bonner
is a guy who could be a running back, defensive back
or a kick returner in college,” Rodgers said. “He
is great with the ball and just makes tacklers miss.”
Patterson said he is looking forward to getting the
new guys out on the field because it is the reward the
coaches get for all the recruiting. He said the recruits’
excitement and desire to help the program makes the
coaches’ job that more fun.
“It’s
great to finally get them in because we love our jobs,
and if the kids weren’t here, we wouldn’t
have jobs,” Patterson said.
Braden
Howell
b.r.howell@tcu.edu
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