Buffs Film Room: The five players Colorado must contain against TCU

The September 2nd season opener can be a monumental turning point for both Colorado and TCU. Both programs enter the 2022 season looking to prove that the past is the past, and that they are back on the road to glory. In order for that to happen though, these teams will need perform much better than they have in recent years.

Outside of the 2020 COVID season, TCU hasn’t had a winning record since 2018. In 2021, after a 31-12 loss to Kansas State left the Horned Frogs sitting at 3-5 on the season, TCU decided and long-time head coach Gary Patterson elected to mutually part ways.

While it may be a new era for TCU football for the first time in two decades — the Sonny Dykes era — many of the players on the roster this fall are from the old regime.

So with that in mind, let’s take a look at TCU’s top two quarterbacks and the guys who will be making plays for the Horned Frogs on offense ahead of the 2022 season opener.

Max Duggan

Dating back to the 2019 season, Max Duggan has been TCU’s starting quarterback barring injury. Due to his dual-threat ability, Duggan has the ability to punish any defense he plays against. While at times it’s more “backyard football” than improvisational play-making, the senior quarterback has proved that he is good enough to lead a college football team.

Duggan shows good composure and patience in the pocket before layering a nice throw between zones to Derius Davis. He has a plus arm that allows him to be aggressive and gun the ball between zones to make some pretty nutty throws.

However, the most dangerous aspect of Duggan’s game comes on the ground. In each of the previous three seasons as a starter, Duggan rushed the ball over 100 times.

As mentioned earlier, Duggan has been known to miss games sporadically. That allowed Oklahoma transfer, Chandler Morris to show his talent for the Horned Frogs last year.

Chandler Morris

Morris transferred to TCU last season where he played in four games including his first career start against Baylor where Morris led the Horned Frogs to an upset over the the 12th ranked team in the country.

In that start, Morris balled out showing great talent as a passer and playmaker.

Despite it being his first start, Morris showed great poise and composure in the face of pressure and was able to complete multiple off-platform throws.

Morris is not quite as athletic as Duggan, regardless he showed plenty of ability in terms of mobility against Baylor.

TCU has yet to announce a starter which suggests Morris is pushing hard for the starting quarterback job. Even though Duggan is more experienced, Morris’ ceiling has to be a tantalizing option for Sonny Dykes and the TCU offensive staff. Reports coming out of Fort Worth suggest that the Horned Frogs could play as many as three quarterbacks against CU.

Quentin Johnston

This man is a problem.

Johnston has only gathered 55 receptions, 1121 yards and 8 touchdowns in his first two collegiate seasons but he is by far TCU’s best player and is a prime candidate to climb draft boards throughout the 2022 season.

His combination of size, physicality and run-after-the-catch ability will surely have CU’s defensive coaches and secondary players worried on gameday.

Truly an absurd play by Johnston. The 6-foot-4 receiver is able to climb the ladder and bail out Duggan’s underthrow while moving forward and eventually outrunning the Sooner defense.

Johnston is a human highlight reel that has the ability to win with physicality on any given rep. Even if he has to use one arm to fight off a defender.

Containing Johnston is going to be crucial for the Buffs. Colorado’s defensive backs have to try and match Johnston’s physicality and make the junior wide receiver earn every yard against their defense.

Derius Davis

In his fourth year in the program, Derius Davis achieved career highs in receptions and receiving yards for the Horned Frogs in 2021.

Davis is capable of breaking off chunks of yardage as a receiver but he is at his most dangerous when back as a returner. As a punt returner, Davis has been making plays for the Horned Frogs dating back to his freshman season in 2018. In 2021, the fifth-year senior took over kick returns and scored his first kick return touchdown against West Virginia.

Even with this massive return by Davis to start the game, TCU would end up falling to West Virginia 29-17.

Offering wiggle, reliable hands and blazing speed out of the slot, Davis is a threat to score from anywhere on the field if he gets the ball in space.

Similar to Quentin Johnston, Davis is in a great position to climb draft boards and prove that he offers more than pure speed in 2022.

Kendre Miller

TCU’s top back from 2021 transferred out which leaves Kendre Miller with a great opportunity in 2022. Forced to play a change-of-pace role his first two years, Miller is projected to be TCU’s lead back and show just how versatile of a player he can be.

While he only has 1011 career rushing yards, Miller averaged over seven yards per carry in 2020 and 2021 for the Horned Frogs.

In what would end up being Gary Patterson’s last game as TCU head coach, Kendre Miller produced 102 rushing yards off 14 carries in a loss against Kansas State last year.

As talented as he is as a runner, Miller’s ability to win in space and rip off big gains in the passing game will be a crucial coaching point for the Buffs this Friday.

Despite a poor overall outing in 2021, this TCU football team is loaded with talent at the offensive skill positions. Colorado’s front seven projects to be the strength of this defense once again but the Buffs’ secondary will have to step up for CU to have a chance at beating TCU.

Tackling and sound, mistake-free football will be a point of emphasis this week for the Buffs’ defense. With head coach Sonny Dykes bringing the air raid to Fort Worth, expect the Horned Frogs to get their playmakers out in space as much as possible. No matter who starts at quarterback for TCU, they will be surrounded by a wealth of talent. We’ll see if the Buffs are able to match TCU’s strength and pull out a win at home to start off 2022.