July, 1996
TCU's Pat Sullivan knows his football team as well as a head coach can be expected to know one, and, under normal circumstances, he would have reason to be optimistic about the Frogs chances in 1996.
Yet, Sullivan and the Horned Frogs' preparation and anticipation for the upcoming schedule in many ways is like that of Apollo 11 crew before its space voyage to the moon; on one hand eagerness and anxiety, on the other uncertainty and a bit of nervousness prior to its mission to the unknown.
Though less historic, the Horned Frogs' travel plans for '96 - their initial campaign in the expanded WAC - promises to be among a bunch of relative strangers in unfamiliar surroundings.
"We are tremendously excited about our move to the WAC and our (football) future there," maintains TCU Head Coach Pat Sullivan.
"In fact, we have been excited and anxious for two years," he says. "Still, though, it only stands to reason that we will find some things a little different. There will have to be some adjustments as well as educational processes on our part."
TCU has played a few of its future conference members in recent years - New Mexico, BYU and Air Force - but not most of them.
"Nobody associated with this program has ever taken a team to Salt Lake City before and played a game in Utah's stadium, but that's part of what makes this new league so exciting. I know this: we have worked hard for this opportunity."
Sullivan explains that any nuances of difference such as playing style, team travel and first-time ventures into other stadiums can sufficiently be adapted to by football programs blessed with "experienced and intelligent" athletes, and TCU's fifth-year grid boss believes he has that kind of squad available in 1996.
Succinctly, TCU is a college football team returns an adequate number of starters - six on both offense and defense - from last year's 6-5 squad, and many were regulars on the 7-4 ballclub of 1994. It is a football team with obvious strengths and a share of unknown qualities heading into the '96 pre-season.
Among the underscored positives around which Sullivan and Gang will build their 1996 grid version are the talents of all-American place kicker Michael Reeder, a solid offensive line headed by pre-season all-american Ryan Tucker, a proven corps of speed wide receivers including John Washington, who topped all Southwest Conference receivers a year ago with his 52 catches and a rock-solid defense. (The latter is a welcomed commodity at Frogland which has been steadily evolving over the past couple of seasons.)
On the flip side, the Horned Frogs point to '96 with less certainty than they have been accustomed to enjoying in recent seasons at the quarterback and tailback positions, resulting from the departure of record-setters Max Knake (quarterback) and Andre Davis (tailback), a pair of three-year standouts. Also, unproven depth in the Frog secondary and at tight end looms rather