July, 1996
With his quarterbacks Pat Sullivan has never been an advocate of going with whomever has the hot hand. To that end, at the conclusion of TCU's spring drills, Sullivan's most concrete ideas of the Horned Frogs' cast of quarterbacking hopefuls, all sufficiently talented, was anything but crystal clear.
It seemed that throughout the Frogs' spring scrimmage sessions performances by the quarterbacks was static at best. For example, quarterback A might give solid display of his skill one tussle versus the defense while quarterbacks B and C struggled. Then, in the next go round, either B or C would momentarily elevate their games while A and the other would be off. Get the picture?
Ultimately, heady junior Todd Stanford remained as quarterback A and the
heir-apparent to the vacancy left by the record-setting Max Knake. Stanford's hold on that spot was in part
because of his dedication and work ethic, and in part because he is the only Frog to ever have received an in-game snap from center at the college level.
Jeff Dover
Royce Huffman
By an eyelash Jeff Dover finished ahead of Royce Huffman in the battle of redshirt freshmen for the backup billing behind Stanford.
A fourth hopeful, transfer Garth Davies, was very much involved in this musical-chair scenario of the spring until he was felled by a knee injury. Davies' injury and subsequent surgery likely removes him from the quarterbacking picture in '96. However, at the same time young Davies' threat dims, Stanford and Co. may be facing an even greater one.
Slated to join the Frog fold in the pre-season is junior college all-American and Offensive Player of the Year,
Fred Taylor (Hinds Miss. Community College), arriving with a suitcase stuffed with impressive accomplishments, but a stranger no less to the Horned Frogs' offensive scheme.
The nimble Taylor, a 4.5 man, will become the swiftest signal-caller at TCU in almost ten years.
Still, it was his 2,381 yards and 22 touchdowns passing which at Hinds C. C. in 95 which attracted the most attention.
Dover and Huffman who divided their springs between baseball and football, also have displayed above-average option and scrambling abilities which perhaps indicates the possibility of seeing TCU's quarterback on the loose in 1996. But the question remains, by September which one will be wearing the No. 1 mantle.
| 15 | Garth Davies | 6-2 | 195 | Jr-TR |
| 4 | Jeff Dover | 6-2 | 185 | Fr-RS |
| 12 | Royce Huffman | 6-0 | 200 | Fr-RS |
| 9 | Todd Stanford | 6-3 | 188 | Jr-2L |
| 13 | Fred Taylor | 6-1 | 190 | Jr-TR |