Media Day Notebook: TCU

Gary Patterson began his press conference off by mentioning how grateful he was to be in Arlington and the continual pursuit of normalcy.

He also mentioned how the continuity has benefited his program and the chemistry and cohesion on the roster.

Patterson doesn't know exactly what to attribute the better chemistry to, but he touched on bringing back starting quarterback Max Duggan and also having a lot of returning contributors.

Last season was difficult for TCU. Their youth a year ago, combined with an unorganized and limited offseason, made things shaky for their chemistry and culture. Patterson feels all that has been corrected and he has high expectations for his team this year.

Patterson has a lot of confidence in his signal-caller. The head coach in Fort Worth mentioned how the stunted offseason a year ago made things tough for Max Duggan to be comfortable and stay in rhythm.

Remember, he went through a serious health scare that also hindered how much he could really train and prepare.

Having him back and consistently working on his craft has made a real different. Patterson believes it will the key to their success and mentioned his name more than any other on the roster during the first day in Arlington.

It comes after a season that Duggan would like to forget. In 10 contests, he threw for 1,795 yards, 10 touchdowns and 4 interceptions on 60 percent passing. Based on his words, Patterson thinks the expectation should be for him to take a giant step forward.

The league has great parity and winning close games, or not, could shuffle you up or down the pecking order in the Big 12 by a few spots. Patterson knows that better than anyone. He reflected on that and how a possible 10-win season can only be filled with five in a flash.

Close wins can really boost a team forward, and close losses can be even more deflating.

The non-conference slate is set up the way Patterson prefers and he is excited for it. He believes it will prepare his team for difficult conference play. They face California and SMU in Fort Worth.

Former TCU defensive back Ar'Darius Washington was mentioned by Patterson as someone that may have stayed in college last season instead of going to the NFL draft had benefiting from name, image, and likeness been permitted.

Thus, he sees it as a positive.

He's not as supportive on the changing transfer landscape.

His main issue is with only having 25 initial counters every year, and that it needs to be revisited or modified or else roster management becomes nearly impossible. It is too difficult to reach 85.

If someone transfers away, in his mind, that should add another counter that can be used.