Kicking game impressive in Frog scrimmage
8/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 19, 2005
FORT WORTH, Texas -- The TCU football team continued preparations for its Sept. 3 season opener with No. 5 Oklahoma by holding a scrimmage in Amon Carter Stadium this morning.Tomorrow will mark the end of two-a-days for the Frogs who take the field at 8 a.m. and 5 p.m. All practices are closed for an indefinite period of time.
The offense was held to just two touchdowns in today's scrimmage. Wide receiver Cory Rodgers scored on a 1-yard run, while starting quarterback Tye Gunn and Quentily Harmon connected for a 25-yard scoring pass.
Frog placekickers Kasey Davis and Chris Manfredini converted all six of their field-goal attempts. Davis was successful from 33, 31 and 26 yards. Manfredini, a transfer from Cincinnati, had efforts of 45, 33 and 30 yards.
TCU standout running backs Lonta Hobbs and Robert Merrill did not participate in the scrimmage to provide more opportunities for the Frog staff to evaluate younger players.
True freshman Aaron Brown (Katy, Texas) was the top ground gainer with 11 carries for 35 yards. Redshirt freshman Justin Watts (Center, Texas) had 34 yards on six attempts. Classmate Detrick James (Shreveport, La.) rushed nine times for 28 yards.
Eight different Frogs combined for 11 receptions. Rodgers and freshman walk-on Grant Ball both had two grabs.
TCU coach Gary Patterson was looking forward to reviewing the tape from today's scrimmage for a full assessment of his team's performance.
"We're better on defense right now," Patterson said. "The offense, however, didn't play with the No. 1 tailbacks today.
"We didn't turn the ball over, so that's a positive. We also punted better. When we get in the red zone, we need to score touchdowns."
Punter Brian Cortney had a 50-yard effort on his lone attempt. Derek Wash had two kicks for a 35.0 net average.
"The defense made the offense go a long distance to score," Patterson said. "We want to make it hard for the offense and not easy with big plays. That's what we gave up last year but is not happening now."
Defensive highlights included efforts from a pair of true freshmen. Defensive end Allen Christopher (Jacksonville, Texas) had a pair of sacks, while safety Chase Gibson (Wylie, Texas) broke up a pass in the end zone.
Senior defensive end Jesse Hejny also recorded a sack.
Over the last five seasons, TCU has the 17th-best record in Division I-A at 42-18 (700).
With the Sept. 15 home opener against Utah, the Frogs face two top-five ranked teams from a year ago in the opening three games.
