Camp '09 - Dalton Enters Third Year As Starting Quarterback
8/30/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 30, 2009
FORT WORTH, Texas -- GoFrogs.com concludes its preview of the 2009 TCU football team with a look at the quarterbacks.
In 2008, West Virginia's Pat White became the first starting quarterback in NCAA history to win four bowl games. After two seasons, TCU's Andy Dalton (6-3, 215, Jr.) is halfway there.
In addition to leading the Frogs to victories in the 2007 Texas Bowl and 2008 Poinsettia Bowl, Dalton earned Most Valuable Player honors in both games.
With the likes of Sam Baugh and Davey O'Brien, TCU has a proud quarterback tradition. In just two seasons, Dalton has already won 17 games as a starting quarterback and is rapidly climbing the statistical charts in the Frogs' record book. He is already second in career completions (404) and third in passing yards (4,701).
A native of Katy, Texas, Dalton showed tremendous progress in his sophomore campaign. He had just five interceptions in 307 pass attempts. In one five-game stretch, Dalton had a career-long streak of 108 passes without a pick.
Dalton, who appears on the 2009 Manning Award Watch List, completed 59.3 percent of his pass attempts last season for 2,242 yards and 11 touchdowns. He was also very effective running the ball, placing third on TCU with 432 yards, while his eight rushing touchdowns ranked second.
Dalton was one of just 17 quarterbacks nationally to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 400.
After being moved to safety at the beginning of spring drills, Marcus Jackson (6-1, 216, Sr.) returned to quarterback the final two weeks and will again back up Dalton.
Jackson is a proven veteran. Filling in for an injured Dalton, he led TCU to victories last season over San Diego State and Colorado State.
Twice during his career, Jackson has been named the Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Week. The Houston native placed fifth on TCU last year with 384 yards rushing on a 5.5 per carry mark.
Yogi Gallegos (6-1, 192, RFr.) is third on the depth chart.
Like Dalton in 2006, Gallegos was the Frogs' emergency No. 3 quarterback last season. He was able to maintain his redshirt while also picking up valuable experience as a member of the Frogs' travel squad for all road games.
As a senior at Irving (Texas) High School, Gallegos completed 60.5 percent of his passes for 2,401 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Casey Pachall (6-5, 204, Fr.), a four-star recruit who enrolled at TCU in January, participated in spring practice and is projected to redshirt this fall.
Rated by Rivals.com as the ninth-best dual-threat quarterback in the nation, Pachall turned down scholarship offers from the likes of Florida, Notre Dame and Michigan to come to TCU.
One of the top 250 players in the nation by Rivals, Pachall passed for 2,808 yards and 31 touchdowns while adding 512 yards rushing as an all-state performer his senior year at Brownwood (Texas) High School.
BY THE NUMBERS:
11 - Touchdown passes by TCU co-offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach Justin Fuente at Oklahoma in 1996 to set a Sooner freshman record
29 - Sam Baugh's TCU mark for victories (1934-36) by a starting quarterback
79 - Career-long scoring run by Marcus Jackson in last year's 48-7 win at SMU, representing TCU's longest scoring play from scrimmage since an 84-yard Jackson touchdown pass at Baylor in 2006
219 - Completions needed by Andy Dalton to become TCU's all-time leader in that category
7,370 - Career yards passing record held by Max Knake (1992-95)
