New TCU head football coach Sonny Dykes spoke at Big 12 Media Days on a variety of topics including the pressure of replacing Gary Patterson, the TCU quarterback room and his excitement to be a head coach in the Big 12 Conference.
Below are some excerpts from his media availability:
SONNY DYKES: First of all, just want to say how excited I am to be here in the Big 12 and be a part of this league. I had an opportunity to coach as an assistant at Texas Tech in the Big 12 from 2000 to 2006, and just really loved my time in this league. I have a tremendous amount of respect for the Big 12 Conference. Obviously want to say thank you to Bob Bowlsby and his contributions and what he’s done for this league. Just excited about the new league, the new leadership that we have and where this thing is going. Fired up to be in the Big 12. I think the league is stronger than it has been in a very long time. I think there’s tremendous stability.
Obviously there’s a lot of things happening in college football and a lot of unknowns, but at the end of the day I think we’re in a position of power, and I’m excited to be apart of the league.I’m really excited to be at TCU. I think this is a great opportunity. It’s a fantastic university. It’s a university that cares deeply about football.Obviously they’ve had a tremendous amount of success through the years. I think Gary Patterson was synonymous with TCU football. What he did was really pretty remarkable, building the brand, having the success that he had and his ability to sustain it for as long as he did.I think at the end of the day the great coaches have longevity, and he certainly had longevity at TCU. It’s a real blessing to be here. There’s a tremendous foundation at TCU right now because of the investment that’s taken place through the years from our chancellor to our athletic director to our board to all our donors and all the folks that have made TCU such a special place.
Q. You talk about Coach Patterson and how he built this foundation at TCU. What kind of added pressure does that add to you following a coach that has been here for 20-some-odd years?
SONNY DYKES: Yeah, I think that we all have pressure. I think that’s part of what college football is — it’s a pressure-packed business. What I really love about college football is there is a certain level of expectations associated with every program. But the thing I love really as much as anything else is just there’s an accountability. Every Saturday, you march your team out there and you take a test in front of 50,000 people week in and week out in front of a TV audience of over a million people, and you take that test, and there’s accountability associated with that.
That’s what makes this business so fun and so challenging, is that.And so when you follow a legend, I mean, look, there’s not many places where there’s a statue of that coach in front of the stadium, and certainly not a coach that was still coaching at that institution when that statue was placed there. TCU is about winning championships. There’s a high level of expectations. Obviously I knew that when I took the job. I appreciate that. I want to coach in this kind of environment where there has been that level of success and there’s that level of expectations, as well.I think that’s what drives us all to be better and is what challenges us. And I think, again, that’s part of what attracted me to TCU was just that success and, again, the level of expectations.
Q. You’ve been known to develop quarterbacks over the years; can you talk about what Chandler Morris brings to the table for you guys?
SONY DYKES: You asked about Chandler specifically. I know Chandler well, had a chance to watch him play at Highland Park High School when I was at SMU. He comes from a football background that’s very similar to mine. His dad was ahead coach, is kind of one of those kids that grew up hanging around the Fieldhouse, just one of those guys that loves the game. I think that when you go back and you talk to Randy Allen,who was his high school coach, Randy had nothing but great things to say about him. When I talked to Lincoln Riley about Chandler, Lincoln had nothing but great things to say about him. Everybody that dealt with him at Oklahoma said the same thing, he’s just a great kid,hardworking, loves the game. When you have talent and you have that passion and you have that football background, that lends itself to being very successful. We’re excited to see what he can do.
We’re also very excited about Max Duggan. Had a chance to watch Max play up close and personal at TCU when I was at SMU, saw what he could do. A very tough, tough guy, very athletic, very physical. I think the players really respond and respect the way he plays the game.
While his statue is at Amon Carter Staidum in Fort Worth, former TCU head football coach Gary Patterson is now a part of Steve Sarkisian’s staff at the University of Texas.
Here’s what Sarkisian had to say about working alongside Patterson:
Having Coach Patterson onboard has probably been something that has excited me the most out of a lot of things we’ve done this off-season. I’ve always been intrigued by Coach Patterson from afar. I’ve always admired his defensive mind. I’ve always admired the style of play in which his teams played. I’ve always admired his ability to recruit and to project players to different positions in the recruiting process. So to get him on board, which was not easy, I kept kind of swinging on him to get him to come down to Austin, has been fantastic.
The one thing that I’ve learned more about Coach Patterson than any is the person that he is. He’s got great rapport with the other coaches on staff, with the other staff members, with our players. And then the biggest thing for me is him being a sounding board for our defensive staff,him being a sounding board for Coach Kwiatkowski throughout spring ball as we’re game planning for our early game opponents of just different ways to play things,adjustments that may need to be made based on if something could occur. He’s a very forward thinker, and like I said, he’s been a joy to have on staff, and looking forward to just being around him for the next six, seven months as the season unfolds.
The TCU Horned Frogs season gets underway on Sept. 2 at Colorado.
The Frogs also travel to Dallas on Sept. 24 to face Dykes’ former team SMU.
Big 12 action gets underway for TCU when they host the Oklahoma Sooners on Oct. 1 at Amon Carter Stadium.
