TCU's Boykin draws a crowd
2015 Heisman Trophy favorite enjoys being in the spotlight.
TCU’s Trevone Boykin is the Big 12’s version of a rock star.
Long before he was scheduled to speak Monday at the conference’s annual media days, dozens of reporters began setting up in front of Boykin’s designated spot. Everyone wanted to hear the oddsmakers’ favorite to win this year’s Heisman Trophy.
Boykin was a bit late. He smiled his apologies, then immediately turned his back to reporters to take a selfie, marking the occasion.
“This is pretty cool,” Boykin proclaimed. “I like you guys. I don’t have a problem with you guys.”
Boykin, the fifth- year senior quarterback, still is a bit green to the spotlight. This time a year ago, he wasn’t even sure he’d be the Horned Frogs’ starter. After a poor spring last year, as TCU made the transition to a new offense, he bat-
tled with Texas A&M transfer Matt Joeckel through August training camp. He said he didn’t hear official word that he’d clinched first-team status until after the second game of 2014.
To hear coach Gary Patterson tell it Monday, though, Boykin wasn’t so much of a revelation last fall, when the TCU quarterback finished fourth in the Heisman voting, but an affirmation of what he already knew.
Keep in mind that Boykin was a two-star prospect when he signed in 2011, picking the Horned Frogs over UTEP.
“If you were somewhere listening, really he was the toughest quarterback … (but) it had not come to fruition on the field,” Patterson said. “Really, I wasn’t surprised by his success.”
Patterson said that last summer, when his team was an afterthought in the Big 12 and not a national championship contender, Boykin and the other players evolved into a special group.
“They really bonded and started doing it, and things just happened,” Patterson said.
What “things” might happen this season?
The Horned Frogs could be ranked as high as No. 2 behind defending national champion Ohio State when the initial polls are released next month. Their success is likely to hinge on whether Boykin can improve on what he did last year, when he was a secondteam All-American. His average of 354 total yards a game ranked third nationally. His numbers could have been higher, but during several lopsided games, Patterson pulled his star.
There’s no reason to believe the Horned Frogs will take a step back on offense. After all, TCU returns 10 of 11 starters on that side.
Unlike other players of his stature, Boykin turned down the chance to work with noted quarterback gurus this summer. He said George Whitfield, who has trained the likes of Marcus Mariota, called him, but he declined. He said Sonny Cumbie, TCU’s quarterbacks coach, “does a pretty good job.”
Plus, Boykin said, “I didn’t work with anyone last year, and we had a good year.”
His main focus has been pretty simple. He’s working on his passes over the middle. Last fall, when he threw for 3,901 yards, Boykin relied mainly on outside routes and scrambles.
And Boykin is working on his media techniques, in case he needs to do major speeches in a few months.
“This is fun to do,” he said. “I love to sit here in front of the cameras all day and talk to you all. It comes with the territory. But we don’t need to let this hurt our team. We don’t need to let this interfere with our team’s success.”