Chandler Morris, Josh Hoover in Open QB Competition at TCU
Max Duggan captivated the college football world last year with an incredible final season, so whoever steps in his place will have huge shoes to fill. That’s a battle that will be decided by an open competition between Chandler Morris and Josh Hoover, said offensive coordinator Kendal Briles, according to a report by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram’s Steven Johnson.
Morris started last year’s 38-13 season opening win over Colorado but left during the third quarter because of an injury after throwing for 111 yards on 13-of-20 passing, along with another 18 rushing yards on four carries. He didn’t return until a Nov. 5 contest against Texas Tech, paving the way for Duggan’s surge to the forefront of the sport and finish as a Heisman Trophy finalist.
Still, Morris, who began his career at Oklahoma, showed flashes of brilliance the year before in his first season on campus in Fort Worth. He made his first career start in a 30-28 win over Baylor and in so doing earned Big 12 Offensive Player of the Week honors while totaling 531 yards of offense, the fourth-most in a game in program history.
As for Hoover, his time at the collegiate level is much more limited. He’s played in only one game, a 59-17 win over Tarleton in which he completed the only pass he threw. He redshirted after signing out of nearby Rockwall-Heath High School.
There, Hoover won the 2021 Landry Award, an honor given to the top high school football player from North Texas presented by CBS 11 and the Fellowship of Christian Athletes. He threw for nearly 10,000 yards and 108 touchdowns with a 60.7 completion percentage (609-of-1,004), also adding five rushing touchdowns to his tally.
The two are vying for the starting spot for a team that just appeared in the College Football Playoff for the first time in program history. TCU finished 13-2 and defeated Michigan 51-45 in the CFP Semifinal, before falling to Georgia 65-7 in the CFP National Championship.
