What if we were to tell you that the TCU Horned Frogs are actually returning their 2022 Week 1 starter?

That’s right! In 2022, the TCU Horned Frogs Week 1 starting QB was Chandler Morris. Morris ultimately lost his job to Max Duggan after he suffered a left knee injury in week one against Colorado. Duggan took the reins of the TCU team and never looked back as he ended up taking them all the way to the National Championship Game. Morris now looks to return to the helm of this offense, but not without yet another competition.

Here are the Horned Frogs Candidates:

• Redshirt Sophomore(?) Chandler Morris- C/O 2020 3 Star
• Redshirt Senior(?) Chance Nolan- C/O 2020 3 Star(JUCO Ranking)

Chandler Morris

Chandler Morris was the favorite to be the Horned Frogs starting QB with minimal competition until about a month ago. On April 25 Oregon State QB Chance Nolan announced he will be transferring to Fort Worth.

Morris is heading into his third season at TCU(2nd under Coach Dykes) since transferring in from Oklahoma in 2021. It’s hard to speculate how things would’ve gone had he not gotten hurt, but it’s hard to imagine he lives up to the show Duggan put on this past season. Although there must’ve been a reason Coach Dykes and the new regime chose him over Duggan, who had to fight for his spot. Morris chose to stay at TCU because he knew Duggan was heading to the next level. Morris is going to have to compete for the second year in a row, but should be the favorite as the staff already has a good feel for the player that he is.

Chance Nolan

Chance Nolan is a really interesting transfer. In his first full year starting in 2021, he led the Beavers to a 7-6 record and a bowl appearance, both of which were a first since 2013. This past season Nolan led the Beavers to a 3-2 record before suffering a neck strain in the Utah game. He is an older QB with starting experience, and showed an ability to help turn a program around enough for a winning record. But is he a championship caliber QB? We don’t know. His back up Ben Gulbranson went 7-1 after taking the reins of the Beavers offense in place of the injured Nolan. On top of Gulbranson returning, Clemson transfer DJ Uiagalelei transferred in. It makes you wonder if Nolan knew he wasn’t going to be able to beat out one or both of the Candidates at Oregon State.

Our Prediction

We believe at the current moment Chandler Morris is going to end up taking this job no problem. The only advantage that Nolan has is that OC Garrett Riley took his talents to Clemson, so there’s a new play caller in town. However, Coach Dykes and whoever remains from Riley’s staff in Fort Worth knows what Morris is capable of. We think Nolan could be a good mentor/guy in the room to help Morris, but he missed all of Spring Ball. He’s behind Morris right now until he can learn the playbook and go out in camp and prove what he’s capable of. We don’t think Nolan would’ve transferred to a place he didn’t think he could win. Even if Morris leads the offense in Week 1, Nolan needs to be ready in case Morris struggles or gets hurt again.

We were not in love with Duggan as a prospect, particularly as a passer. Duggan is an unbelievable runner from the QB position and in college was a big play machine. He had a bit of an “it factor” about him, and most importantly he played with more heart than just about anyone. Duggan unleashed a new level from what he had shown in years past. He put the game on his back in multiple situations, and did what had to be done. Duggan set the standard for the Horned Frogs and Coach Dykes moving forward. They can’t rush the QB decision, they have to replace a true leader and difference maker(at the college level at least.) They need the right guy if they want to make a CFB Playoff push again. After getting blown out by Georgia we suspect it may be difficult for the Horned Frogs to find their way back in even if a one loss year like they were this year.