Former TCU quarterback Casey Pachall, who recently graduated in December and has been training for TCU’s upcoming pro day, offered a blunt overview of the current state of the Horned Frogs program – a program that has struggled since its recent transition into the Big 12.
“It’s rough right now. There is zero leadership,” Pachall told the Fort Worth Star Telegram on Thursday. “Nobody wants to step up and take charge of anything. It’s rough. That is why they have the stuff they did. I still love those guys. Maybe they made mistakes, everybody does. I’m not putting those people down at all. They are still my good friends. Things are going to happen and as a team they need somebody to step up.”
Since joining the Big 12 in 2012, TCU has gone just 11-14 after winning a combined 47 games in the previous four seasons. Pachall put most of the blame for the recent losing on the players.
“It’s one of those things where every now and then you may say something to a teammate, and it may make them mad, but when they sit down and think about it they know it was sincere and it wasn’t getting on your a--,” Pachall said. A lot of these guys don’t want to speak up, they just want to blend in with the crowd. They want to be cool with their teammates, instead of getting on them and getting something going.”
Although it’s an honest assessment that mostly reflects his former teammates, it’s surprising that Pachall would speak negatively about TCU – a school that allowed him to come back and play after he was arrested for DWI in October 2012.
After the arrest, Pachall entered a rehab facility. He had previously told police that he smoked marijuana and had tried cocaine and ecstasy. Pachall also failed a team-administered drug test in Februrary 2012.
After completing the rehab program and rejoining the team for the 2013 season, the 6-foot-5, 230-pound Pachall threw for 1,468 yards, six touchdowns and ten interceptions.
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