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TCU's Patterson takes shot at Baylor, defends arrested player's character
TCU coach Gary Patterson couldn't help but take a shot at his bitter Big 12 rival Tuesday when discussing the arrest of Horned Frogs defensive end Mike Tuaua.
The senior Tuaua and redshirt freshman receiver Andre Petties-Wilson face charges of robbery and bodily injury for allegedly beating up fellow TCU students and stealing a case of beer outside a party. Tuaua was dismissed from the team on Sept. 7, three days after the incident.
When asked about it during his weekly media conference Tuesday, Patterson took the opportunity to take an obvious swipe at Baylor.
"All I care (about) is a 50-50 deal," Patterson told reporters. "In this kid's case, Mike Tuaua, we'll find out what the facts are. It'll all come out. I just hope when they all come out, you report it just as strongly as what you've done here, because it's not even close to what happened south of here."
The reference was to the Baylor situation involving Sam Ukwuachu, who was convicted of sexually assaulting a fellow student. Ukwuachu transferred to Baylor from Boise State, where he also had a tainted past, however, how much of that past Baylor coach Art Briles actually knew about is a point of contention.
Tuaua started five games last year and was expected to be a significant contributor to a TCU team many feel could contend for a playoff berth. Patterson thought enough of him to name him a team captain heading into this season.
"I'm just going to tell you something right now when it comes to Mike Tuaua," Patterson said, "I named him captain, but outside -- non-football -- outside, in our community, with kids, he's the most-liked kid we have on our team besides Trevone Boykin."
(h/t Dallas Morning News)
