Taye Barber never thought of entering the transfer portal. Not after a 5-7 season in 2019 or during the pandemic-altered season in 2020. Not even after long-time TCU head coach Gary Patterson and the Horned Frogs parted ways during the 2021 campaign. Barber, a talented slot receiver set to thrive in new head coach Sonny Dykes’ offensive system, kept his head down and went to work.
“I didn’t see a reason to leave,” Barber said. “I love my brothers here at TCU and the new staff is great. There was unknown here with the new coaching staff, but less than there’d be if I moved to a new school.”
A three-star out of Cypress Springs High School, Barber signed with TCU in the 2018 recruiting class. The 5-9, 179-pound slot receiver was an option quarterback at the prep level. He says his time as a quarterback helped him transition quickly to wide receiver because he understood how to read defenses. His 32 catches as a freshman in 2018 were second on the team.
Barber led the Horned Frogs in catches over the final seven games of 2019, and he led the program with 30 receptions during the 10-game 2020 season. He was third on the team in 2021 with 30 grabs. Barber isn’t worried about statistics, however. He’s caught plenty of passes, but he hasn’t experienced as much success as he imagined when he signed with a TCU program that seemingly went to a bowl game every season.
“All I want to do is win,” Barber said. “The past couple of years haven’t gone how we wanted them to, but we weren’t a bad team. We just struggled in close games, so our emphasis is to fight, stay consistent and to go win those games.”
Hiring Dykes should help every receiver on TCU’s roster. The Horned Frogs averaged 240 passing yards a game in 2021. As a team, TCU attempted 310 passes on the season. Conversely, SMU passed the ball 468 times in 2021 and averaged 305 passing yards a contest. The new staff feels Barber is poised for a big season.
“When he touches the ball, something good happens,” Dykes said. “He’s undervalued in a lot of ways because he isn’t the biggest guy in the world.”
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