TCU tight end Drake Dabney eager to face his former Baylor football team in Waco

For the majority of Drake Dabney’s career, he’s been on the wrong side of the TCU-Baylor football rivalry.

After making the move over to Fort Worth in the offseason, the former Baylor tight end finally has a chance to experience what it’s like to be on the other side if TCU continues its yearly domination of the Bears.

Speaking to the media Tuesday, Dabney admitted he’s been looking forward to going back to his old stomping grounds and facing old friends.

“Oh yeah, I’ve been waiting on this one for sure,” Dabney said. “It’s crazy to think about being on the other side after being there for four years. I’m sure the emotions will be up and down for other people, but I think it will be great to see those guys again and be able to compete against them.”

TCU’s four-game winning streak against the Bears started in Dabney’s first season in 2020 with a 33-23 win in Waco. The next season Dabney was on the field when Chandler Morris and the Horned Frogs shocked Baylor 30-28 in Fort Worth, which kept Baylor out of the College Football Playoff.

Dabney was hurt in 2022 and was on the sideline when he thought the Bears were about to return the favor in Waco. Instead he was one of the many that watched the final seconds of TCU’s successful bazooka field goal at the buzzer in shock.

“I was watching it unfold, you could see the students getting ready to storm the field,” Dabney said. “But that execution of the field goal was perfect. We talk about it all the time in meetings as an example of what to do in that situation. It sucked at the time, but I’m glad to be on the other side of it now.”

Last season’s game wasn’t competitive as TCU rolled Baylor 42-17, but Dabney had his best game of his career against the Horned Frogs with four receptions for 77 yards. It was likely at that time that the Horned Frogs coaching staff envisioned him as an ideal replacement for the departing Jared Wiley.

Wiley’s success and the way he spoke about the program sold Dabney on making the switch to TCU.

“When I entered the portal, TCU was the first school to call,” Dabney said. “I knew what type of culture it was, I was familiar with Coach Dykes from high school when he was at SMU. I had a lot of family in the area. I saw what Coach (Kendal) Briles’ offense was capable of doing with the tight end through what Jared did last year.

“We talked a little bit and he had nothing but great things to say about the coaching staff and what the offense was able to do for him with his development. I really just felt like (TCU) was somewhere I could fit in easily.”

Speaking of fitting in, Dabney has shown a willingness to sacrifice individual stats for the sake of the team. He had 552 yards with Baylor last season, but has just 100 for TCU this season.

He’s been asked to do more as a blocker with some of TCU’s offensive line struggles and he’s had to watch Josh Hoover feed the hot hands like Jack Bech and JP Richardson.

“(The tight ends) don’t have quite the numbers that any of us thought they would have at this point of the year,” head coach Sonny Dykes said in early October. “Part of that has been Bech’s emergence, part of that has been we missed some opportunities when we had them.

“I’ve been really impressed with Drake and his improvement as an attached tight end blocking on the line of scrimmage. He’s gotten a lot better doing it. That probably wasn’t his strength, but he’s really worked hard to address that weekend and has gotten better.”

It hasn’t been easy for Dabney, but he’s embraced the life lesson he’s been learning as he patiently awaits for his first breakout game of the season.

“It’s been hard a little bit, but I look at it as a blessing to work on other areas of my game and other ways I can help this team,” Dabney said. “I think I’ve taken significant strides in my run blocking and finding other ways to help this offense be successful. I trust in this offense and when my time comes it’ll come.”

Dabney could be approaching that breakout after his two best games of the season in the last two weeks. He had three receptions for a season-high 39 yards against Utah, he also nearly had a touchdown, but was ruled down at the 1-yard line.

Dabney followed that up with a season-high four receptions for 32 yards against Texas Tech, including a number of key first down conversions. Modest numbers, but it’s still progress.

As teams continue to focus on slowing down Bech, Richardson and Savion Williams, more opportunities will continue to open up for Dabney.

How fitting would it be if his first breakout game came against his former team in Waco?