Jared Wiley continues to deepen his connection with QB Chandler Morris in TCU’s 34-17 win

Jared Wiley had a career day in TCU’s 34-17 win over SMU in the Iron Skillet.

The senior tight end had five catches for 37 yards and two touchdowns.

Wiley said it took him some time to realize he had set a career-high in touchdown catches in a game.

“I didn’t even realize it, so probably the third or fourth quarter halfway through. But, yeah, you know, I’m really excited about it,” said Wiley. “I was just able to help my team out today. So, I mean, that, that was really the main reason why it felt so good.”

Wiley transferred to TCU prior to the 2022 season following three seasons at Texas and had the best season of his career. Wiley had career-highs in catches (24), yards (245), and touchdowns (4) during the Horned Frogs run to the national championship game.

During the offseason, Wiley announced his decision to return to TCU on X [formerly Twitter] saying he still had more to accomplish with the Horned Frogs.

https://twitter.com/Jaredwiley23/status/1614713414412017664?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1614713414412017664%7Ctwgr%5E530966a8222ee02cfe8d14a525f1b4ff7780c5de%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.on3.com%2Fcollege%2Ftcu-horned-frogs%2Fnews%2Ftcu-tight-end-jared-wiley-announces-decision-to-return-to-horned-frogs-for-2023%2F

Wiley got off to a quick start with 60 yards and a touchdown in TCU’s season-opening loss to Colorado but had been quiet over his last couple of games with only four catches for 23 yards against Houston and Nicholls State. Wiley said he and TCU quarterback Chandler Morris’ connection has grown throughout the season.

“I mean, I think it’s just been progressing like, well, you know, I think y’all see it.,” he said. “The first game was a big one for us and then it just kind of, it’s kind of built, game in and game out. We’re just learning to trust each other more and just kind of kind of figure each other out more. So, I mean, I think that that will just continue to climb as the season goes on.;

Morris played one of his better games of the season against SMU. He agreed with Wiley’s sentiments about their connection. and praised the tight end’s work ethic.

“I mean, Wiley, he’s a, he’s an older guy. He’s a businessman, I mean, he’s here to get better, he’s here to win and that’s what you want in the locker room and, and he’s a part of it and, we’ve always had a good connection,” Morris said. “I mean, it goes back to when he got here, up here in the indoor, winters and summers and springs, just those long hours. I mean, I don’t know if he missed a throwing session this, this, this off-season and, that, that says a lot.”

Wiley was happy with the team’s performance but acknowledged the offense still hadn’t played up to their full capabilities, something TCU head coach Sonny Dykes also pointed out in his post-game press conference.

“First half, I thought we looked, pretty good,” said Wiley, “We left a lot of points out there though, we settled for a lot of field goals. So, you know, that, that’s just little things that we have to get cleaned up.”

“Frustrated that we weren’t able to pull away when we had those two short fields there,” Dykes said, “We gotta continue just to get better, not make the same mistakes.”

Wiley and the Horned Frogs have confidence that sooner rather than later the offense will be able to reach their full potential.

“We’ve been progressing every week, so, you know, here pretty soon it should be clicking and we should be rolling like we can,” said Wiley.