TCU quarterback Casey Pachall had a habit of making headlines during his sophomore campaign in 2011, setting school records for passing yards, completions, and completion percentage. He also fell just short of breaking Andy Dalton’s record for most touchdown passes in a season.
Pachall made headlines again on Friday, but this time they weren’t for stellar play on the field. In a police report dated February 15 first obtained by TCU360.com and the Star-Telegram, it was reported that Pachall admitted to failing a drug test in February.
The drug test that Pachall failed appears to be one that resulted from another controversy that surrounded the program in February. Following a recruit reportedly declining a scholarship offer from TCU due to widespread drug use among the player, head coach Gary Patterson initiated a team wide drug test.
It was reported then that five players tested positive for marijuana, and several others had trace amounts of the drug in their system. By all accounts, this is the drug test Pachall told police he failed.
Why was Pachall talking to the police in the first place? In mid February police conducted an operation aimed at drug dealing on campus, and one of their targets was some of Pachall’s roommates. According to the report, Pachall himself didn’t have anything illegal on his person, but his roommate had pipes, a digital scale, and marijuana.
Perhaps the most surprising information to come out of the police report is the extent of Pachall’s admissions. Not only did he admit to failing a drug test, he also stated that he had used both cocaine and ecstasy in the past – revelations that are far more serious than the admitted marijuana use.
In fairness to Pachall, he told police that the cocaine and ecstasy use were one time experiments. Patterson told reporters that Pachall has only failed one in a series of 25 drug tests over the past several months.
In spite of that, Pachall’s behavior is extremely alarming. A team that has had such a tumultuous offseason needs to be able to look to its star player for stability and leadership. Instead, Pachall is at the center of the controversy.
What may be most surprising is that Pachall may face no repercussions from the program in spite of the news. Patterson told the Star-Telegram’s Mac Engel that there weren’t any plans to suspend Pachall for any length of the upcoming season. For a coach dealing with the types of problems that Patterson is, that approach is extremely surprising.
A quarterback that has hopes of making it to the NFL will spend the majority of his collegiate career until a microscope. These reports on Pachall’s off the field behavior will only serve to make the scrutiny from NFL scouts. 2012 was already going to be one of the most important years of Pachall’s life. Now, it’s an extremely crucial one.
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