Heart Abnormality Jeopardizes 2020 Season for TCU's Duggan

Max Duggan passes against Baylor during the 2019 season.

TCU head football coach Gary Patterson recently announced that a medical condition that Horned Frogs quarterback Max Duggan was born with likely will cause him to miss several games and possibly the entire 2020 season.

“Max has a condition that he’s had his whole life and we caught it," said Patterson. "Right now, he’s in a good place and hopefully he’ll be getting back some time during the season."

A few days after Patterson's announcement, Duggan's father, Jim Duggan, told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram that through an EKG (electrocardiogram), had discovered a heart abnormality on his son. Jim Duggan confirmed that Max likely had the condition his entire life and it was not COVID-19 related. 

On Twitter, Max said, "I appreciate all the support I've received this week. Thanks to the precautionary COVID-19 testing, I learned about a heart condition that I've had since birth. I've already had the necessary procedure and am on the road to recovery. Thanks for the thoughts and prayers. Go Frogs!"

Other quarterbacks on TCU's roster are: Georgia transfer Matthew Downing; JUCO recruit Stephon Brown; three-star freshman recruit Eli Williams of Sapulpa, Oklahoma; freshman Christian Gelov of Noblesville, Indiana; sophomore Carter Bir of Flower Mound; and sophomore Jake Neufeld of San Diego, California.  

Downing, a redshirt sophomore, has been considered the No. 2 quarterback heading into the season. He didn’t see action for the Frogs in 2019. 

The 6-foot-5 Brown arrived at TCU as the No. 1 rated JUCO dual-threat quarterback in the 2020 recruiting class. He has two years of experience.

Williams suffered an injury midway through his senior season in high school, but arrived at TCU as the No. 24 dual-threat recruit in the country.