TCU enters the 2018 football season, its seventh in the Big 12 Conference, coming off an 11-3 season (7-2 Big 12) in which the Horned Frogs finished second in the Big 12, played in the Big 12 championship game, beat Stanford 39-37 in another classic Alamo Bowl and finished as the ninth-ranked team in the country.
The Frogs may be hard pressed to duplicate last season's success this year in the merciless Big 12. However, expectations are high as the Frogs continue progressing the process to bring a national championship to University Drive in Fort Worth.
The Frogs are ranked within the top 20 in all of the preseason polls.
The Frogs are one of three or four teams expected to contend for the Big 12 championship and a possible spot in the College Football Playoff.
And there is an abundance of talent on the 2018 edition of the Horned Frogs. Perhaps the most talent the Frogs have had since they've been in the Big 12.
Defensive end Ben Banogu (#15) has been selected as the conference's Preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Banogu and return specialist KaVontae Turpin (#25) are on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
Banogu has been named to the watch lists for the 2018 Chuck Bednarik Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Wuerffel Trophy, the Ted Hendricks Award, and the Walter Camp Football Foundation 2018 Player of the Year Award. The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented to the collegiate defensive player of the year. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is presented to the nation's top defensive player. The Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the FBS player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement. The Ted Hendricks Award honors the top defensive end in college football. The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is the nation's fourth-oldest individual college football accolade. Banogu also has been named to Sports Illustrated list of the top 100 college football players. He is 98th. Plus, Banogu is a nominee for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, recognizing the nation's best in community involvement and volunteerism.
Banogu was first-team All-Big 12 and the Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year last season. His 8 1/2 sacks ranked second in the Big 12, behind only teammate and current Buffalo Bill Mat Boesen (11 1/2). Banogu's 16 1/2 tackles for loss led TCU and were third in the Big 12. The senior had at least one tackle for loss in 13 of 14 games. He also forced three fumbles on the season, including on sacks in consecutive road wins at Arkansas and Oklahoma State.
Turpin has been named to the watch list for the Paul Hornung Award. The award recognizes the most versatile player in college football. As a return specialist, Turpin was first-team All-Big 12 last season and was one of five players nationally last year with a punt return and kickoff return for a touchdown. He averaged 16.2 yards on punt returns and 30.8 on kickoff returns. His 90-yard punt return for a score versus Kansas tied for the second-longest in TCU history. His three career punt returns for touchdowns and four special teams scores are tied for the most in TCU history. Turpin tied for the TCU lead last season with 41 receptions. He completed both his pass attempts for 68 yards and a touchdown while adding 86 yards rushing and two scores. Turpin has been named to the weekly Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll three times in his TCU career.
Running back Darius Anderson (#6) has been named to the watch list for the 2018 Maxwell Award, recognizing America's College Player of the Year, to the watch list for the Doak Walker Award, presented to the nation's top college running back, and to the Walter Camp Football Foundation watch list for its 2018 Player of the Year Award. Anderson is TCU's career leader in yards per carry at 6.4. He was on pace for a 1,000-yard season last year before being sidelined by injury. He finished with a team-best 768 yards rushing and eight touchdowns in being named honorable-mention All-Big 12.
Linebacker Ty Summers (#42) has been named to the watch lists for the 2018 Chuck Bednarik Award, the Butkus Award, and the Lott IMPACT Trophy. The Butkus Award is presented to the nation's top collegiate linebacker. The Lott IMPACT Trophy is presented weekly, and then for the entire season, to the defensive players who have had the biggest IMPACT on their teams both on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity. Summers, who will play this fall as a graduate student after already earning his TCU degree, is a two-time All-Big 12 selection. His 271 career tackles rank fifth in the 18-season tenure of head coach Gary Patterson. Summers enters the 2018 campaign needing 73 stops to pass current Los Angeles Ram Travin Howard (343) for the top spot. TCU's Jerry Hughes won the Lott award in 2009 .
Wide receiver Jalen Reagor (#1) has been named to Sports Illustrated's list of the top 100 college football players. He is 90th. Reagor led TCU with 576 yards and eight touchdowns on 33 receptions as a freshman in 2017. He had 169 yards receiving in the Frogs' Alamo Bowl win over Stanford.
In addition to all of that talent and promise, there are several key questions confronting the Frogs as they head into the 2018 season.
Foremost, can Shawn Robinson successfully lead the Frogs as the starting quarterback?
Although 11 starters return, can the 14 Frogs who departed for the NFL be effectively replaced?
What about the offensive line?
What about the defense?
And what about the challenging schedule, which features early-season, back-to-back games, away from The Carter, against Ohio State and Texas?
TCU head coach Gary Patterson, who is entering his 18th season as head coach of the Frogs, and Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Sonny Cumbie have an abundance of talent at the quarterback position to replace Kenny Hill, who after transferring from Texas A&M, led the Frogs in 2016 and 2017 as a junior and senior, respectively. Last year, Hill set school records for completion percentage (67.2) and third-down completion percentage (67.3). Hill has returned to TCU to finish his degree. He is working this season as a student coach with the football team.
Patterson and Cumbie have chosen Shawn Robinson (#3) to be Hill's replacement.
Robinson, 6-2, 228 pounds, is a sophomore who as a four-star recruit was highly recruited after he led DeSoto High School to a state football championship in 2016 and was named the 2016-17 Gatorade Texas Player of the Year.
As a true freshman at TCU last year, Robinson, played in six games, including filling in for an injured Hill and guiding the Frogs to a 27-3 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock on November 18. Robinson, who passed for 85 yards and ran for 84, became the first true freshman to start at quarterback in the 17 seasons Gary Patterson had been head coach. The last true freshman to start at quarterback for TCU was Casey Printers. On September 25, 1999, he led TCU to a 24-21 win over Arkansas State. Patterson was in his second year as TCU's defensive coordinator.
Behind Robinson are Michael Collins (#10), Grayson Muehlstein (#17) and Justin Rogers (#13).
Collins, 6-5, 214 pounds, transferred to TCU from the University of Pennsylvania. He sat out last season and is a sophomore this season. In 2016, as a freshman at Penn, he played in four games as the backup quarterback for the Ivy League Champions He was 2-for-2 passing for 17 yards, with 10 carries for 33 yards. He is from New Canaan, Connecticut, where he led his high school to three straight Connecticut state titles. As a senior, he threw for 3,414 yards and a Connecticut-record 54 touchdowns. His 89 career touchdowns are the fifth most in Connecticut high school football history.
Muehlstein is a 6-4, 211-pound senior who despite being talented, has been a career backup at TCU and seen little game action. He has appeared in five games, including three last year. He has not attempted a pass. He has run the ball 10 times for 44 yards.
Rogers is a 6-4, 220-pound true freshman from Bossier City, Louisiana. This past year, he was rated as a four-star recruit by 247Sports.com, as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the nation, the No. 2 overall player in Louisiana and the No. 34 overall player in the country. He chose TCU over LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas. In addition to Rogers, the Frogs' 2018 recruiting class had three other four-star players. The class was ranked third-best in the Big 12 and 25th in the nation.
In 2017, due to a knee injury, Rogers was limited to one game his senior year of high school. Rogers enrolled in TCU in January and has been rehabbing his injury under the guidance of the TCU training staff. He continues to recover from the injury. During his junior year of high school, Rogers completed 65.4 percent (159-of-243) of his passes for 2,646 yards and 26 touchdowns. On the ground, he added 566 yards rushing and nine touchdowns.
Not only will the Frogs be young and inexperienced at the quarterback position, they will be young and inexperienced on the offensive line. Five offensive line seniors left after last season, with four of them going into NFL camps, including offensive tackle Joseph Noteboom (third round, Denver Broncos) and offensive guard/tackle Matt Pryor (sixth round, Philadelphia Eagles).
By the way, a record 14 TCU football players were either drafted or signed a free agent contract with an NFL team from the 2017 graduating class. The previous high under Patterson was 13 players from the undefeated 2010 team that went 13-0 and won the Rose Bowl. The 2010 team had five drafted players, including quarterback Andy Dalton and offensive tackle Marcus Cannon. During Patterson's tenure, 45 players have been drafted and 114 players have worked in NFL camps. TCU players have a contract with 20 of the 32 NFL teams.
Also gone from last year's offensive line are Austin Schlottmann and Patrick Morris. Along with Noteboom and Pryor, they helped the Frogs' offense last year rank first in the league on third downs, allow the fewest sacks, rank third in time of possession and rank fourth in rushing.
Cordel Iwuagwu (#70), a 6-3, 311-pound junior returns to an offensive guard position. He started in 14 games last season. Lucas Niang (#77) a 6-7, 328-pounder, got extensive experience at an offensive tackle position when Morris missed games due to injury.
Among those who are expected to be in the mix for starts and playing time along the offensive line are: Anthony McKinney (#68), a 6-8, 314-pound junior; David Bolisomi (#62), a 6-6, 322-pound junior; sophomore Austin Myers (#56), who is 6-5, 303 pounds; Casey McDermott Vai (#57), a 604, 280-pound senior; Chris Gaymor (#74), a 6-5, 295-pound senior; senior Trey Elliott (#52), who is a 6-4, 294-pound senior; sophomore Austin Myers (#56), who is 6-5, 303 pounds; sophomore Kellton Hollins (55), 6-2, 292 pounds, who after his senior year of high school was rated as Louisiana's top center; and redshirt freshman Wes Harris (#78), 6-4, 295 pounds, who as a senior at Aledo (Texas) High School was ranked as the No. 3 offensive guard in Texas and No. 11 in the country, and the No. 28 overall player in Texas and No. 167 nationally.
The offensive line will need to provide protection for whomever is at quarterback, and open holes for the running backs.
Last season, TCU had the fourth-best rushing offense in the Big 12. The Frogs averaged 174 yards per game, or 4.6 yards per run.
Darius Anderson (#6), a 5-11, 212-pound junior, returns at the running back position, as does Sewo Olonilua, a 6-3, 231-pound junior.
In 2017, Anderson led TCU with 768 yards rushing on 128 carries. He had eight touchdowns. He ranked third in the Big 12 with a per-carry average of six yards. He was on pace to be a 1,000-yard rusher before being injured in the first game against Oklahoma and missing the rest of the season.
Olonilua carried the ball 64 times for 330 yards and seven touchdowns. He caught 19 passes for 166 yards.
Providing depth is talented sophomore Kenedy Snell (#16), who was impressive last season as a freshman after coming to TCU as a four-star running back out of Waxahachie. He played in 10 games last year. He rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown and added five catches for 93 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He had a two-touchdown performance in the Frogs' win over SMU, with a 71-yard touchdown catch and a 10-yard rushing touchdown.
The Frogs again will feature a strong corps of receivers, including seniors Jaelan Austin (#2), Jarrison Stewart (#22) and KaVontae Turpin (#25), junior Dylan Thomas (#11), sophomore Jalen Reagor (#1), and highly touted freshmen Tevailance Hunt (#9), Taye Barber (#4) and John Stephens Jr. (#7). Hunt, from Texarkana, was a four-star recruit who was ranked by 247Sports.com as the No. 4 wide receiver in Texas and No. 23 wide receiver in the country. Barber, from Cypress, was ranked as the No. 8 athlete in Texas, No. 42 athlete in the nation and the No. 76 overall player in Texas. He chose TCU over such schools as Clemson, Stanford and Wisconsin. Stephens was ranked by 247Sports.com as the No. 1 athlete in Louisiana and No. 61 athlete in the country, and rated by ESPN as the No. 19 overall player in Louisiana.
Cumbie said a key to the Frogs' offense will be explosiveness.
"Last year, when we had explosive plays, we scored a lot of points," said Cumbie, who is beginning his fifth season with TCU after defecting from Texas Tech prior to the 2014 season. "If we can be explosive this year on offense, and with our defense, we should give ourselves a good chance to win the game."
Cumbie's counterpart, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Coach Curtis Luper, added, "Our mobile quarterbacks and running backs who can make you miss will help the offensive line. We need to have five guys playing as one on the offensive line. If we can play well on the offensive line, and at the running back and receiver positions, it will make the quarterback's job easier."
Although the Frogs only return five starters on defense, the unit is expected to be, and probably will need to be, at least early in the season, the team’s backbone.
In addition to the pass-rushing Banogu (#15), a 6-4, 249-pounder, others expected to be standouts on defense in 2018 include: senior defensive end L.J. Collier (#91), 6-4, 276 pounds; senior linebacker Ty Summers (#42), 6-2, 235 pounds; junior cornerback Jeff Gladney (#12), 6-0, 183 pounds; senior free safety Niko Small (#2), 5-10, 183 pounds; and sophomore defensive tackle Corey Bethley (#94), 6-2, 290 pounds.
The TCU defensive line took a hit early in fall camp when sophomore defensive tackle Ross Blacklock (#90), 6-4, 329 pounds, suffered an Achilles injury that apparently will cause him to miss the season. Last year, Blacklock had an impressive freshman season, after which he earned Big 12 co-defensive freshman of the year honors. Blacklock had 27 tackles, two sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss in 2017. Blacklock came to TCU as one of the nation's top defensive tackle prospects from the 2016 class. Blacklock was rated a four-star and No. 18 defensive tackle in the nation according to the 247Sports composite rankings. He chose TCU over Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M and others.
As a result of the injury, redshirt freshman Terrell Coper (#95), 6-2, 286 pounds, probably steps into the defensive line rotation.
Also during fall camp, highly touted true freshman safety Atanza Vongor suffered an injury that apparently will cause him to miss the season. Vongor came to TCU from South Grand Prairie where he was ranked as the No. 16 safety in the national and the No. 191 overall recruit, according to 247 Sports. He chose TCU over schools such as Alabama, Clemson, Baylor, Michigan, Texas and Texas A&M.
Defensive Coordinator Chad Glasgow said he is excited about the Frogs' linebackers. He also pointed out that the older guys on defense are are helping the younger players to be successful.
In 2017, the TCU defense gave up fewer yards and points per game than any team in the Big 12. The Frogs also ranked first in the conference in rushing defense (104 yards per game), pass defense (227.5 yards per games), scoring defense (19 points a game), sacks (42) and rushing touchdowns (8). In the six years the Frogs have played in the Big 12, they have surrendered the fewest yards per game three times. Two of the remaining three times, they finished second in that statistic.
Nationally, the 2017 TCU defense ranked tied for 19th in yards allowed per game and 12th in scoring defense at 18 points per game.
A key departure from last year's defense is linebacker Travin Howard, who was first-team All-Big 12. In 2017, Howard, who was drafted in the seventh round by the Los Angelse Rams, became the first player in TCU history to lead the team in tackles for three consecutive seasons, topping the 100 mark in all three campaigns. His 108 stops on the season made him the career leader in tackles (343) in the head coaching tenure of Patterson.
Other key departures from last year's defense include cornerback Ranthony Texada, defensive end Mat Boesen (led the team with 11.5 sacks) and safety Nick Orr, who signed free agent contracts with NFL teams after not being drafted. Texada signed with the Washington Redskins. Boesen signed with the Buffalo Bills. Orr signed with the Chicago Bears.
Cole Bunce, a junior, returns as the Frogs' kicker. Also available is Jonathan Song. Adan Nunez, a junior, returns as the punter.
Bunce (#37) spent the entire 2017 season handling TCU’s kickoff duties. He became place kicker on field goals for the final four games. He made 6-of-7 field goals, with a long of 43 yards. He was elected to the Sports Illustrated All-Bowl Team after making 2-of-2 field goals against Stanford in the Alamo Bowl, including the go-ahead field goal with 3:07 remaining in game.
Song (#46), a junior, began last season as the Frogs' kicker, however, he missed the final five games with an injury. Before getting hurt, he converted eight of eight field goal attempts.
Nunez (#29) has been named to the watch list for the 2018 Ray Guy Award. The award is presented to the nation's top collegiate punter. Nunez averaged 39.3 yards last season with 30 of his 62 punts placed inside the 20-yard line, including 11 inside the 10, with just four touchbacks. In a 31-24 victory over West Virginia, Nunez put four of his five first-half punts inside the 6-yard line. He averaged 43.0 yards on seven punts in the game in being selected Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week. Nunez was a 2017 First-Team Academic All-Big 12 honoree.
The Frogs, young and old alike, will face a daunting schedule this season, even though TCU will leave Texas only two times during the regular season.
TCU opens at home against Southern, an FBS team, on September 1. This should be a warm-up game, enabling the younger Frogs to get some experience, while starting the season with a win.
The second game, against SMU, is cause for concern. SMU always is a rivalry game, the game is on a Friday night (September 7), at SMU. The Mustangs will be playing under the guidance of a new head coach, Sonny Dykes, an offensive minded coach who previously coached at the University of California and Louisiana Tech. Dykes knows the Horned Frogs well. Last year, he was an offensive consultant for TCU. Also, this game precedes the Frogs' big game against Ohio State in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, on September 15. The Frogs should not be looking ahead to LiarMeyer's BuckNuts if they want to go into Jerry World undefeated.
After playing Ohio State, TCU will open Big 12 play against Texas in Austin on September 22. Then the Frogs will play three consecutive home games.
On September 29, TCU will host Iowa State, to whom the Frogs lost to in Ames last year. The Horned Frogs will host Texas Tech, on the night of Thursday, October 11, after which Big 12 favorite Oklahoma will come calling on Saturday, October 20 (homecoming). Next comes the first trip outside of Texas, to Lawrence, where the Frogs will face the conference's cellar-dweller, Kansas, on Saturday, October 27. The Jayhawks always seem to play their best game of the season against TCU, especially when the game is in Lawrence.
Bill Snyder and Kansas State visit Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday, November 3, after which the Frogs will make their second trip outside of Texas. On November 10, TCU will face West Virginia in Morgantown. Many expect the Mountaineers to contend for the Big 12 title, especially if their potential Heisman candidate quarterback Will Grier stays healthy.
On November 17, the Frogs will be in Waco to confront Baylor, before closing the regular season at home on November 24, against Oklahoma State.
The Big 12 Championship game will be played in AT&T Stadium in Arlington on December 29.
The Frogs have plans to be in that game, to avenge a 41-17 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in last year's championship game. TCU also has its sights on the national championship game, which will be played on January 7, in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Though the goals are high and the expectations are even higher, the top of the pyramid will be as tough as ever to reach this season. But don't count out the Frogs.
TCU is one of just five programs nationally to finish in the top 10 of the final polls at least three times in the last four seasons. The Horned Frogs' 40-13 overall record and 26-10 conference mark both rank second in the Big 12 over that period.
And, of course, the Frogs are led by that guy named Gary Patterson.
Patterson has been named to the watch list for the 2018 Dodd Trophy, recognizing the nation's top football coach.
Patterson, who has won 22 national coach of the year honors including the 2009 Dodd Trophy, is the nation's second-longest tenured head coach.
He is TCU's all-time winningest football coach with 160 victories.
His .737 winning percentage (160-57) is fourth among active coaches nationally (minimum 10 years experience).
He has produced at least 11 wins in 10 of the last 15 seasons and helped lead the Horned Frogs to eight conference titles and 18 bowl games in 20 years.
Thus, it's easy to believe that Patterson and the Frogs could "Own the Process" in 2018!
The Frogs may be hard pressed to duplicate last season's success this year in the merciless Big 12. However, expectations are high as the Frogs continue progressing the process to bring a national championship to University Drive in Fort Worth.
The Frogs are ranked within the top 20 in all of the preseason polls.
The Frogs are one of three or four teams expected to contend for the Big 12 championship and a possible spot in the College Football Playoff.
And there is an abundance of talent on the 2018 edition of the Horned Frogs. Perhaps the most talent the Frogs have had since they've been in the Big 12.
Defensive end Ben Banogu (#15) has been selected as the conference's Preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year. Banogu and return specialist KaVontae Turpin (#25) are on the Preseason All-Big 12 Team.
Banogu has been named to the watch lists for the 2018 Chuck Bednarik Award, the Bronko Nagurski Trophy, the Wuerffel Trophy, the Ted Hendricks Award, and the Walter Camp Football Foundation 2018 Player of the Year Award. The Chuck Bednarik Award is presented to the collegiate defensive player of the year. The Bronko Nagurski Trophy is presented to the nation's top defensive player. The Wuerffel Trophy is awarded to the FBS player who best combines exemplary community service with athletic and academic achievement. The Ted Hendricks Award honors the top defensive end in college football. The Walter Camp Player of the Year Award is the nation's fourth-oldest individual college football accolade. Banogu also has been named to Sports Illustrated list of the top 100 college football players. He is 98th. Plus, Banogu is a nominee for the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, recognizing the nation's best in community involvement and volunteerism.
Banogu was first-team All-Big 12 and the Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year last season. His 8 1/2 sacks ranked second in the Big 12, behind only teammate and current Buffalo Bill Mat Boesen (11 1/2). Banogu's 16 1/2 tackles for loss led TCU and were third in the Big 12. The senior had at least one tackle for loss in 13 of 14 games. He also forced three fumbles on the season, including on sacks in consecutive road wins at Arkansas and Oklahoma State.
Turpin has been named to the watch list for the Paul Hornung Award. The award recognizes the most versatile player in college football. As a return specialist, Turpin was first-team All-Big 12 last season and was one of five players nationally last year with a punt return and kickoff return for a touchdown. He averaged 16.2 yards on punt returns and 30.8 on kickoff returns. His 90-yard punt return for a score versus Kansas tied for the second-longest in TCU history. His three career punt returns for touchdowns and four special teams scores are tied for the most in TCU history. Turpin tied for the TCU lead last season with 41 receptions. He completed both his pass attempts for 68 yards and a touchdown while adding 86 yards rushing and two scores. Turpin has been named to the weekly Paul Hornung Award Honor Roll three times in his TCU career.
Running back Darius Anderson (#6) has been named to the watch list for the 2018 Maxwell Award, recognizing America's College Player of the Year, to the watch list for the Doak Walker Award, presented to the nation's top college running back, and to the Walter Camp Football Foundation watch list for its 2018 Player of the Year Award. Anderson is TCU's career leader in yards per carry at 6.4. He was on pace for a 1,000-yard season last year before being sidelined by injury. He finished with a team-best 768 yards rushing and eight touchdowns in being named honorable-mention All-Big 12.
Linebacker Ty Summers (#42) has been named to the watch lists for the 2018 Chuck Bednarik Award, the Butkus Award, and the Lott IMPACT Trophy. The Butkus Award is presented to the nation's top collegiate linebacker. The Lott IMPACT Trophy is presented weekly, and then for the entire season, to the defensive players who have had the biggest IMPACT on their teams both on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity. Summers, who will play this fall as a graduate student after already earning his TCU degree, is a two-time All-Big 12 selection. His 271 career tackles rank fifth in the 18-season tenure of head coach Gary Patterson. Summers enters the 2018 campaign needing 73 stops to pass current Los Angeles Ram Travin Howard (343) for the top spot. TCU's Jerry Hughes won the Lott award in 2009 .
Wide receiver Jalen Reagor (#1) has been named to Sports Illustrated's list of the top 100 college football players. He is 90th. Reagor led TCU with 576 yards and eight touchdowns on 33 receptions as a freshman in 2017. He had 169 yards receiving in the Frogs' Alamo Bowl win over Stanford.
In addition to all of that talent and promise, there are several key questions confronting the Frogs as they head into the 2018 season.
Foremost, can Shawn Robinson successfully lead the Frogs as the starting quarterback?
Although 11 starters return, can the 14 Frogs who departed for the NFL be effectively replaced?
What about the offensive line?
What about the defense?
And what about the challenging schedule, which features early-season, back-to-back games, away from The Carter, against Ohio State and Texas?
TCU head coach Gary Patterson, who is entering his 18th season as head coach of the Frogs, and Co-Offensive Coordinator/Quarterbacks Coach Sonny Cumbie have an abundance of talent at the quarterback position to replace Kenny Hill, who after transferring from Texas A&M, led the Frogs in 2016 and 2017 as a junior and senior, respectively. Last year, Hill set school records for completion percentage (67.2) and third-down completion percentage (67.3). Hill has returned to TCU to finish his degree. He is working this season as a student coach with the football team.
Patterson and Cumbie have chosen Shawn Robinson (#3) to be Hill's replacement.
Robinson, 6-2, 228 pounds, is a sophomore who as a four-star recruit was highly recruited after he led DeSoto High School to a state football championship in 2016 and was named the 2016-17 Gatorade Texas Player of the Year.
As a true freshman at TCU last year, Robinson, played in six games, including filling in for an injured Hill and guiding the Frogs to a 27-3 win over Texas Tech in Lubbock on November 18. Robinson, who passed for 85 yards and ran for 84, became the first true freshman to start at quarterback in the 17 seasons Gary Patterson had been head coach. The last true freshman to start at quarterback for TCU was Casey Printers. On September 25, 1999, he led TCU to a 24-21 win over Arkansas State. Patterson was in his second year as TCU's defensive coordinator.
Behind Robinson are Michael Collins (#10), Grayson Muehlstein (#17) and Justin Rogers (#13).
Collins, 6-5, 214 pounds, transferred to TCU from the University of Pennsylvania. He sat out last season and is a sophomore this season. In 2016, as a freshman at Penn, he played in four games as the backup quarterback for the Ivy League Champions He was 2-for-2 passing for 17 yards, with 10 carries for 33 yards. He is from New Canaan, Connecticut, where he led his high school to three straight Connecticut state titles. As a senior, he threw for 3,414 yards and a Connecticut-record 54 touchdowns. His 89 career touchdowns are the fifth most in Connecticut high school football history.
Muehlstein is a 6-4, 211-pound senior who despite being talented, has been a career backup at TCU and seen little game action. He has appeared in five games, including three last year. He has not attempted a pass. He has run the ball 10 times for 44 yards.
Rogers is a 6-4, 220-pound true freshman from Bossier City, Louisiana. This past year, he was rated as a four-star recruit by 247Sports.com, as the No. 2 dual-threat quarterback in the nation, the No. 2 overall player in Louisiana and the No. 34 overall player in the country. He chose TCU over LSU, Georgia, Oklahoma and Texas. In addition to Rogers, the Frogs' 2018 recruiting class had three other four-star players. The class was ranked third-best in the Big 12 and 25th in the nation.
In 2017, due to a knee injury, Rogers was limited to one game his senior year of high school. Rogers enrolled in TCU in January and has been rehabbing his injury under the guidance of the TCU training staff. He continues to recover from the injury. During his junior year of high school, Rogers completed 65.4 percent (159-of-243) of his passes for 2,646 yards and 26 touchdowns. On the ground, he added 566 yards rushing and nine touchdowns.
Not only will the Frogs be young and inexperienced at the quarterback position, they will be young and inexperienced on the offensive line. Five offensive line seniors left after last season, with four of them going into NFL camps, including offensive tackle Joseph Noteboom (third round, Denver Broncos) and offensive guard/tackle Matt Pryor (sixth round, Philadelphia Eagles).
By the way, a record 14 TCU football players were either drafted or signed a free agent contract with an NFL team from the 2017 graduating class. The previous high under Patterson was 13 players from the undefeated 2010 team that went 13-0 and won the Rose Bowl. The 2010 team had five drafted players, including quarterback Andy Dalton and offensive tackle Marcus Cannon. During Patterson's tenure, 45 players have been drafted and 114 players have worked in NFL camps. TCU players have a contract with 20 of the 32 NFL teams.
Also gone from last year's offensive line are Austin Schlottmann and Patrick Morris. Along with Noteboom and Pryor, they helped the Frogs' offense last year rank first in the league on third downs, allow the fewest sacks, rank third in time of possession and rank fourth in rushing.
Cordel Iwuagwu (#70), a 6-3, 311-pound junior returns to an offensive guard position. He started in 14 games last season. Lucas Niang (#77) a 6-7, 328-pounder, got extensive experience at an offensive tackle position when Morris missed games due to injury.
Among those who are expected to be in the mix for starts and playing time along the offensive line are: Anthony McKinney (#68), a 6-8, 314-pound junior; David Bolisomi (#62), a 6-6, 322-pound junior; sophomore Austin Myers (#56), who is 6-5, 303 pounds; Casey McDermott Vai (#57), a 604, 280-pound senior; Chris Gaymor (#74), a 6-5, 295-pound senior; senior Trey Elliott (#52), who is a 6-4, 294-pound senior; sophomore Austin Myers (#56), who is 6-5, 303 pounds; sophomore Kellton Hollins (55), 6-2, 292 pounds, who after his senior year of high school was rated as Louisiana's top center; and redshirt freshman Wes Harris (#78), 6-4, 295 pounds, who as a senior at Aledo (Texas) High School was ranked as the No. 3 offensive guard in Texas and No. 11 in the country, and the No. 28 overall player in Texas and No. 167 nationally.
The offensive line will need to provide protection for whomever is at quarterback, and open holes for the running backs.
Last season, TCU had the fourth-best rushing offense in the Big 12. The Frogs averaged 174 yards per game, or 4.6 yards per run.
Darius Anderson (#6), a 5-11, 212-pound junior, returns at the running back position, as does Sewo Olonilua, a 6-3, 231-pound junior.
In 2017, Anderson led TCU with 768 yards rushing on 128 carries. He had eight touchdowns. He ranked third in the Big 12 with a per-carry average of six yards. He was on pace to be a 1,000-yard rusher before being injured in the first game against Oklahoma and missing the rest of the season.
Olonilua carried the ball 64 times for 330 yards and seven touchdowns. He caught 19 passes for 166 yards.
Providing depth is talented sophomore Kenedy Snell (#16), who was impressive last season as a freshman after coming to TCU as a four-star running back out of Waxahachie. He played in 10 games last year. He rushed for 88 yards and a touchdown and added five catches for 93 receiving yards and two touchdowns. He had a two-touchdown performance in the Frogs' win over SMU, with a 71-yard touchdown catch and a 10-yard rushing touchdown.
The Frogs again will feature a strong corps of receivers, including seniors Jaelan Austin (#2), Jarrison Stewart (#22) and KaVontae Turpin (#25), junior Dylan Thomas (#11), sophomore Jalen Reagor (#1), and highly touted freshmen Tevailance Hunt (#9), Taye Barber (#4) and John Stephens Jr. (#7). Hunt, from Texarkana, was a four-star recruit who was ranked by 247Sports.com as the No. 4 wide receiver in Texas and No. 23 wide receiver in the country. Barber, from Cypress, was ranked as the No. 8 athlete in Texas, No. 42 athlete in the nation and the No. 76 overall player in Texas. He chose TCU over such schools as Clemson, Stanford and Wisconsin. Stephens was ranked by 247Sports.com as the No. 1 athlete in Louisiana and No. 61 athlete in the country, and rated by ESPN as the No. 19 overall player in Louisiana.
Cumbie said a key to the Frogs' offense will be explosiveness.
"Last year, when we had explosive plays, we scored a lot of points," said Cumbie, who is beginning his fifth season with TCU after defecting from Texas Tech prior to the 2014 season. "If we can be explosive this year on offense, and with our defense, we should give ourselves a good chance to win the game."
Cumbie's counterpart, Co-Offensive Coordinator/Running Backs Coach Curtis Luper, added, "Our mobile quarterbacks and running backs who can make you miss will help the offensive line. We need to have five guys playing as one on the offensive line. If we can play well on the offensive line, and at the running back and receiver positions, it will make the quarterback's job easier."
Although the Frogs only return five starters on defense, the unit is expected to be, and probably will need to be, at least early in the season, the team’s backbone.
In addition to the pass-rushing Banogu (#15), a 6-4, 249-pounder, others expected to be standouts on defense in 2018 include: senior defensive end L.J. Collier (#91), 6-4, 276 pounds; senior linebacker Ty Summers (#42), 6-2, 235 pounds; junior cornerback Jeff Gladney (#12), 6-0, 183 pounds; senior free safety Niko Small (#2), 5-10, 183 pounds; and sophomore defensive tackle Corey Bethley (#94), 6-2, 290 pounds.
The TCU defensive line took a hit early in fall camp when sophomore defensive tackle Ross Blacklock (#90), 6-4, 329 pounds, suffered an Achilles injury that apparently will cause him to miss the season. Last year, Blacklock had an impressive freshman season, after which he earned Big 12 co-defensive freshman of the year honors. Blacklock had 27 tackles, two sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss in 2017. Blacklock came to TCU as one of the nation's top defensive tackle prospects from the 2016 class. Blacklock was rated a four-star and No. 18 defensive tackle in the nation according to the 247Sports composite rankings. He chose TCU over Alabama, LSU, Texas A&M and others.
As a result of the injury, redshirt freshman Terrell Coper (#95), 6-2, 286 pounds, probably steps into the defensive line rotation.
Also during fall camp, highly touted true freshman safety Atanza Vongor suffered an injury that apparently will cause him to miss the season. Vongor came to TCU from South Grand Prairie where he was ranked as the No. 16 safety in the national and the No. 191 overall recruit, according to 247 Sports. He chose TCU over schools such as Alabama, Clemson, Baylor, Michigan, Texas and Texas A&M.
Defensive Coordinator Chad Glasgow said he is excited about the Frogs' linebackers. He also pointed out that the older guys on defense are are helping the younger players to be successful.
In 2017, the TCU defense gave up fewer yards and points per game than any team in the Big 12. The Frogs also ranked first in the conference in rushing defense (104 yards per game), pass defense (227.5 yards per games), scoring defense (19 points a game), sacks (42) and rushing touchdowns (8). In the six years the Frogs have played in the Big 12, they have surrendered the fewest yards per game three times. Two of the remaining three times, they finished second in that statistic.
Nationally, the 2017 TCU defense ranked tied for 19th in yards allowed per game and 12th in scoring defense at 18 points per game.
A key departure from last year's defense is linebacker Travin Howard, who was first-team All-Big 12. In 2017, Howard, who was drafted in the seventh round by the Los Angelse Rams, became the first player in TCU history to lead the team in tackles for three consecutive seasons, topping the 100 mark in all three campaigns. His 108 stops on the season made him the career leader in tackles (343) in the head coaching tenure of Patterson.
Other key departures from last year's defense include cornerback Ranthony Texada, defensive end Mat Boesen (led the team with 11.5 sacks) and safety Nick Orr, who signed free agent contracts with NFL teams after not being drafted. Texada signed with the Washington Redskins. Boesen signed with the Buffalo Bills. Orr signed with the Chicago Bears.
Cole Bunce, a junior, returns as the Frogs' kicker. Also available is Jonathan Song. Adan Nunez, a junior, returns as the punter.
Bunce (#37) spent the entire 2017 season handling TCU’s kickoff duties. He became place kicker on field goals for the final four games. He made 6-of-7 field goals, with a long of 43 yards. He was elected to the Sports Illustrated All-Bowl Team after making 2-of-2 field goals against Stanford in the Alamo Bowl, including the go-ahead field goal with 3:07 remaining in game.
Song (#46), a junior, began last season as the Frogs' kicker, however, he missed the final five games with an injury. Before getting hurt, he converted eight of eight field goal attempts.
Nunez (#29) has been named to the watch list for the 2018 Ray Guy Award. The award is presented to the nation's top collegiate punter. Nunez averaged 39.3 yards last season with 30 of his 62 punts placed inside the 20-yard line, including 11 inside the 10, with just four touchbacks. In a 31-24 victory over West Virginia, Nunez put four of his five first-half punts inside the 6-yard line. He averaged 43.0 yards on seven punts in the game in being selected Big 12 Special Teams Player of the Week. Nunez was a 2017 First-Team Academic All-Big 12 honoree.
The Frogs, young and old alike, will face a daunting schedule this season, even though TCU will leave Texas only two times during the regular season.
TCU opens at home against Southern, an FBS team, on September 1. This should be a warm-up game, enabling the younger Frogs to get some experience, while starting the season with a win.
The second game, against SMU, is cause for concern. SMU always is a rivalry game, the game is on a Friday night (September 7), at SMU. The Mustangs will be playing under the guidance of a new head coach, Sonny Dykes, an offensive minded coach who previously coached at the University of California and Louisiana Tech. Dykes knows the Horned Frogs well. Last year, he was an offensive consultant for TCU. Also, this game precedes the Frogs' big game against Ohio State in AT&T Stadium in Arlington, on September 15. The Frogs should not be looking ahead to LiarMeyer's BuckNuts if they want to go into Jerry World undefeated.
After playing Ohio State, TCU will open Big 12 play against Texas in Austin on September 22. Then the Frogs will play three consecutive home games.
On September 29, TCU will host Iowa State, to whom the Frogs lost to in Ames last year. The Horned Frogs will host Texas Tech, on the night of Thursday, October 11, after which Big 12 favorite Oklahoma will come calling on Saturday, October 20 (homecoming). Next comes the first trip outside of Texas, to Lawrence, where the Frogs will face the conference's cellar-dweller, Kansas, on Saturday, October 27. The Jayhawks always seem to play their best game of the season against TCU, especially when the game is in Lawrence.
Bill Snyder and Kansas State visit Amon G. Carter Stadium on Saturday, November 3, after which the Frogs will make their second trip outside of Texas. On November 10, TCU will face West Virginia in Morgantown. Many expect the Mountaineers to contend for the Big 12 title, especially if their potential Heisman candidate quarterback Will Grier stays healthy.
On November 17, the Frogs will be in Waco to confront Baylor, before closing the regular season at home on November 24, against Oklahoma State.
The Big 12 Championship game will be played in AT&T Stadium in Arlington on December 29.
The Frogs have plans to be in that game, to avenge a 41-17 loss to the Oklahoma Sooners in last year's championship game. TCU also has its sights on the national championship game, which will be played on January 7, in Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California.
Though the goals are high and the expectations are even higher, the top of the pyramid will be as tough as ever to reach this season. But don't count out the Frogs.
TCU is one of just five programs nationally to finish in the top 10 of the final polls at least three times in the last four seasons. The Horned Frogs' 40-13 overall record and 26-10 conference mark both rank second in the Big 12 over that period.
And, of course, the Frogs are led by that guy named Gary Patterson.
Patterson has been named to the watch list for the 2018 Dodd Trophy, recognizing the nation's top football coach.
Patterson, who has won 22 national coach of the year honors including the 2009 Dodd Trophy, is the nation's second-longest tenured head coach.
He is TCU's all-time winningest football coach with 160 victories.
His .737 winning percentage (160-57) is fourth among active coaches nationally (minimum 10 years experience).
He has produced at least 11 wins in 10 of the last 15 seasons and helped lead the Horned Frogs to eight conference titles and 18 bowl games in 20 years.
Thus, it's easy to believe that Patterson and the Frogs could "Own the Process" in 2018!
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