TCU's Blacklock Selected in Second Round of 2020 NFL Draft

TCU defensive end Ross Blacklock was selected in the second round of the 2020 NFL Draft on Friday night, April 24. He was selected 40th by the Houston Texans.

Blacklock became the third TCU player taken in this year's draft. TCU wide receiver/returner Jalen Reagor and cornerback Jeff Gladney were selected Thursday night (April 23) in the draft's first round by the Philadelphia Eagles and Minnesota Vikings, respectively.

The Eagles made Reagor the 21st overall pick in the historic draft that is being held virtually over several days because of the COVID-19 virus pandemic. The Vikings took Gladney with the 31st selection.

It is the first time since the 1939 NFL draft that the Horned Frogs have had two players taken in the draft's first round.

Blacklock, Reagor and Gladney were stars on a 2019 Horned Frogs football team that finished 5-7 overall and in seventh place in the Big 12 with a 3-6 conference record. TCU did not qualify for a bowl game for the third time in Patterson’s 19-year TCU head-coaching career. The other two times were after the 2004 and 2013 seasons.

Blacklock, a redshirt junior, started all 12 games during the 2019 season. He tied for the TCU lead with 3.5 sacks. His nine tackles for loss tied for second. He tied for fifth on the team with 40 tackles.

Blacklock recorded a tackle for loss in seven games. He had a season-best 2.5 tackles for loss, including a half-sack, as part of five stops in the Frogs' victory over Kansas. He also recorded sacks versus Purdue, Kansas State and UAPB. He totaled a career-best seven stops, including one for loss, in TCU's to Oklahoma State in Stillwater, Oklahoma.

TCU defensive end Ross Blacklock (#90) rushes Purdue quarterback Jack Plummer in the Horned Frogs' 34-13 win over the Boilermakers in Lafayette, Indiana, during the 2019 season.