TCU wide receiver Quentin Johnston was selected in the first round with the 21st overall pick by the Los Angeles Chargers during the Thursday, April 27, opening night of the 2023 NFL Draft, which was held in Kansas City.
The 2023 NFL draft continued on Friday, April 28, and Saturday, April 29, during which seven other Horned Frogs were drafted.
Offensive lineman Steve Avila was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round, with the draft's 36th pick.
Running back Kendre Miller was selected by the New Orleans Saints in the third round, with the draft's 71st pick.
Defensive end Dylan Horton was selected by the Houston Texas in the fourth round, with the draft's 109th pick.
Receiver/returner Derius Davis was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the fourth round, with the draft's 125th pick.
Cornerback Tre'Vius Hodges-Tomlinson was selected by the Los Angeles Rams in the sixth round, with the draft's 182nd pick.
Linebacker Dee Winters was selected by the San Francisco 49ers in the sixth round, with the draft's 216th pick.
Quarterback Max Duggan was selected by the Los Angeles Chargers in the seventh round, with the draft's 239th pick.
TCU's eight selections set a program record since the NFL went to its current seven round format in 1994, led the Big 12 Conference (which had 30 draftees), placed fourth nationally (after Alabama, Georgia and Michigan), and tied TCU’s all-time mark of eight picks in 1957, when the draft was 30 rounds.
TCU players not drafted, but signing free-agent deals after the draft, were: Offensive lineman Alan Ali, with the Minnesota Vikings; running back Emari Demercado, with the Arizona Cardinals; and receiver Taye Barber, with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
TCU receiver Gunnar Henderson was invited to the New Orleans Saints' rookie camp. TCU defensive lineman Lwal Uguak was invited to the New York Giants' rookie camp.
Former Frogs defensive end Ochaun Mathis, of the University of Nebraska, and former Frogs running back Zach Evans, of Ole Miss, were drafted by the Los Angeles Rams.
Johnston is the 17th Horned Frog to be a first-round selection and
seventh in the last 14 seasons, including the third wide receiver in the
past eight years.
A 2022 Team Captain, Johnston was TCU’s Offensive Most Valuable Player
in its College Football Playoff (CFP) Semifinal win over Michigan in the Fiesta Bowl. He totaled
six receptions for 163 yards, including a 76-yard touchdown.
For the 2022 season, Johnston had
team-best totals of 60 receptions, 1,069 yards
and six touchdowns. Johnston became TCU's first
1,000-yard receiver since fellow first-round pick
Jalen
Reagor (1,061) in 2018. Johnston's 60 catches were the most by a Horned Frog since
Reagor's 72.
Johnston’s career 19.0-yards per catch average ranks first in TCU
history for players with at least 100 receptions. Playing just three
seasons, his 2,190 yards receiving and 14 touchdown catches place
eighth in TCU history. He totaled 115 receptions, with nine career 100-yard
games.
A Temple, Texas, native, Johnson had a career-best 14 receptions for a
career-high 206 yards in a 38-31 win at Kansas during the 2022 season. It tied for third-most
catches in a game by an FBS player in 2022. His 24-yard reception with
1:36 to play in Lawrence provided the game's
winning score.
The second-best receiving game of Johnston's career was eight receptions for 180 yards in the 43-40 double-overtime victory over No. 8 Oklahoma State during the 2022 season. His 25-yard touchdown in the first overtime gave TCU its first lead of the contest.
Johnston had four receptions
for 139 yards, including catches of 53 and 51 yards, in the Horned Frogs' 31-28 overtime loss to Kansas State in the 2022 Big 12 Championship Game.
Avila is the first TCU offensive lineman to be drafted as high as in the second round since Guy Morriss as the 28th overall pick by the Philadelphia Eagles in 1973.
Avila joins fellow TCU graduate and offensive lineman Joe Noteboom on the Rams. Avila is the third Horned Frog drafted by the Rams in the last six years.
Avila is the first TCU player to be a consensus All-American since wide receiver Josh Doctson in 2015.
A Team Captain and anchor of
an offensive line that paved the way for one of the nation's most
prolific attacks, Avila started all 15 games at left guard this season
after starting 11 contests at center in 2021. He also made starts
at right guard and right tackle in his career.
A two-time All-Big 12 selection, Avila was also the 2022 Honorable Mention Big 12 Offensive Lineman of the Year. He did not allow a sack his final two years and led all TCU players on offense with 1,044 snaps played this season.
Miller, TCU's career leader in yards per carry (6.7), is the first TCU running back to be selected as high as the third round since LaDainian Tomlinson went No. 5 overall to the San Diego Chargers in 2001.
Miller is the first Horned Frogs running back drafted since Aaron Brown
in the sixth round by the Detroit Lions in 2009. The last previous TCU
player drafted by the Saints was defensive back Kent Marshall in the
14th round in 1974.
Miller was First Team All-Big 12 and a Doak Walker Award Semifinalist as
he rushed for a team-best 1,399 yards this season, becoming TCU’s first
1,000-yard rusher since 2016 (Kyle Hicks, 1,042). The 1,399 yards were
the most by a Horned Frog since Tomlinson
led the nation with 2,158 in 2000. Miller ranked first nationally among
active Power 5 players in 2022 with his 6.7 career yards per carry
mark.
A Mount Enterprise, Texas, native, Miller had a rushing touchdown in the
opening 13 games for the longest streak by a Horned Frog to begin a
campaign, breaking Tomlinson's previous mark of scoring in all 12
contests in 2000. Dating back to 2021 and before it
was snapped in the College Football Playoff Semifinal win over Michigan
when he left the contest early due to injury, the 14 consecutive games
with a rushing touchdown was the longest active streak in the nation and
second in TCU history behind only Tomlinson
(15, 1999-00).
Miller had a streak of five straight 100-yard games, the longest by a TCU player since 2002 (Lonta
Hobbs). He topped 100 yards in seven of his last 12 games. Playing just
three seasons, Miller closed his career in ninth
place in TCU history with 26 rushing touchdowns. He had the game-ending
2-yard touchdown run in the second overtime in the 43-40 victory
against No. 8 Oklahoma State. It was part of two rushing scores and 104
yards in the game. He ran for a season-best 158
yards and a touchdown on 21 carries in the 34-24 win over Texas Tech
and also topped 150 yards with 153 in the 38-28 victory against Kansas
State. He had touchdown runs of 69 and 15 yards as part of 136 yards on
just 13 carries in the 55-24 rout of Oklahoma
and tied a career-long with his 75-yard touchdown run as part of 138
yards in the 17-10 win at Texas.
Horton set a College Football Playoff record with four sacks in TCU’s
semifinal win over Michigan. His first sack against the Wolverines came
on a Michigan fourth-and-goal from the two-yard line on the game’s opening series. He
totaled a season-best six tackles in the game,
while also forcing a fumble and breaking up a pass. Horton earned
All-Big 12 honors as his team-best 10.5 sacks led the conference and
tied for eighth nationally. It also ranked fifth for a season at TCU.
Horton tied Winters for the team lead with 14.5 tackles
for loss. He had 2.0 sacks in the Big 12 Championship Game against
Kansas State and a win at West Virginia. He totaled five tackles,
including a sack, as TCU held Texas to no offensive touchdowns and just
199 yards of offense in a 17-10 win in Austin.
Davis won the 2022 Jet Award as the nation’s top return specialist,
earned multiple First-Team All-America honors and was the Big 12 Special
Teams Player of the Year. He holds TCU’s career record with five punt
returns for touchdowns, on just 44 attempts, while
tying Dallas Cowboys’ Pro Bowler KaVontae
Turpin for the school record with six career special teams scores. He
returned two punts for touchdowns in 2022 and placed second on TCU with
42 receptions and five touchdown
grabs. He totaled 112 catches and nine receiving scores in his career.
He also added two rushing touchdowns. Davis had a career-high seven
receptions in this season’s 55-24 rout of Oklahoma and totaled five
catches in the 43-40 double-overtime win over No.
8 Oklahoma State.
Hodges-Tomlinson won the Paycom
Jim Thorpe Award as the nation's top defensive back, was a multiple
year All-American and a three-time First-Team All-Big 12 recipient. He
led the Big 12 and tied for fifth nationally
with 18 passes defended this season. He took part in a takeaway in four
consecutive games with three picks and a forced fumble. He had three
pass breakups (PBUs) in the College Football Playoff Semifinal win over
Michigan and had an interception and three
PBUs in the 17-10 victory over Texas.
Winters was the Defensive Most Valuable Player in the CFP victory over
Michigan, totaling seven tackles, including 3.0 for loss, a 29-yard
interception return for a touchdown and a pass breakup. The First-Team
All-Big 12 selection tied Horton for the team lead
with 14.5 tackles for loss while placing second with 7.5 sacks. He
ranked fourth with 79 tackles while totaling 246 career stops. He had
2.0 sacks as part of a season-high eight tackles to go with a fumble
recovery and quarterback hurry in the 55-24 win over
Oklahoma.
Duggan won the Davey O'Brien Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award and
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award while being the runner-up for the Heisman
Trophy. He was the Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year and a unanimous
First-Team All-Big 12 selection. He totaled
282 yards of offense and four touchdowns in the CFP Semifinal win over
Michigan. His 32 touchdown passes and 41 touchdowns responsible for
(32 passing, 9 rushing) as a senior both rank second for a season
at TCU. His 73 career touchdown passes also place second,
while his 28 rushing touchdowns tie for sixth. Duggan led the Big 12 in
touchdown passes, passing efficiency (159.2), passing yards (3,698),
yards per attempt (8.9) and yards per completion (13.9) in 2022. He tied
for the national lead among Power 5 quarterbacks
with 17 touchdown passes of at least 20 yards and accounted for three
or more touchdowns in nine games this season.
TCU has 26 players on active NFL rosters.
TCU's First-Round NFL Draft Picks
1936 – Jimmy Lawrence, WB, Chicago Cardinals
1937 – Sam Baugh, QB, Washington Redskins
1939 – Ki Aldrich, C, Chicago Cardinals
1939 – Davey O'Brien, QB, Philadelphia Eagles
1939 – I.B. Hale, T, Washington Redskins
1958 – Jim Shofner, DB, Cleveland Browns
1960 – Jack Spikes, FB, Denver Broncos
1961 – Bob Lilly, DT, Dallas Cowboys
1970 – Norm Bulaich, RB, Baltimore Colts
2001 – LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, San Diego Chargers
2010 – Jerry Hughes, DE, Indianapolis Colts
2014 – Jason Verrett, CB, San Diego Chargers
2016 – Josh Doctson, WR, Washington Redskins
2019 – L.J. Collier, DE, Seattle Seahawks
2020 – Jalen
Reagor, WR, Philadelphia Eagles
2020 – Jeff Gladney, CB, Minnesota Vikings
2023 – Quentin Johnston, WR, Los Angeles Chargers
