Texas Christian
Texas Christian

Texas Christian Team Report

Updated: April 25, 2012 08:29 EST

The buzz around Fort Worth and all around Texas is growing for TCU's long-awaited (at least for Horned Frogs fans) arrival into the Big 12.

It's a buzz TCU head coach Gary Patterson can't deny exists, but one he has made sure to keep his team away from getting caught up in this offseason.

And he has plenty of experience keeping his team focused on themselves rather than the great unknown ahead of joining a new league as the Horned Frogs are about as familiar as anyone with the conference carousel college football has become.

"The fans in the state and TCU fans, and just overall fans, I think there's a lot of excitement," Patterson said. "Really, we have to keep our heads down. We've been in six conferences in 15 years ... and for us, we approached spring like we did every spring. Our spring was about being the best football team we can possibly be."

And keeping their head down and focused on themselves is just what the Horned Frogs tried to do throughout spring, even when the February drug bust at TCU netted 17 arrests, including four players on the football team.

While that shocked Patterson and the team, not to mention threw a wrench in the depth chart with the most notable of the players arrested being potential star linebacker Tanner Brock, the Frogs were still able to get through 15 spring practices with the same dogged, focused effort that Patterson's teams have become known for.

Yes, it was business as usual for TCU this spring and, by all accounts, business is good as the program enters the Big 12.

There is a deep pool of playmakers on offense and with quarterback Casey Pachall taking the next step from talented quarterback to unquestioned team leader this offseason, Patterson can focus much of his attention once again on getting his defense back to the elite level it was before the 2011 season.

--TCU head coach Gary Patterson has been down this road before. As TCU enters the Big 12, it is the sixth conference the team will have been a member of in Patterson's 15 years with the program.

"It's hard," Patterson said. "I've been in six conferences in the 15 years I've been here and it's always difficult. ... I've always said it takes two years. You've got to play everybody there once, and then you've got to play everyone back at your place once and then you kind of had a road map of what you do."

--Police arrested 17 TCU students on Feb. 15, including four TCU football players, and charged them with various drug-related offenses.

LB Tanner Brock, who was injured and lost for the season in the first game of the 2011 campaign, was among those arrested (as were DT D.J. Yendrey, OT Tyler Horn and CB Devin Johnson.

"There are days people want to be a head football coach, but today is not one of those days," coach Gary Patterson said in a prepared statement on the arrests. "As I heard the news this morning, I was first shocked, then hurt and now I'm mad."

SPRING MOVERS:

SS Chris Hackett -- Gary Patterson isn't big on starting freshmen, especially on his highly-regarded defense. But Hackett, a redshirt freshman, played well enough in spring to be in a neck-and-neck race for the starting SS spot with Sam Carter. It would shock many if Carter didn't still start, but it now appears it will be equally shocking if Hackett doesn't get a good number of reps this fall.

LB Joel Hasley -- Hasley impressed Patterson throughout spring drills, as has fellow sophomore LB Danny Heiss. By late in spring drills, Hasley had taken the No. 1 spot on the depth chart over Deryck Gildon, but there is a good chance that is as much a motivational tool to light a fire under Gildon as anything. Still, Hasley has certainly played his way into a top reserve role or, if Gildon doesn't respond, into a starting role in 2012 for the Frogs.

QB Trevone Boykin -- Matt Brown clearly has the edge in terms of experience, but Boykin, who sat the 2011 season out as a redshirt, played well enough in spring to warrant strong consideration for the No. 2 spot. At the very least, even if Boykin remains the No. 3 QB according to the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, the pair could each see the field behind Pachall this fall.

QUOTE TO NOTE: "I think we can be better than we were a year ago." -- TCU head coach Gary Patterson.

2012 OUTLOOK: Breaking through in the Horned Frogs' new conference will be tough in Year No. 1 for TCU. There is a new set of teams, game film and preparation for the coaching staff to prep for and the players will face a week in, week out physical challenges unlike what they faced in the Mountain West Conference. But whether people like to admit it or not because of the competition they have been facing, the Horned Frogs are confident they've been working as hard, recruiting as hard and performing as well as anyone in the Big 12 for years. They won't lack confidence as the new kids on the block and have the talent to be among the top handful of teams in the league this year.

SCOUTING THE OFFENSE: While TCU head coach Gary Patterson didn't talk up the offensive line much in a post-spring press conference with Big 12 media members in late April, he did say he was pleased throughout spring with how well the offense appeared to be developing the depth at the skill positions, in particular the running backs and at wide receiver. Patterson would still like to see more improvement from backup QBs Matt Brown and Trevone Boykin. Whichever does become the primary backup, the success of the TCU season rests almost exclusively on the health of junior-to-be Casey Pachall. He proved in 2011 he has the talent and showed in spring he now has the leadership ability to become one of the nation's best. And it also doesn't hurt that returning running backs Matthew Tucker, Ed Wesley and Waymon James are all back this fall after each rushing for more than 700 yards a season ago.

SCOUTING THE DEFENSE: The loss of LB Tanner Brock to a February arrest on drug charges will hurt. He was supposed to ease the transition at the position for the loss to the NFL of star LB Tank Carder, but that appears an afterthought now. Throughout spring, Patterson was optimistic about the improvement being made by the secondary and said that cornerback play in particular is what can make or break a defense in the Big 12. The Horned Frogs have one of the nation's best DEs in Stansly Maponga, a player who looks to take his game from a level of being a good college player to potential NFL-type performer this season. If he does, and can generate the pass rush from the DE spot, Patterson won't have to do much blitzing, which is his preference.

SCOUTING THE SPECIAL TEAMS: WR Skye Dawson is one of the fastest players in the nation, as his track and field background would suggest. With that, he's become one of the nation's most dangerous return men and a player who can consistently give the Horned Frogs offense short fields to work with. Along with RB Waymon James, that tandem can hold its own with the best return groups in the talented Big 12. The kicking game is another story where senior P Cale Patterson and sophomore K Ryan DeNucci will both be newcomers to their positions. DeNucci did handle some kickoffs in 2011.

TOP NEWCOMERS:

TE Griffin Gilbert -- TCU hasn't always utilized the tight end as a pass receiver as much as other teams, but that could change with Gilbert, a freshman, in the mix. The 6-5, 215-pounder, who many consider the top prep tight end in Texas, caught 128 passes for more than 2,200 yards in his junior and senior seasons while playing wide out. He had offers from other big time programs, too, choosing the Horned Frogs over the likes of Texas, Texas Tech and Clemson.

QB Tyler Matthews -- Barring injury, Matthews may have to wait awhile before he gets his shot to run the show at TCU because junior-to-be Casey Pachall has a stranglehold on the starting position. But just like Pachall stepped in and ran the TCU offense without much of a drop off from former QB Andy Dalton, TCU sees Matthews as a threat down the road to do the same for Pachall. As a prep star, Matthews had 6,500-plus passing yards and tossed 62 TDs to just eight interceptions in his high school career.

DE Devonte Fields -- The defensive end spot has been the bread and butter for head coach Gary Patterson with Jerry Hughes dominating offensive lines a few years ago and Stansly Maponga doing it now. Fields fits the same mold and is the best of four DE recruits in this class. The 6-4, 240-pound Fields had 73 tackles, 13 sacks and two interceptions as a senior. Freshmen typically don't start on defense for Patterson, but Fields should be a key cog in the rotation. He picked TCU over the likes of Oklahoma, Michigan, Tennessee and Texas A&M.

ROSTER REPORT:

--Four TCU football players, including star LB Tanner Brock, were among the 17 students arrested in mid-February as part of a campus wide drug bust. All were suspended indefinitely and their names were removed from the school's website and spring prospectus.

In addition to Brock, DL D.J. Yendry, OT Tyler Horn and DB Devin Johnson were also arrested.

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