6Magazine’s Dope 25 College Football Previews: #17 TCU Horned FrogsAugust 9, 2012
By: CJ Clayborne
The Horned Frogs bring a whole lot of firepower into their inaugural season as members of the Big XII.
Starting quarterback, Casey Pachall, couldn’t have had a better first year replacing Andy Dalton as the starter as he threw for a school-record 2,921 yards. Pachall also led the Frogs offense to the tune of 40.8 points a game last year. They will need all that and more as the schedule will be beefed up considerably from the Mountain West.
TCU is more than prepared as Pachall is surrounded by a plethora of weapons that should keep the scoreboard in Ft. Worth lit up all season. The Horned Frogs boasts two 700 yard rushers that return this season. On the outside, the ultra productive Josh Boyce, who alone was responsible for 1,000 yards receiving last year returns along with the super athlete, Brandon Carter. Ed Wesley should probably also be another weapon in the offense this year but opted for the NFL instead and was signed to the Dallas Cowboys.
Wesley’s departure was not the biggest development this off season, that honor went to the discovery of four players being apart of a campus wide drug ring and they all were removed from the team. All four players were supposed to contribute this season. Tanner Brock, Devin Johnson and D.J. Yendry were supposed to be leaders on a TCU defense that wasn’t its usual self in 2011. Last year was the first time since 2007 that TCU didn’t rank as one of the top 12 pass defenses in the country.
If Gary Patterson can get his signature 4-2-5 defense back up and running to his usual standards, TCU is built perfectly to compete in the BIG XII right away. Questions surround the secondary and offensive line this year, but if TCU finds answers they have an opportunity to surprise many. TCU has been building quietly for the last decade for this season, it will be fun to see how they handle it down in the DFW.
