2007 Statistics

QUARTERBACK
Anyone who thinks this offense won't rebound doesn't know the Horned Frog inner workings. Coordinator Mike Schultz likes to use a powerful running game to open up the passing lanes. Problem is, Schultz has found a serious arm in Andy Dalton, one that's already set school records for completions and attempts. Dalton's contribution as a Freshman All-American meant a few bad decisions. That's why the win total dipped. A year wiser, the offense unveiled a more vertical passing attack this spring to capitalize on Dalton's ever-growing ability to bring passing yards in bunches. Oh, and the Houston Chronicle Prep Offensive Player of the Year (2005) can run pretty well, too. That doesn't mean Marcus Jackson doesn't again see poignant insertions. Jackson is a bit faster and also can make great decisions on the fly, but Dalton just seems to be the arm Coach Patterson hasn't had in a while. Ballard was a winner, but a more mature Dalton complimented by Jackson should be able to reach the same heights and provide even more firepower once the running game gets back to where it was the prior years.

RUNNING BACK
We can't say that the injuries to Aaron Brown and Joseph Turner were the reason for the running woes last year, but they definitely were both absent in the 20-17 OT loss to Air Force, and the losses to BYU, Utah and Texas (where Turner was hurt) all were amongst the season's worst team rushing totals. When healthy, junior Turner is guaranteed production - he has only lost three total yards on 139 career carries. His formidable size couples nicely with his 4.4-second speed in the 40. Brown is even faster (10.45 seconds in the 100), and the Katy-bred senior proves much more of a weapon in the flat and when lined up outside than Turner. Justin Watts did an admirable job filling in for Brown and Turner, as did natural RB Ryan Christian (who moves back to WR), so there is depth beyond the wanna-be recruits. The fastest of those guys is Thurman Thomas's cousin, Jai Cavness, who runs a 4.3-second 40 and who will assuredly get some looks after he redshirted and bulked up nicely during his orientation. The fullbacks are both solid ball carriers, but with Turner able to block in passing situations, Smith's and Shivers' numbers won't get called as much, especially if the passing game continues to increase its numbers.

RECEIVER / TIGHT END
The receivers are stacked three-deep and awaiting their chances. One guy who will stand out is Walt Bryant, a smart leader who becomes the focal point of this corps since he and Donald Massey are the lone seniors amongst a bevy of sophomores. Bryant has size, but Massey has the speed amongst those two. All-around athlete Massey saw action but never started, whereas Bryant started only once, yet the two finished second and third, respectively, in both catches and passing yards. Christian really grounds things even more so that the 6'1 duet of Bart Johnson and Jimmy Young can establish themselves. These two became 'go to' targets for Dalton this spring, so we expect them to challenge Massey and Bryant in the stat columns. Jeremy Kerley is an ex-QB who will get a few chances either under center or in the flat with plays that require his arm. Even with the quartet of viable sophomore backups you see listed, talk of Sam Shutt by Coach Patterson probably means the incoming frosh gets a fair shake in the crowded coffers. Senior Shea Reagan has proven to open up the deep middle; he led the team in yards per catch (17.9) for those with more than one catch. Frosch is also excellent in the pattern, but Reagan just seems to have it all.

OFFENSIVE LINE
We all know what it means to have four of your five starters along the line return. Senior Blake Schlueter is the best lineman. A two-time All-MWC selection, Schlueter is typical of the biggest Horned Frogs with his mobility and heads-up approach. Newhouse and Richmond started every game last year, as did Montgomery. An ex-DE, Giles Montgomery moves the best of any of the OLmen. Junior Marshall Newhouse is the cousin of ex-Cowboy's RB Rob Newhouse. Preston Phillips started once last year (vs. New Mexico), and the fifth-year senior knows the ropes as he steps into the starting left guard role he's coveted his entire collegiate career. Rob Clark headlines a solid second team, and lots of different combinations of old and young bigmen were paired this spring to assure even more depth as the team ages. A record-setting sophomore at the helm, a super deep set of snarlers, a well-rounded running game and a seasoned OL will come together to bring this offense to new heights for 2008.

Still, Schultz's troop lost three points per game from the prior year. Getting back to scoring more is obviously most important - when TCU scored 22 or less last year in the regular season, they went 1-5, so points equal wins.

Even though TCU wasn't the conference's best defense (BYU and Utah were) after ruling the Mountain West for their first two years in the league, the six seniors and four juniors who now start have the wares to improve on what are already top 15 rankings in most statistical categories. Just to show you how competitive the MWC is getting (like the SEC), the Horned Frogs allowed 18.7 points per game to rank 10th in the nation for scoring allowed, but that was only good enough to rank third behind the two Beehive State members in this conference. Only seven other FBS teams allowed less yards per carry than TCU's 2.92. In these days of mobility and speed trumping size and strength, the 4-2-5 alignment used here matches well against spread out opponents.

DEFENSIVE LINE
If you’re going to be spread out, having the speed to recover seems to help TCU have excellent run stopping impact. The tackles fit this mold. Senior Cody Moore is in the 4.6-second range, and backup James Vess is just as fast. Freshman All-American Kelly Griffin was a DE, so he is "up to speed", and JUCO transfer John Fonua is steady enough to be an asset. The two ends who graduated will be missed. Matt Panfil is a decent talent, but he will have to really step up to fill in for the huge production now gone without Ortiz and Blake. Panfil doesn't have the ability to engage opposing linemen with as much success since he is only 230-something, but Jerry Hughes has more size for making stops. 6'6 Braylon Broughton is a monster "old school" end who can disrupt in many ways if given the chance. The DL seems to come together annually, making the sum of its parts into much more than the modest two- and three-star talent added up separately.

LINEBACKER
The LBs will again tie together the elements around them. The Q-B of the corps is Jason Phillips, an ex-hurler who realized his destiny wasn't under center but leading the D from his middle command post. Phillips became the first freshman to ever achieve all-conference, a status he has held onto each year since. Dave Campbell said he was the best LB in the Lonestar State last year. Phillips is flanked by Rob Henson, the defenses' hardest hitter. Henson is more vocal as a leader than Phillips, inferring how Henson will have a breakout season now that the senior's production has earned him the start. Henson's been both All-MWC Honorable Mention and amongst the team's top five tacklers for three years straight, but with only two linebackers being employed most of the time, his number took a while to come up. That means it's junior Daryl Washington's turn to be the monster LB who deserves to start, but has to play back up. This Irving product is a great solo tackler in open space; Washington proved he can keep up with almost any receiver during spring ball. Coach Patterson says, "I have three starting LBs."

DEFENSIVE BACK
The only uncertain position on D is at weak safety. Corderra Hunter seems to have it sewn up, but he isn't so proven that true soph Tejay Johnson can't break into the 1s. Replacing perennials Bonner and Roach won't be easy since they knew the scheme and how to coordinate with everyone else so well. The Stephen & Steven Show will do its best to compensate for the losses - All-MWC SS Hodge is unleashed early and often to (run) blitz as evidenced by his eight sacks (2nd on team and the most for any DB in the nation), and FS Coleman tied for the team lead in INTs. Johnny Fobbs looks like the next in line for a starting slot after the four listed here, and with two safeties again lost after this season, Fobbs will get his chances to prove his speed equals results. The similarities between Nick Sanders and Rafael Priest mean they know each other well - they are both in-state products who were recruited in 2005, both are now juniors, and both started every game together in '07. Priest is possibly All-American material, and since foes will probably throw away from his stat line, Sanders will get lots of balls coming his way. A total of 11 DBs have come here in the past two recruiting classes, so any holes amongst the back five can find plugs, just greener ones than the savvy upperclassmen. Too many injuries in the secondary would hurt overall defensive results.

Fifth-year coordinator Dick Bumpas has done more with less, and the mix of old and young he has layered is well positioned to keep its momentum from last year rolling into September.