TCU Football 2014 Spring Wrap Up

Strengths and Question Marks

As is pretty much always the case for a TCU team, the defense looks to be loaded and strong, though this year the strength of the defense will be shifting more to the front four after two key graduations in the secondary. Jason Verrett and Elisha Olabode were both NFL level players, but had a few injury issues that let us get a view of what this year was going to be like, and while there is some drop off it shouldn’t be too bad.

On the offensive side of the ball the question marks are everywhere. Will the offensive line be able to mesh after a season of allowing absolutely everyone (even Southeastern Louisiana) to get through the line? The return of Tayo Fabuluje after his year of indecision should help matters, and new offensive coordinator Doug Meacham is a former OL coach which should help a group that’s big on size but had communication issues.

At wide receiver TCU has potentially lost three of its top wideouts in LaDarius Brown (drugs), Cam White (concussion) and Brandon Carter (drugs again), and transitioning to a new air-raid based offense means that those were guys that were going to have big roles in 2014.

The running backs were good for TCU last year and the position is stacked with both talent and depth, but there’s a question of how much they’re going to be used in the new system.

And finally the biggest question of all, quarterback, where next year’s starter may not even be on campus yet. Trevone Boykin had an uneven performance last year, TCU signed highly valued recruit Foster Sawyer and the incoming transfer of Texas A&M’s Matt Joeckel is a big one. As we all know, graduate players don’t transfer because they’re expecting to ride the bench in their new destination though, so Joeckel is the clubhouse favorite.

Breakout Players

Given the new offense (and that B.J. Catalon is already recognized as one of the best backs in the conference) the breakout list on offense is going to be a bit wide receiver heavy. Ty Slanina was a player that many of us hoped would redshirt in the 2013 offseason but were pleasantly surprised as he became an immediate contributor with his precise route running and good hands.

Similarly former Florida transfer Ja’Juan Story will likely benefit from both the new scheme and the absence of LaDarius Brown, as he’s likely to lock down a spot on the outside where he can put his sprinter speed to good use.

Finally I’m predicting that Trevone Boykin will make an all-Big 12 team… at wide receiver, as with a new quarterback transferring in Boykin will be able to slide into the role in which he thrived last year full time. His speed and quick cuts were already strong, and his knowledge of the quarterbacking position let’s him slide into weak points of a defense and be the kind of guy that a quarterback loves.

On defense, look for Kevin White to shine now that the spotlight will be on him as TCU’s #1 cornerback, and though it’s kind of a cheat to name a former Big 12 defensive player of the year as a breakout star, the amount of talent on the d-line this year means that the finally healthy Devonte Fields will have an easier time getting into the opponent’s backfield than ever before.

I think he’ll do more than simply regain his old form, as he’s become even stronger in his time away from football last year and could move into “finalist for major national awards” territory.

TCU defensive end Devonte Fields (Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports)

Position Grades

Quarterback- Incomplete It’s a bit of a cheat I know, but given TCU’s current situation it’s hard to justify any rating at all. Having a senior quarterback is great for teams, but they’ve usually been part of the team for more than a few months before being given the starting nod, and Joekel being a backup behind first Ryan Tannehill and then Heisman trophy winner Johnny Manziel means that he could be anything from a first round draft pick type of talent to a total washout and he would have seen the field for about the same amount of time.

Behind him last year’s co-starter, Trevone Boykin, is likely to be a wide receiver and last year’s backup is transferring away from the school which virtually guarantees that whomever plays at quarterback for TCU in 2014 has never taken a snap in a purple helmet before. There is an old Chinese curse that says “May you live in interesting times”, well football wise they don’t get much more interesting than TCU’s quarterback spot.

Running Back- B+ It’s an odd grade given how many of TCU’s losses last year came down to a failure to run the ball, but much of that failure can be attributed to the offensive line’s struggles and the truly detestable playcalling employed by TCU’s former co-offensive coordinators Jarrett Anderson and Rusty Burns.

Happily both co-OCs have been removed from those positions which means that B.J. Catalon, TCU’s lone pleasant surprise of 2013, may finally be given an opportunity to shine. In 2012 Catalon was a freshman forced into a starting role due to a cavalcade of injuries at running back (you may remember Trevone Boykin practicing at the position the week before he made his first start at QB for emergency depth) and was primarily a speedster, but in 2013 Catalon added a bruising inside style to compliment his quickness and took his play to the next level.

In many games, but particularly against LSU and Tech, Catalon was punishing the opposition on the ground, only to have the ball taken out of his hands in the clutch- that should not happen again in 2014.

Also likely to benefit from the change in coordinators is former five-star Aaron Green, who served as a change of pace running back last season but suffered from unimaginative playcalling to the point where when he was in the game the defense could pretty well count on a delayed handoff. With a new playcaller and some consistency up front, Green and Catalon could be the best running back tandem in the conference when 2014 comes to an end, while behind them is some frighteningly talented depth.

Receivers- C+ Before LaDarius Brown’s departure this was a B+ and before Brandon Carter’s arrest it was a B-. Now the frogs are moving to an offense that features a ton of four receiver sets without a lot of depth and with a lot of questions.

The frogs have talent at the position to be sure, with Ty Slanina’s presumed growth going along with the speed of Ja’Juan Story, Deante Gray and Jordan Moore, but no one has the amount of experience as Carter or the physical gifts of Brown.

So it’s a talented, but inexperienced bunch, and the best of them may have been playing quarterback last year, not a situation you’d really like to be in. On the other hand, maybe one of them can actually catch punts?

Offensive Line- C- The line has size and plenty of potential, but it was a catastrophe last year and may be the second biggest reason why 2013’s offense was so abysmal (with the aforementioned playcalling being the worst).

The good news is that there isn’t a ton of graduation to deal with, only two members of the two deep graduated and the majority of the players moving into their junior years (where the biggest jump should occur), and that the players are all pretty huge (300+ pounds) which should bode well for the running game.

The bad news is that for all of the shuffling that the o-line went through last season we didn’t have a combination that really worked, and the return of Tayo Fabuluje only shores up one of those spots. I think the O-line will be greatly improved from last year, but I’m basing that more on belief in the new coaching staff than anything I saw last year, so a C- is what I can justify.

Defensive Line- A The strength of the defense is up front this year, as Devonte Fields has had a full offseason to heal and practice with the team and no suspension hanging over his head. Pairing Fields together with the experienced and talented pair of Chucky Hunter and Davion Pierson (Patterson regards the two as the best DT duo in the conference) means that double teams are going to be hard to come by against three men that could potentially justify an extra blocker.

Hunter is a run stopper and space eater of a high level, while Pierson can knife inside and help rush the passer, so lining him up next to Fields is a great way to get one of them through to the quarterback. On the other side James McFarland can hold up against the run well enough, and is likely to face single blockers all year, so there’s potential for him to have a good year as well.

Linebackers- B- TCU doesn’t have a lot of experienced depth at linebacker due to some defections, but the emergence of Paul Dawson at linebacker last year was one of the few silver linings of 2013. Dawson recorded 10 TFL and led the frogs in tackles despite only starting the last 7 games, and he should be in line for some all conference nods this year.

Next to him should be Marcus Mallet who has a name that, like Tank Carder before him, essentially guaranteed he’d be playing linebacker somewhere. Name aside, Mallet is a good tackler, but it was hoped he would make a bigger impact with turnovers and tackles for loss in 2013, so we’re still waiting to see his full potential. Behind them is a lot of youth and air, so the health of the starters will be crucial for the Frogs.

Secondary- A- Cornerback Jason Verrett should be drafted in the first round this year and Elisha Olabode was one of my all time favorite frogs at any position, but despite the losses TCU’s secondary should be among the best in the conference once again.

Kevin White had a great year last year despite being the persistent target of every offense thanks to the dreadlocked beast playing on the other side, now he looks to take over Verrett’s spot while Ranthony Texada has been getting rave reviews in practice at the #2 corner spot and there’s plenty of experience and talent if Texada doesn’t end up winning the job.

At safety TCU has a pair of all-Big 12ers returning in Chris Hackett and Sam Carter, which should lessen the sting of losing Olabode, so the TCU secondary should be solid all the way across the field.

2014 Expectations

I said this last year and ended up being way, way off, but 2014 should be a great improvement for the Frogs and it couldn’t come at a better time. Last year’s offense was absolutely unwatchable, and though opinions in the fanbase vary about whether the air raid is the direction we should be headed in at the very least the Frogs will have a consistent idea of what they’re trying to accomplish on offense. Last year’s offense was gimmick heavy without any real base of plays for the Frogs to work from, while this year there will be a definite identity and a consistent plan on how to attack a defense.

The defense will be stellar once again, and even slight competence on offense would have been enough to turn around the outcomes of the Oklahoma, Kansas State, Texas Tech, West Virginia and Baylor games, so while I’m not predicting a nine+ win season for the frogs I feel pretty confident in guessing that it will be more than eight wins, rather than less.

Still, my optimism hasn’t reached full “the season is about to start, everything is wonderful” levels yet, so we’ll call it an 8-4 year and finishing in the top half of the conference.

Nick of the TCU blog Frogs O War provided the information for our TCU football spring update. For more TCU football information, commentary and analysis, you can follow Nick on Twitter @FrogsOWar.