The TCU baseball team is having a great season, but it’s not too early to talk about their upcoming football campaign. Gary Patterson led the Horned Frogs to an undefeated regular season in 2009, and while they lost to Boise State in the Fiesta Bowl, things are looking pretty good for this team heading into the 2010 season. They have nine starters returning on offense and seven on defense. In addition, the kicker and punter also return. While most of the non-BCS attention has been focused on Boise State this offseason, it’s time to take a hard look at TCU. Can they make another run at the BCS National Championship game? Keep reading to find out.
Most great offenses start at quarterback, and the Horned Frogs have a great one in senior Andy Dalton. Dalton was the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year in 2009, throwing for 2,756 yards and 23 touchdowns. He hasn’t ever had to be the focal point of the team, but he has become a leader during his career at TCU and will get plenty of attention this season. He will have plenty of talent around him as well.
There won’t be a specific running back for the Horned Frogs this season, but they have a couple guys talented enough to start for a lot of teams around the nation. Sophomores Ed Wesley and Matthew Tucker will both get their fair share of touches out of the backfield, and they will both make a huge impact. Wesley rushed for 638 yards a season ago, while Tucker piled up 676 yards on the ground. At the receiver position, senior Jeremy Kerley is the go-to-guy. He will be a key in the passing and return game. Jimmy Young, Antoine Hicks, Curtis Clay, and Evan Frosch will all get plenty of time as well. This group of receivers is loaded with talent!
Regardless of how much talent a team has at the key positions, it’s all about the offensive line in football. Fortunately for TCU, they will have one of the best in the nation with four returning starters. Marcus Cannon is not only the team’s best lineman, he is also the team’s best NFL prospect. He played right tackle a year ago but will move over to the left side in 2010. Jake Kirkpatrick will once again be the center, and he will be one of the best in the nation as well. Both guards return this year which leaves right tackle as the only position the Horned Frogs need to fill. This unit is going to be tough to move, and they will be the key to another long run for this team.
TCU has been known for their stingy defense the last few years. They have to replace four starters from last year’s team, but they have plenty of great players ready to step in and fill the holes. The defense will certainly miss defensive end and NFL first-round pick Jerry Hughes. Sophomore Ross Forrest will replace Hughes, and he has the talent to be pretty solid. The other defensive end is Wayne Daniels who was Second-Team All Mountain West last year. Both defensive tackles return for 2010, and Cory Grant will lead the charge after being a Second-Team All Mountain West performer as well.
The linebacker group will miss Daryl Washington, but they have one of the best in the nation in Tank Carder. He will be one of the leaders on defense, and he will get plenty of attention on the national stage. Tanner Brock and Kris Gardner are two other guys worth keeping an eye on. The front six for the Horned Frogs lost a couple key pieces, but they have more than enough talent to hold their own as the season progresses. This unit won’t be far off what they were a year ago.
Greg McCoy and Jason Teague will man the cornerback positions, and both were spot starters last year. McCoy has the potential to be very good, and Teague will be taking over for stud Nick Sanders. At safety, Tejay Johnson will be a factor after garnering Second-Team All Mountain West honors in 2009. The other two safeties in the Horned Frogs’ 4-2-5 defense will be Alex Ibiloye and Jurell Thompson. The secondary is probably the biggest question mark for TCU’s defense, but this team always reloads on this side of the ball. There isn’t much to worry about. And as I mentioned above, kicker Ross Evans and punter Anson Kelton also return in 2010. Evans is one of the best kickers in the nation, and Kelton showed signs of brilliance late in the season.
As with any college football team, the schedule is key. TCU starts the season with a tough game against Oregon State. It will be played at a neutral site, although Cowboys Stadium is extremely close to home for the Horned Frogs. It will surely play like a home game. Most of the key Mountain West games (Air Force and BYU) are at home as well, but a road game against Utah late in the season will be crucial. Also, keep an eye on the road game against SMU the last week of September. That could be a trap game for sure. The schedule is plenty tough enough to get TCU in the top two or three with an undefeated season.
Now that I’ve laid the foundation, the question remains: can TCU make another run at the BCS National Championship game? The answer is absolutely. They were close a year ago, but there were too many undefeated teams around the nation. I’ve given most of my attention to Boise State so far this offseason, and so many others have as well. But if you look at things for both teams, TCU has an even better shot to sneak into the National Championship contest. They have a tougher overall schedule than the Broncos, but they are all very winnable games for the Horned Frogs. If any non-BCS team is going to break the trend this season, it’s going to be TCU. If they can get by Oregon State and the early road game at SMU, the defense will continue to gel and be awesome by the time they play their key conference games. The pieces are in place, and now it’s time for this team to take it to the next level.
It’s your turn to tell me what you think about TCU’s chances in 2010. Do you think they have what it takes to make a run at the BCS National Championship? If not, what is stopping them? If you have anything to add, please leave a comment below or email me at: cody@elitekickoff.com. Thanks for reading, and thanks for supporting Elite Kickoff!
- Add this to 100 bookmarks
- Share this on Bebo
- Submit this to Bitacoras
- Share this on Blinklist
- Engage with this article!
- Blog this on Blogger
- Mark this on BlogMarks
- Share this on BobrDobr
- Add this to BonzoBox
- Add this link to Box.net
- Share this via Buzzster!
- Subscribe to the comments for this post?
- Post this to Current
- Share this on del.icio.us
- Bump this on DesignBump
- Submit this to DesignFloat
- Digg this!
- Post this on Diigo
- Add this to DZone
- Submit this to eKudos
- Clip this to Evernote
- Share this on Facebook
- Submit this to FAQpal
- Share this on Fleck
- Share this on FriendFeed
- Share this on Fwisp
- Grind this! on Global Grind
- Email this via Gmail
- Add this to Google Bookmarks
- Post on Google Buzz
- Add this to Google Reader
- Submit this to Hacker News
- Bookmarks this on Hatena Bookmarks
- Email this via Hotmail
- Share this on Hyves
- Post this to Identica
- Add this to Izeby
- Submit this link to JumpTags
- Share this on Kaevur
- Share this on LinkedIn
- Email this to a friend?
- Add this to Memory.ru
- Submit this to Meneame
- Add this to Mister Wong
- Share this on Mixx
- Add this to MyPlace
- Store this link on MyLinkVault
- Post this to MySpace
- Submit tip to N4G
- Submit this to Netvibes
- Submit this to Netvouz
- Seed this on Newsvine
- Add this to Ning
- Submit this to NUjij
- Share this on OkNotizie
- Promote this on Orkut
- Share this on PFBuzz
- Ping this on Ping.fm
- Share this on Plaxo
- Share this on Plurk
- Post this to Posterous
- Send this page to Print Friendly
- Submit this story to Propeller
- Push this on Pusha
- Share this on Reddit
- Submit this to Script & Style
- Submit this to SlashDot
- Sphinn this on Sphinn
- Spring this on SpringPad
- Add to a lense on Squidoo
- Submit this to Strands
- Stumble upon something good? Share it on StumbleUpon
- Add this to Stumpedia
- Tip this to TechMeme
- Share this on Technorati
- Share this on Tipd
- Suggest this article to ToMuse
- Share this on Tumblr
- Tweet This!
- Submit this to Twittley
- Share this on Viadeo
- Share this on Virb
- Blend this!
- Share this on Wikio
- Add this to Wykop!
- Save this to Xerpi
- Buzz up!
- Email this via Yahoo! Mail
- Add this to Yandex.Bookmarks
- Box this on Zabox
Original Story:
http://www.elitekickoff.com/2010/06/0...
