Andrew Coker and Brandon Coleman compete with each other in everything. The basketball court is no exception.

They were hoopers before the pair became veteran leaders on TCU's roster, with a combined 58 games started on the offensive line. Coker was a two-sport athlete at Katy Taylor High School. The 6-foot–7-inch, 315-pound tackle mans the post when the TCU players link for pickup basketball games during the offseason. Coleman's roughly the same size at 6-foot-6-inches, but the senior likes to play from the perimeter. It's an odd sight to see such a behemoth of a man play point guard, and it gets odder once he shows off a smooth dribble.

“For his size, you don’t see people play basketball like he does," Coker said. "He’ll probably tell you too, I’m the only person that can actually give him a run for his money in terms of defense. Because everybody else, there’s really no one that can guard him.”

Coleman grew up in Berlin, Germany, traveling all around Europe for a select basketball squad where he was astonishingly on the shorter side among his teammates. He spent those years playing guard, and he brought his between-the-legs step-back jumper and crossover hesitations to America when he moved to Denton High School in his junior year. When told Coker said he was the only TCU football player who could make him sweat on the court, Coleman had to set the record straight.

“I mean, he can guard me five or six out of 10 times. But if I put the moves on him..." Coleman said. "If I go inside, he’s a big guy and I can’t get him. But on the outside I got him for sure.”

Coleman and Coker have used those basketball roots to propel themselves into one of the Big 12's most consistent offensive line duos. Coleman's conditioning and footwork were honed locking up point guards overseas. Their eyes, trained to find the open man on a zone defense, have translated to identifying blitz pickups on the gridiron. They're two of the most versatile athletes the Horned Frogs have, which is why they're trusted to pick up new positions this season.

The two were stalwarts at the tackle spots last year. But the offensive line that propelled a national top ten scoring offense lost All-American left guard Steve Avila and all-conference center Alan Ali. Mike Nichols, a junior who suffered a season-ending injury in 2022, has emerged as a favorite to play right tackle, which means Coker will slide to the left side while Coleman is bumped to replace Avila at left guard. Coker and Coleman relish the chance to display their position fluidity for NFL scouts and get the best five starters on the field.

“I feel like, especially for the next level, what I’ve heard and seen, being able to flip sides and even positions from left tackle to right guard, it’s such a big attribute that you can have when you go to the next level,” Coleman said.

Coleman is stepping in for the player who had a huge part in molding him. Two years ago, Coleman stepped away from his natural tackle position to start eight games at guard, and Steve Avila was the one who coached him on the techniques that separate an interior lineman. With Avila drafted by the Los Angeles Rams in the second round, Coleman is trying to fill the leadership vacuum on the offensive side.

"I was always the quieter guy and tried to take after Steve because he was a more reserved guy that tried to lead by example," Coleman said. "But he learned last year that he had to speak up. It was his last season. He had to lead the team.”

Avila is far from the only vocal guy TCU needs to replace. Quarterback Max Duggan finished second in Heisman voting last season and is off to the NFL, but the Horned Frogs have a locked-in starter with redshirt sophomore Chandler Morris. The Highland Park product started the season opener in 2022 before an injury forced him to leave the contest and back up Duggan for the National Championship run. Morris teamed up with Coker and Coleman to help lead by example during TCU's offseason workouts, the bridge between the old guard and the new.

"I trust them and know they’re going to do their job," Morris said of Coker and Coleman. "All that trust even starts in the winter and the summer workouts when we don’t have a football. Do they show up on time? Are they doing what they’re supposed to do? Are they leading? They always do that and they take care of their business.”

There are new faces on offense and a new face calling plays as well. Kendal Briles was hired as offensive coordinator just days after TCU's championship game defeat, and while he shares the same basic Air Raid philosophies as the departed Garrett Riley, the Horned Frogs expect to pound the rock even more than last season despite the loss of Kendre Miller. Briles coached an Arkansas offense that ranked seventh in the nation the previous two seasons in rushing offense behind dual-threat quarterback KJ Jefferson and running back Raheim Sanders.

Briles has two intriguing options in the backfield in Trey Sanders, the former No.1-overall running back in the Class of 2019 who transferred this offseason from Alabama, and Emani Bailey. Bailey led the Big 12 last year with 8.1 yards per carry spelling Miller, and his explosiveness should pair nicely with the 6-foot, 220-pound Sanders.

Those two will have ample chances to tote the rock, according to Coker. 

“We’re going to run the ball, and we’re going to run the ball," Coker said. "I feel like when we take our shots they’re going to be there because we’re going to set them up by running the ball.”