TCU never recovered from the 65-7 loss to Georgia in the national championship game. The Horned Frogs arrived back in Fort Worth a wounded squad two days before the start of spring practice. Head coach Sonny Dykes allowed the team three weeks off to recuperate from the 15-games season and that caused a chain of events that put the Frogs behind schedule in 2023, especially with a new offensive coordinator. 

“It was a mess,” Dykes said during my visit to Funky Town for the 2024 summer magazine tour. “I’m talking in Game 12 we weren’t executing the way an average team would. We never felt like we caught up.” 

The tenor feels different at TCU this spring. The 2022 squad was hungry and played with a chip on its shoulder. They were united and played physical, winning six of seven one-possession games during the 13-win season. The 2023 team was the opposite. The group didn’t make big plays, were 0-4 in close games, and seemingly lacked for confidence and leadership, especially after the Week 1 loss to Colorado. 

Here is what we learned during our stop in Mid-April. 

OFFENSE

Year 2 should help Kendal Briles and his offense. He blamed nine red zone turnovers for the struggles to turn yards into points. He said the execution by Practice 4 of the spring looked better than it did most of the 2023 season because his players now “speak the same language.” He believes that alone will boost the touchdown percentage in the red zone. Score a few more touchdowns rather than field goals and the 0-4 mark in one-possession games flips. 

• Josh Hoover is TCU’s quarterback. Full stop. His absence in the spring allowed Vanderbilt transfer Ken Seals and standout freshman Hauss Henjy more snaps in the spring. Keeping three options at QB is increasingly difficult in the portal era, but the Frogs know better than most the importance of a backup quarterback given Max Duggan entered 2022 as the backup, as did Hoover in 2023. 
• Running back is a spot the Horned Frogs might look to strengthen in the spring portal window. Cam Cook received rave reviews from Briles and Dykes. 
• Wide receiver is the deepest position on the offense. Savion Williams expects a breakout season and Briles concurred.  “We have to figure out a way to get him eight or more touches a game,” Briles said about Williams. Injuries kept most of the frontline guys out in the spring, but expect a strong rotation of four to five players out wide with Williams, JP Richardson, Dylan Wright, Eric McAlister, JoJo Earle, Major Everhart, and Blake Nowell in the mix. 
• TCU brought in three transfer offensive linemen prior to spring and each are impressing. Bless Harris (Florida State) is the favorite to start at left tackle. Carson Bruno (La Tech) will start at one of the guard positions. Remington Strickland (Texas A&M) is working at guard and center. The unit adds San Diego State guard Cade Bennett in the summer. Coltin Deery is the starting center and Mike Nichols is working at right tackle. 

DEFENSE 

TCU needed to improve defensively so Dykes made the tough decision to replace Joe Gillespie with Andy Avalos. “I was looking for someone who could create havoc. We were bad at creating turnovers,” Dykes said. “We’re multiple, we create confusion in an offense. We’ve refined our blitz and twist game. We can create pass rush matchups better than we could in past. Love the way we’re mixing coverage – creating hesitancy and confusion in the offense. Led to more turnovers in the spring.”

• The loss of Damonic Williams hurts, but it hurts less in the new four-man front defense than it would’ve in the old system. Tymon Mitchell is expected to slide into the starting spot at nose guard, but don’t be surprised if the Frogs replenish the ranks on the interior in the portal. Redshirt freshmen Markis Deal and Zachary Chapman are also options. Caleb Fox is the new leader in the trenches. 
• A more effective pass rush is one of the major focuses for Avalos & Co. Edge players such as Paul Oyewale and transfer Nana Osafo-Mensah are shining. Rush linebackers such as Devean Deal and Marcel Brooks should also thrive in this system. 
• Linebacker is the strength of the defense. Former safety Namdi Obiazor enters year two on the second level and is entrenched as a starter. Johnny Hodges is back from injury and competing with transfer Kaleb Elarms-Orr. Jonathan Bax is a name to remember at linebacker. 
• The biggest change in the secondary is at nickel with Abe Camara moving to that position from deep safety. Avalos said he’ll play a decent amount of nickel and dime. Bud Clark will be one of the deep safeties. The other spot could fall to Richard Toney, Jamel Johnson, or Cam Smith. All four of those guys will play. Avery Helm is one starter at cornerback. The other is up for graps with JaTravis Broughton, LaMareon James, and Channing Canada vying for snaps.