The TCU Horned Frogs have started training camp to prepare for the upcoming football season.
After a 5-7 record last season, the Frogs remain optimistic in the face of pressure. During the Big 12 Media Days in Las Vegas, TCU Head Coach Sonny Dykes explained some of the changes he hopes will make this season better than the last, as previously reported by The Dallas Express.
Abe Camara, a safety for the Frogs, shared his thoughts at a team press conference on Monday. He expressed why he thinks the team fell short of expectations last season compared to the 2022 season.
“I think [comparing] that Natty year to last year, I think we kind of got caught up with the whole lights and stuff and the pressure of all of [it],” Camara said. “I think everybody wanted us to repeat and go back again. We wanted it, the whole TCU community wanted it…and then we lost sight of it.”
As the team sets its sights on success for the upcoming season, the Frogs will need to assess four crucial points.
Hoover as the Starting Quarterback
Josh Hoover, the starting quarterback for the Horned Frogs, was missing from spring practice earlier this year after suffering an injury, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram reported.
At the Big 12 Media Days earlier this month, Hoover provided an update as to how he was feeling and expressed his excitement for the season ahead.
“Man, I feel like a million bucks,” Hoover told Frogs Insider. “I’m excited about my body and just being available for our team.”
Last season, Hoover had 6 career starts and became the first Power Five quarterback with 400 passing yards and four touchdowns in his first career start since the 2019 record-holder, Anthony Gordon. He also won several accolades for his performance against BYU.
A Dominating Defense
Following the disappointing season, TCU fired their former defensive coordinator, Joe Gillespie, who ran a 3-3-5 defense in favor of a more aggressive defense offered by Andy Avalos, former Boise State head coach, DX reported. Avalos plans on using a 4-2-5 defense that will complement the athleticism of the players on this season’s roster.
Nana Osafo-Mensah, a defensive lineman for the Frogs, commented on Coach Avalos’s new defensive strategy.
“I love the style of defense,” Osafo-Mensah said. “Especially Coach Avalos, I mean he’s a high energy guy, a guy that wants to get the quarterback, a guy that wants to just stop the run easily.”
The question that remains is how the cornerbacks and the rest of the defense will perform when scrimmaged against the offense, especially with Hoover’s return.
Reinforcements on the Offensive Line
TCU recruited more reinforcements for the offensive line this upcoming season after losing some talented starters, including Brandon Coleman and Andrew Coker. One of the newest recruits to help fill the team’s need is Bless Harris, a transfer from Florida State.
“I want to say there’s pressure,” Harris told the media during Monday night’s press conference. “Guys know in the offensive line that we gotta go out there and go work. It starts up front obviously.”
In addition to Harris, the Frogs picked up James Brockermeyer from Alabama, Cade Bennett from San Diego State, and Texas A&M transfer Remington Strickland, among others, for the offensive line, per FWST.
Rising Stars
The Frogs primarily struggled last season after losing some of their star athletes, including Max Duggan, Quentin Johnston, and Derius Davis, DX previously reported, who contributed to the run to the national championship game at the end of the 2022 season.
Despite the team’s overall performance last season, TCU still had a strong running back, Emani Bailey and Jared Wiley, and a tight end to lead the team. Both players were part of the NFL Draft and were picked up by the Kansas City Chiefs, per the NFL team’s 2024 season roster.
Savion Williams, another star tight end for the Frogs, is showing a high potential for success after having a career-best season with 573 receiving yards last season. Eric McAlister, a receiver picked up in the transfer portal, is another promising star for the season after completing 47 receptions for 873 yards and five touchdowns in nine games last season at Boise State.
The first game for the Horned Frogs this season will be on August 30 against Stanford University in Palo Alto, California.
