TCU Horned Frogs 2024 College Football Preview & Prediction

all right guys what's going on welcome back to everything College fo podcast today me Nick our 2024 preview and prediction for the TCU horn frogs Sunny Dykes 189 through2 Seasons Kendall brow and AJ Ricker will be the offensive coordinators in a great addition to the defensive staff and Andy Avalos the 22 Mountain West Coach of the Year fired stunningly from Boise State last season first year now as a defensive play caller obviously the biggest headline they went from National Champion runner up to missing a bowl game completely this past season look at the TCU offense obviously expected Big Time regression from this unit uh that again LED them to the Natty back in 22 with nearly 40 points per game you know great talent across the board and it was still a pretty sound unit though you know 31 points per game had pretty Ideal Balance um they certainly had issues at the quarterback position though for most part of the Year Chandler Morris was was not ideal they ended up turning to Josh Hoover who I think is going to be a complete star you know his third year on roster you know you got on the field last year for the first time showcased good Pace from pushing the ball down field shows some real throwing power runs the RPO system well shows quick decision making with accuracy he can really rip it down the seam as well I think this is a very good quarterback here Nick this is a guy that's not being talked about really at all got you know most of his playing time down the stretch I mean he didn't look back you know his first start was against BYU he put up 439 and four scores certainly had some struggles and some inconsistencies um but I think this is a guy that was great at 412 and two scores against Baylor and then in the season finale against U had four touchdowns and almost 350 yards they're playing from behind in that game of course but this is a guy that pretty much showed you know no fear Nick he did have nine interceptions shows some nice raw arm talent I think Sunny Dykes has him a real gamer here in Hoover I think it's going to be tremendous Josh Hoover is a really talented player who came into his own as the season went on I think he's a good fit for this offense you're going to plug him in this is an air raid style offense they're going to want to throw the ball a whole lot I think Hoover has the opportunity to do set I'm a little concerned about the frame 61 about 200 lb definitely worries me a little bit I think that's certainly something that's a little bit concerning but I think you can you know figure that out with again with this type of play style they're going to run through those 10 games that he played and he had a 62% comp rate 2200 yards passing 15 touchdowns and nine picks now obviously being a younger player throwing those nine interceptions I think he'll cut down on that this year with more practice and working on that accuracy which I think he had some issues with at times a little inaccurate a little you know uncomfortable made some bad mistakes turning the ball over but if you can cut down on those turnovers you know increase the accuracy a little bit get that completion rate up just a little bit even though 62% is not a terrible rate I think Hoover will be a really solid quarterback I think this a system fits well for a guy like him I think he's a really solid absolutely can rip it down field really solid in the system I like this Hoover kit a lot I think he's got a lot of potential for the horn frogs here now you look at the Back Field obviously Monty Bailey was tremendous last season before him you had Mari de marado and kendre Miller so this is you know Sunny dyes always seems to have a great Runner cam cook is next next up he's going to take over here a fourstar true sophomore quick-footed Runner with some really good burst needs to be more patient and open field as he is so crafty and will often get too excited in hopes of Landing moves so more game reps will certainly learn to tone that down a little bit behind him Trey Sanders a guy that's just had a tough break in every which way possible I think it was a torn ACL he had early on at Bama comes back then gets in a car wreck you just got to feel for the kid this is just the reality of life sometimes Nick you know guy only had 48 carries last year barely saw the field unlikely to make an impact Trey battle arrived at HEC was a quarterback even had some looks to potentially play defensive back but he settles on running back A Gifted athlete who physical has versatility likely the be the rb2 here you know what do you make of this back field you know it just seems to be the scheme works for whoever is the rusher but you can have a talented guy like cam cook and the other guys I alluded to they can have great production you plug in cam cook I think this offense is going to succeed on the ground yes placing Bailey 12200 yards and eight touchdowns is a lot L but I think cook has the opportunity to do so this was not a bad unit at all on the ground last year certainly could have been better at a middle of the- Pack Unit in college football then they can certainly find a way to improve I think cook will be good you know his limited touches he was okay and I think he's a player that can really you know grow in this role Trey Sanders you know former Bama guy always wanted to see him succeed had bad luck with the car accident as well he did have six touchdowns last year so they used him in a lot of goal line situations look for that again this year they may use to you may look to use him in those tight goal line situations trying to punch it him from one yard you 176 yards on those 48 carries for 3.7 yards per carry and they also have some other depth further down the bench in Trenton battle in Trent battle like you alluded to who's a guy who could also be involved he had only a few touches last year so I think it's a running back room they'll be just fine they have the pieces to kind of develop and figure it out I apologize I called him Trey is indeed Trent battle so thank you Nick for that one look at this wide receiver room that Hoover has to work with you know savan Williams a guy that I've always been a big fan of the past couple of Seasons didn't exactly have that breakout season as expected but it's Prov to be an athletic pass catcher can make some great grabs at 65 225 John Paul Richardson a player that should take some strides this year good at creating separation has nice speed at 61190 will be the go-to in the slot I love the portal Edition in Boise State's Eric mallister bring size you know 63 195 athletic ability and speed Great Frame and catching abilities he holding a lot of 5050 balls for the Broncos he's going to be a good Z here Dylan Wright 63210 had 27 Targets in only six games looking like a Sol ified player at the Z with strong usage early on in the season but ended up getting hurt major everheart a Richard sophomore got on the field a solid amount late in the season should be able to earn some more time at the slot JoJo Earl didn't really provide much of a spark but still in the rotation here kind of a forgot name for the frogs another one of those BMA editions good wide receiver room no real elite player here I think Williams can be an elite player that puts up 12200 yards will he probably not just because I think they're going to spread the ball around you know pretty emphatically this season what do you make of this room here Nick I think it's very talented in the production obviously there's a lot of it to go around they had three guys with 40 plus receptions last year back in 22 there was tremendous production to be spur around what do you think's going to happen here with Hoover in these past catchers I think Williams has a breakout year in stor fir him I think he a guy that could really break out and get close to the th yards receiving Mark I'm excited to see what he looks like this year he was at 573 yards 14 yards for grab and four touchdowns last year I think he will get a lot of targets this year and potentially will push that reception receiving yards number up significantly I'm excited for him I think JP Richardson is a solid player 536 yards receiving 11.1 7 yards for grab and three scor Fromm JoJo Earl you know kind of Forgotten from Bama hasn't really worked out for him he did have two touchdowns 14.9 yards for grab and 239 yards receiving Major Art as well he's a guy that's really solid I think could potentially be involved at that inside in interior there he's a guy you move him around a little bit play him at play him at the slot potentially you know maybe move him outside I think he's best suited for the slot 19 yards receiving last year for him Dylan Wright 187 and two touchdowns as well and 17 yards for grab he made some big plays and then Blake noell farther down dep chart had a touchdown of his 11 grabs last year he's a guy that could potentially be involved early on at that wide receiver X to give Williams a break they bring in Eric mallister from you know from Boise State I think he's a really solid at a guy that's very physical really good jump ball specialist who you can throw to love the sizeer and the ability I like this room a lot it's a very underrated wide receiving room that has a solid quarterback throwing to them I really like the potential here now you look at the offensive line this is a pretty good part of this team they de those three starters and one of the loan rures in Colton Deary wasn't all that good seems to be getting replaced at left guard by Kade Bennett who was a pretty good pass blocker for San Diego State bless Harris stepped up last year when finally Health he was a very good pass blocker for Florida State now arrives to man the left tackle spot for the departing Brandon Coleman who was pretty disappointing James brockmire was a four-star recruit but didn't play for BMA really at all Carson Bruno wasn't all that good of a right tackle for La Tech they're going to pencil him in at right hard for now Michael Nichols was below average last year's the loan uh he was one of the loone returning guys at right tackle figur be a quality group not much offensive line needs to really do in this gamee other than to be above average and I think they'll be able to play to that degree what do you make of this unit Nick because they you know the last two years have had some pretty impressive Talent that's allowed them to be solid but now you're throwing a bunch of transfers to the mix this is a unit full of transfers here four of the five potential starters on this line are pencil in as transfers that worries me I don't really like that the only returning player that I see starting right now is Mike Nichols at right tackle who I think was okay last year a solid right tackle not too bad they bring in a lot of different guys you know James Brock Meer he didn't really play at all at Alabama he's looking to be the center potentially he's a guy that's big physical player that could get some early looks Carson Bruno and Kade Bennett round out the interior two guys that didn't really figure things out their previous program Bennett was a solid pass blocker but his run blocking you know a little concerned about what that looks like he was previously at San Diego State last year this offense line you know it's benefits from the system so certainly not entirely worried about it but I hate when a team has a full you know line of transfers like that they just hate having no continuity definitely concerns me so to keep an eye on but I not don't think it's going to be too big of an issue but you could C you should certainly watch it if you're a horn frogs fan looking at the offensive verdict you know the frogs o should Elevate this year I'm a big fan of Hoover and I like some of his pass catchers while they have some athletes in the back field offensive line certainly might hold them back versus tougher opponents as running the ball was an issue even versus average defens is times think overall TCU and dyes they're going to have a unit that should easily put up you know 30 to 35 a game only the defensive side of the ball you know a unit that gave about 28 per contest added 13 guys in the portal some guys that I'm going to allude to I'm very happy with lost 10 at the same time they returned seven starters you look up front Paul a was an above average player in his red shirt freshman Seasons certainly some good upside to his name is 64275 Nana asafo Mena was a quality rotational piece for Notre Dame should be an have versus a run interior defensive line feature some veterans and Taman Mitchell Caleb Fox you know 310 and 295 lbs respectively the latter being a really good run stopper Maris deal preserved his red shirt playing only four games last year Zack Chapman also a red shirt freshman only playing in two Michael IUN was a solid player as well and his second year 265 pounds the loss of Dominic Williams is tough but quality unit here that needs to be more productive you know they're 89 89th in college football 66 tfl last season this 335 that they've ran in the past looks like abos is going to implement that here um you know I'm a little bit worried because Williams was an elite player and they still you know had their fair share of struggles against the Run um but I alluded to a lot of Youth Nick and a couple of transfers and a few more I'll talk about here shortly they will get and you know be a part of this defensive line um but in Fox and Mitchell those are two veterans are going to pave the way for these younger guys and I think we're going to see overall improvements from the D line I think there is some room for here Mitchell had 15 total tackles last year and limited rotational snaps one pass breaker for him as well he's a guy that's a big physical player that knows tackle I like what he can do potentially Caleb Fox 28 total tackles four tackles for loss two sacks for Fox a really solid player as well po Paul anoi as well 23 total tackles five tackles for loss three sacks for him really solid player coming off on that defensive side of the ball Michael abubin as well he was a guy that had 17 total tackles five tackles flost two and a half sacks decent production there I think there is some solid production here right there's some solid guys that were prod that were productive for this team Zachary Chapman as well got some snaps Marcus deal as well was not terrible for this team so I do like the rotational depth here I like some of the guys they have I think they're solid on this front part of this defense and now you look at the middle of this defense and when I pull up this je depth chart I noticed instantly three transfers that I've known about for years and you want to start with Caleb elarms or from Cal he was one of their leading tacklers this past season think he's going to be a tremendous addition you know the middle of the defense certainly suffered from poor technique and tackling angles over the past few season Seasons that the biggest knock I noticed in the national championship game where they got throttled these linebackers just not very athletic you know NAD abor was a real stand out for them one who doesn't share those same negatives being a good run Defender very sound tackler Shad Banks was solid but we'll certainly look to improve to remain in the starting lineup with the return of Johnny hods is one of those guys who's been a good playmaker and a nice vocal leader coming over from Navy a couple years back but he just lacks athletic ability leading to a lot of Miss tackles um you you look um Cooper McDonald other on after mentioned transfers he was a real good Edge for San Diego State especially as a run Defender interested to see the role he card was out here Devon deal coming over from Tain such a good ad he was a real impressive pass rusher for the Green Wave I think this is a good linebacking room here plenty of depth and some versatility even Nick I'm going to be very disappointed they can't really help Elevate this run defense because I certainly think they're ready to do so compared to a couple years ago where again they had some negatives in terms of you know their characteristics I think theyve more versatility here the offset those this season there is some solid versatility here a little bit more work has to be done abzor is a really solid tackler top returning tackler for this team 84 total tackles six tackles for loss four sacks and two pass breakups good numbers there Johnny Hodes he had solid performance through his first four games and four injury he had 28 total tackles four tackles for loss two sacks as well on his way to 100 tackle season before he got injured want to see what his production looks like as he returns from that injury of guy you certainly want to keep an eye on shod Banks as well is a solid player returning for this team who had some production last year they added some decent p uh places pieces Elam or I like him a lot from Cal he's a guy that's really exciting a good hard-hitting middle linebacker captain of that defense type leader like what he can do there certainly a good ad there for this unit you look at the secondary for the horn frogs you know it's certainly been a unit that's been susceptible to allowing tons of space and big plays D Travis brownon an interesting ad from Utah coming off his worst career season over five of them with Utah uh you know I thought he was a good player for the youths but last season it just fell apart for him Laman James on the other hand was tremendous for Old Dominion Avery Helm was below average but provides good experience the former UF transfer same goes for Jr Channing uh you know solid CB room here overall um safety group adds Richard Tony who was a solid starter for Nevada Bud Clark was a real standout 2022 from the slot was very poor in the same role this past season has lowed lots of yards in his career but is a capable run Defender a Kamar was much better in the slot May opt to run him in the Deep back end though and Jamal Johnson figures to be on the the ton was very impressive as a true freshman I think he's going to be one of the big breakout players for this football team um you know what do you make of this team Nick you know I I think the secondary you know in the past even when they had you know hajes Tomlinson back in 22 and you know all those elite players you know they Josh Newton last year even with top end Talent they've still just struggled you know gave up 250 the naty title year gave more yards last year 254 I mean they hold opponents to you know under 60% completion rating which you know that's certainly good um but they've just allowed way too many plays and you know lot of free space and it just doesn't seem like it's ever going to be fixed this is a secondary unit that continues to struggle I'm not entirely sure what the issue is they have some solid pieces but they can't seem to really put it together bud Clark had 33 total tackles six pass breakups three picks he's your leading player terms of coverage assets Avery Helm 22 total tackles two tackles for loss of sack plus five break pass breakups Abraham Kamar 39 total tackles and two pass breakups for him plus Channing Canada and Jamaal each had 20 tackles last year that return this secondary unit continuously gets torched it seems to be a you know weak spot here they're 113th in the nation against the pass last year 253 yards per game given up the secondary still seems not to be able to figure it out and maybe it's the system they're running maybe it's the coaching maybe bringing in a former head coach who is a respectable head coach and that Avalos could help with that but something's been wrong with the secondary I'm not entirely sure and until they fix that they're going to have trouble keeping up in the new the new look big 12 in my opinion they're going to be playing at the same level they were last year if the secondary can't turn it around looking at the verdict for the frogs defense it's only ever going to be so good with dkes in town but they have promising upside with some of the veterans and transfers in the front six especially a linebacker of a variety of different options secondary has some quality players and only way for them to be impactful is the force negative plays and provide energy back like they did in 2022 so even though they were giving up a lot of yards they still snagged 16 interceptions looking uh you know at the final prediction for TCU Frog's offense should take some big steps of a quarterback and Josh Hoover who I think is really going to blossom into a star this season a Supporting Cast that qu quietly has nice options and you know again defense on the other hand has some new found versatility in that front six but how much can they really Elevate this team it's going to be a question we have to wait and see prediction for us is going to be six and six I think this team can definitely win eight games and they probably will pull off an upset you know SMU I think it's going to be a tough game because SMU is a really good football team especially on defense playing at home against Oklahoma State maybe a game against Baylor I think there's plenty of opportunities for to win eight or nine games Nick and you know that's what the frogs can do with dkes in this offense um but I'm going to stick with six and six for now the more realistic approach even though I think Hoover will be great he certainly won't beat you know Max Dugen by any means this season at least in the first half of the year I don't believe but um I think the upside is great for TCU I know this the books are certainly intrigued by this football team I think they could potentially make another run I'm going to be more cautious though and I think at the end of the day we're both going to end up being wrong though this is a team is very interesting six and six feels a little harsh me CU I do think they have a lot of solid pieces on offense I am concerned about the defense that's contining to be an issue for me and the schedule is tough there are some interesting matchups in this you know at Stanford week week one on a Friday night I believe that's a tough game to look at there you really could get caught off guard potentially traveling all the way out west to Palo Alto that's a game you want to keep your eye on right now I think the frogs are about a ninepoint favorite so maybe keep an eye on that one in terms of betting reasons you know they got to play UCF early in conference and they travel to SMU cross town a little bit of cross town rivalry that's a tough match up I like the ponies a lot this year as they transition to the a ACC that's a very solid team at Kansas Houston at Utah some tough draws as well at Baylor at versus Oklahoma State at home not an easy draw in closing out the season on the road in Cincinnati is tough playing and what will be a pretty cold weather environment up there in Cincy on November 30th I like this team a lot six and six is certainly harsh I love Sunny DG think he's a fantastic head coach who has been really building something phenomenal here including that trip to the national title game just two years ago a bit harsh at six and six but I think this a team that can shock a lot of people if I'm going to be wrong any I'd like to be wrong with the horn frogs cuz I think this is a fun team to watch yeah most certainly especially with what they can do on offense and just the versatility and the speed and the temple they play with is certainly unmatched it's me it for today's episode as always Nick I appreciate you joining breaking down the frogs looking forward to see what they can do this year make sure you guys like comment subscribe see you next time