LT, the masked man. It can be said that LT, along side a stunning victory over USC in the '98 Sun Bowl, propelled TCU back into a national spotlight which had dimmed nearly six decades prior.
Tomlinson was recruited by many schools, but was not considered one of the nation's top backs coming out of high school possibly because Tomlinson didn't play running back until his senior year and many top colleges had already made their recruiting choices by then. Thus, Tomlinson signed with an obscure college in Fort Worth, TX which had only been to two bowls in the previous 34 years. During his freshman and sophomore year, LT would split time with the then starter Basil Mitchell. In those first two years he put up respectable numbers of 538 & 717 rushing yards and 6 & 8 tds, and got an all conference nod in '98
However, when LT was given the job outright during his junior year, his stats became legendary. He immediately started to dominate the WAC, finishing that junior season with 1,830 yards (led the nation) and 18 rushing tds. He burst onto the national scene on November 20, 1999 during a 52 - 24 throttling of UTEP. During that game LT carried the ball 43 times for 406 yards, which broke the NCAA record for yards in a game that was held by Tony Sands of Kansas (396 yards). Tomlinson led that '99 team to an 8-4 record, its first conference title since '94, and its second bowl victory in as many years. That season he also took home his first of two Rogers Trophies, as well as All-Conference MVP honors.
Going into his senior year the expectations were limitless. The buzz around Tomlinson started early as the "LT for Heisman" bumper stickers started showing up all over town. He did not disappoint. LT again led the nation in rushing during that senior season with 2,158 yards, and 22 rushing tds. TCU went on to post 10 wins that season, a feat which had not been accomplished since the national champion team of 1938, and LT was handsomely rewarded. He won the Doak Walker award for the best running back in the country, finished fourth in the Heisman race (behind Chris Winkie, Josh Heupel, and Drew Breese), took home his second Rogers Trophy, his second Conference MVP honor, and was a First-Team Consensus All American.
As recognition for his career acheivements at TCU, his jersey number (5) was retired in 2005. He joins Davey O'Brien (8) and Sammy Baugh (45) as the only Frogs to have his number retired.
He finished his career at TCU with every rushing record imaginable:
- Rushing Yards: Career- 5,263
- Rushing Yards: Season - 2,158 ('00)
- Rushing Yards: Game - 406 ('99 v. UTEP)
- Rushing TDs: Career - 54
- Rushing TDs: Season - 22 ('00)
- Rushing TDs: Game - 6 ('99 v. UTEP)
- Rushing Attempts: Career - 907
- Rushing Attempts: Season - 369 ('00)
- Rushing Attempts: Game - 49 ('00 v. Hawaii)
- All-Purpose Yards: Career - 6,337
- All-Purpose Yards: Season - 2,198 ('00)
- All-Purpose Yards: Game - 412 ('00 v. UTEP)
- Points Scored: Career - 324
- Points Scored: Season - 132
- Points Scored: Game - 36 ('99 v UTEP)
- Yards Avg. per Game: Career - 119.6
- Yards Avg. per Game: Season - 196.2 ('00)
- 100 Yard Games: Career - 21
- 100 Yard Games: Season - 11 ('00)
And all this was achieved in just two seasons as the starter. Just imagine what those numbers would have been with a little bit more pt.
Here are some highlights from the dominance over UTEP:
Up next: it should be pretty obvious, right?
When he wasnt pounding schooners of beer under one second, he was pounding d-lineman into the ground. Josh served as one of the leaders of the frogs throughout the late 90s and early 2000s. He was unfortunately sidelined with a torn ACL and back injury which limited his pt at times, but that never diminished his impact on the Frogs during that time. The proud papa to be once recorded three pancake blocks in one game vs. the ponies from the east. 
