Recruiting Class Reunion: 2009

After the Frogs came oh-so-close to crashing the BCS in 2008, Patterson signed his best group ever (at least on paper) to comprise the Class of 2009. Seven of those players played in their first fall on campus, which resulted in a conference title.

The headliners: This class seemed full of headliners, but there were four 4-star players: Sherman running back Waymon James, Brownwood quarterback Casey Pachall, Wichita Falls Rider safety Jurell Thompson and JUCO safety Malcolm Williams, who played previously at South Grand Prairie. Other very well-thought of players included Copperas Cove linebacker Tanner Brock, Waco Midway offensive lineman Ty Horn, Beaumont Ozen linebacker Justin Isadore and the trio of linemen from tiny Maud, TX nickamed "The Maud Squad": James Dunbar, Bryant House and Ray Burns.

Hits so far: Tyler Chapel Hill's Matthew Tucker, who many thought might have been destined to switch to defense under Patterson, rushed for over 600 yards as a true freshman, and should be a main weapon in the Frogs' offense for years to come. Tanner Brock was a solid contributor on defense and special teams, including his legendary helmet-less block that sprung Jeremy Kerley for a punt-return TD against SMU. DJ Yendrey, an under-sized defensive tackle from tiny Edna, TX, shot to near the top of the depth chart and was a force to be reckoned with by opposing offenses all year. Thompson, Williams, linebacker Kenny Cain and late-find wide receiver Skye Dawson all also played in their first season on campus.

Jury's still out: Much like the Class of '08, the majority of this class has yet to make their mark on the program. Over the course of this spring and 2010 season, many more of them will start to cement their legacy at TCU. Will Casey Pachall indeed be the QB of the future? How will Waymon James fit in with the rest of the bevy of talented running backs? Will The Maud Squad dominate the line of scrimmage the way they did in 1A football in high school? Is Stansley Maponga the next great TCU defensive end, as the rumor mill is saying so these days?

He's still coming! Dwight Smith, the sensational running back from Carthage, was not able to sort through the mess of an issue his eligibility became after questions arose regarding his move from California to Texas before his senior year of high school. Not to worry, though, he got it worked out and is now finally enrolled at TCU, ready to go for spring practice.

Misses: Katy Morton Ranch's Michael Venson, who was slated to play corner at TCU, was never able to get academically eligible.

Signing Day Reminder

For those of you who have been living under a rock - or who have been spending some quality times with Greg Oden, as the comments seem to suggest - tomorrow is National Signing Day, otherwise known as Christmas part 2. Right now, it looks like the Frogs are set to open up a pretty swell batch of new toys, and perhaps even a Josh Huff edition Nintendo 64. For those of you who were fortunate enough to get tickets - a minor bout of post-season apathy caused me to be late on the draw, which I strongly regret - there is a signing day reception tomorrow evening at the alumni center hosted by the Man himself, so I hope that we will have a solid recap of that. Also, I think our very own lyle lanley will be attending another signing day event earlier in the day, so we should have pretty great coverage of the newest crop of Pattersonbots - the BCS Edition.

The Frogs currently boast the 38th ranked recruiting class in the nation according to Rivals, which situates us two spots behind conference rival BYU and one spot behind Lubbock High. I don't expect the Frogs to deviate too far from that position within the next 24 hours, but you never know what kind of crazy things might happen between now and... well, 14 hours from now, according to the countdown. Will Urban Meyer disband the Florida football team on a whim? Will Mack Brown fall down on his signing day duties while mediating the McCoy/Shipley divorce settlement? Will stud QB Jake Heaps - the centerpiece of BYU's recruiting class - wake up tomorrow and realize, "Wait, Big Love and BYU are based on the same religion? Holy shit, I'm heading to Fort Worth!"? Only time will tell. And besides, aggy is #9 according to Rivals' list, so you know something isn't right about those ratings.

Anyway, starting tomorrow and trudging on as long as it is deemed necessary, lyle and I- and hopefully as many commenters and fellow bloggers as possible- will be posting all the YouTube footage we can get our hands on that relates to our newest class of Horned Frogs in order to build anticipation for the spring game, not to mention the next four years of football. Realistically, there's probably going to be more footage than we can reasonably get our hands on, so please feel free to submit videos to help us out and we will post them. Who says football can't be a year round sport?

Mmmmmmm, Ice Cream....

So maybe that title and picture are a little off-topic, but Andy Staples of Sports Illustrated used an analogy using ice cream to...well, illustrate...the unjust nature of the BCS. Thanks Andy, I'm looking forward to you dumbing down the NCAA Tournament selection process using pizza toppings! Anyways, according to Staples' article, the powers that be of the BCS may be in trouble of losing their stranglehold of the college football world. Some of you out there are more in tune with the world of politics and other things of the lawyerly persuasion, so perhaps you'd like to share your thoughts with the rest of us.

Nocona Boots Giveaway Reminder

Details Here

The New Face of the MWC

No, that's not Craig T. Nelson. It's Vigo the Carpathian, and at long last, the Pagan cadets at the Air Force Academy are free to worship him. I would say this is a ridiculous use of government money, but what isn't these days?

Morning Dump

Frogs travel to Provo for Mountain West Conference showdown with BYU GoFrogs.com

TCU vs BYU preview CBS Sports

Horned Frogs a factor in national recruiting game Dallas Morning News

Horned Frogs offer 2011 CB Griffin ESPN

Tuesday quick hitters ESPN

Three point stance: Signing Day ESPN

BCS success helping Boise State, TCU make recruiting strides Sports Illustrated

Punxsutawney Phil says more winter CNN

Recruiting Class Reunion: 2008

The TCU recruiting class of 2008 signed just after the disappointing 5-loss 2007 season, but a few members of this class have already made their mark as Frogs, playing a big part in the 2009 conference championship season. Most though, are still fighting their way up the depth-chart.

The headliners: There were no 4-star recruits in this class, but JUCO transfer corner Jason Teague, offensive lineman Trevius Jones from Tyler and defensive tackle Jeremy Coleman from the Houston area all generated some buzz when picked TCU over some other big-name programs.

Hits so far: Ed Wesley, who was a relatively unknown 5'9" running back out of Irving's MacArthur High School, picked TCU over such powerhouses as...Louisiana Tech and UTEP. Chalk him up as a signature Patterson recruiting find, because Wesley turned heads all year in practice when he redshirted in '08, then became a big part of the offense as a redshirt freshman this past fall. Teague played very well as a back-up corner this year, and should start next fall. Coleman showed some flashes of greatness on the interior this year. Blaize Foltz, an offensive lineman from Kansas, played his way into the offensive line rotation as a redshirt freshman.

Jury's still out: This is pretty self-explanatory, right? Because they are still so early in their careers, the bulk of this class fits into this category. Or maybe I'm just too lazy to type all of their names out?

Misses: Three members of this class never made it to campus: wide receivers Justin Moreaux and Marques Parker (who were both anticipated to be playmakers) and defensive back Edward "Bud" Patterson, who likely would've caused me to make a Cosby Show reference that would've gone over everyone's head every time he made a play.

Ruh Roh...

Former TCU ace Lance Broadway may be in some trouble, as he is being sued for allegedly assaulting some dude at a New Year's Eve party in Dallas. This certainly isn't the kind of press you want to see about a former Frog, and hopefully it's not as bad as it sounds. But, if any of you are out there thinking about maybe getting in a fight with Broadway at some point, think again.