Posted on January 10, 2007
Filed Under 2007 Recruiting | 14 Comments
Over the next few days I will highlight potential recruits at each position and hopefully provide some insight as to how this class will shape up. Instead of a position, today I will look at potential junior College transfers, especially since the early signing date ends Monday (January 15th) and classes begin on that date also. If they are going to get a player in for Spring drills this is the final weekend.
Coach Gary Patterson has stated that the 3 positions they would most like to fill with JUCO players are QB, WR and S, in addition they have looked at bringing in a DT from the JUCO ranks. Players at other positions have expressed an interest in attending TCU, but I will focus on those 4 spots.
QB:
Three of the bigger names we have heard about, John David Weed from Tyler, Brian Savage from Coffeyville and Mike Greco from Pearl River have decided to attend other schools (BU, Hofstra & UCF) and that has narrowed the options. Of the more highly rated quaterbacks left, Billy Bob Orsagh has been mentioned with TCU. Orsagh at 6-1/185 is from Eastland, Texas and played at Highlands CC in Kansas last season where he was the KJCCC Offensive Player of the year. In nine game he threw 272 times completing 162 of those passes for 2100 yards and 13 TDs, he also rushed for 372 yards on 62 attempts. Overall Orsagh looks like a good fit for TCU except he also threw 12 interceptions to go with the 13 touchdowns. I think the coaches would have liked to see more of him in a Div I setting (walk-on) before commiting to an offer, but look for Orsagh to take his skills to a Div II team. So with all these names gone, what does that leave for TCU?
Brad Guidry-(6-7/235) played at Blinn College after graduating from Rusk High School. Helped lead Blinn to a National Championship with a 12-0 record. Guidry completed 62.4% of his passes (128 of 205) for 1525 yards, 17 TDs and only 4 interceptions. Coach Brad Franchione has called Guidry the best kept secret in junior college football.
Paul Eck of Butler County CC in Kansas. Eck is 6-4/200 with a 4.65 time in the 40. He completed 123 passes in 249 attempts for 1774 yds, 17 TDs and 9 ints.
Brice Beck 6-4/235/4.65 transferred from Iowa State to Northeast Mississippi College. Brice has a good arm but had a difficult season at NE Mississippi.
Jarred Wallace 6-3/210 played for Kilgore College and completed 53% of his passes in 9 games with 8 TDs, 3 ints and 1186 yards. Played sparringly to start the season and was the 4th starting QB for Kilgore when he finally took over the reigns. Finished strong and is a good looking prospect.
WR
Demetrious Byrd from Pearl River is probably the biggest name left on the board however TCU doesn’t appear to be in his plans. Lots of wide-outs left, but many are difficult to judge, kids such as John Knox and Wallace Franklin have committed elsewhere and of the leading receivers in the NJCAA only a few sophmores worth looking at are left. One name is:
Brandon Dixon 6-5/203 played at Highland CC with Orsagh. Good speed at 4.5 in the 40 and had 30 receptions for 503 yards and 5 TDs. 2nd Team all-conference and originally from Glynn Academy in Georgia.
Safety
Nevin McKenzie from Trinity Valley CC in Athens, TX is the name most mentioned. At 6-2, 201 pounds with 4.4 speed McKenzie is a highly coveted prospect. Gene Anderson from Pearl River is a strong safety with 4.5 speed to go with his 6-1 and 208 pound frame. Anderson is another prospect with lots of offers. Others in the mix include:
Derrick Raymer (6-1/215/4.65) Garden City athlete and all-american punter.
Scooter Rogers (6-1/190/4.5) Fort Scott CC
Walner Leandre (6-2/230/4.6) Blinn JC all-american
Javorris Jackson (6-4/210/4.5) Vermillion CC 1st Team all-american
Defensive Tackle
It appears that Nebraska decided to take all of the JUCO defensive tackles it could handle and what is left could be bare. Ben Gugler is a hard working interior lineman for Butler CC. At 6-3 and 290 pounds he has good size and was an all-state DT in Kansas (Salina). He was a 235 pound linebacker as a junior in high school so he has really grown, but has maintained good speed. Others to watch are:
Chris Weir (6-3/270/4.75) Independence CC-good strength & speed. 52 tackles, 10 TFL, 5 sacks and 2 forced fumbles.
Michael Jordan (6-6/280/4.8) DE from Eastern Arizona CC has the size and strength to move inside.
John Olie (6-3/320) from Navarro. Originally an OL in high school at LD Bell in Hurst.
I am sure the coaches have many others in mind but will be interesting to see if the will be able to fill some of the gaps this weekend and here’s hoping they do!
Posted on January 8, 2007
Filed Under 2007 Recruiting | 7 Comments
Always big questions each year is how many scholarships can TCU offer and what are the areas of most need. The number of available slots is generally easy to figure just by looking at the returning players. The Frogs have 62 or 63 returning players on scholarship based upon last year’s roster (the question being Robert Merrill). However, Coach Gary Patterson has said that they can offer between 23 to 25 recruits this year so there are possibly some players not returning due to injury or other circumstances. Not going to speculate on those players, but several on the roster have had chronic injuries and may decide they have had enough.The positions of need is a little trickier. I use a 3 deep roster and make adjustments in cases where there may be heavy experience or little experience at those positions. Her is my basic position analysis using those guidelines:
RB: require 3 and return 4 (Brown, James, Turner & Watts). Position is adequately filled by returning players, but is a position with high injury rates. Staff will take at least 2.
Fullback: Require 3 and return 2 (Smith & Jackson). Several of the RBs can be moved here and position is not used heavily in games. Would think they need 1 and may take an athlete who can play here or another position.
Quarterback: Require 3 and return 3 (Jackson, Dalton & Eskridge). Position appears to be adequately filled, but this is an extremely young group so a JUCO QB may help. Also another position with high injury rate so look for at least one QB recruit.
WR: Require 9 and return 9 (Christian, Johnson, Renfro, Young, Brock, Dickerson, Massey, Moore & Bryant). Again it looks like we are fine at WR, but 4 of the returning 9 are currently freshmen and 4 will be seniors next year. A JUCO WR would really help close the experience gap. Also the 4 freshman are all 6-0 and this being another high injury position look for at least one incoming freshman, a bigger body freshman.
TE: Require 3 and return 4 (Frosch, Englert, Cunigan & Reagan) Position is filled but insurance may be needed. Look for at least an athlete versatile enough to fill this position if needed.
OL: Require 15 and return 14 (Lindner, Montgomery, Phillips, Schlueter, Cannon, Kirkpatrick, Newhouse, Vernon, Sefton, Marrou, Richmond, Sisk, Clark, Raetz) In addition several walk-ons have added great support so look for only 1 OL in this class.
DL: Require 12 and return 10 (Blake, Ortiz, Leatch, Christopher, Hughes, Daniels, Grant, Niutei, Vess & Moore) Need 2 but because of the youth at DT look for possible support from a JUCO. Also this is a critical position with heavy rotation so they will bring in additional freshmen as available.
LB: Require 6 and return 6 (Henson, Hawthorne, Washington, Ingram, Panfil and Phillips) At least one Lber will be taken to add support.
CB: Need 6 and return 4 (Ibiloye, Sanders, Priest and Stewart) need 2 and should get at least 2.
S: Need 9 and return 6 (Jones, Roach, Hunter, Coleman, Hodge & Bonner) Need 3 and they cannot seem to catch up at this position. Look for at least 4 taken.
So the needs are most at safety (3), cornerback (2), defensive line (2), offensive line (1) and a big wide receiver. In addition support at safety, defensive line, linebacker, quarterback, wide receiver and running back bring the needs of this class to 15 players. This should allow the coaches to take 8 to 10 players who are versatile athletes and the best players available which is a luxury they have not had in the past to this degree.
Finally, how do the 13 announced commits fill the needs so far:
Safety (4): Thomas, Fobbs & Johnson
Cornerback (2): None
Defensive line (2): Fitch, Griffin & Gardner
Offensive line (1): Thompson
Big wide receiver (1): None
Linebacker (1): Shivers
Quarterback (1): None
Wide receiver (1): None
Running back (1): Caveness & Hunter
Of the missing pieces, Jeremey Kerley can play either WR or fill a S position, and Kendall Hunter & Joseph Banyard can move to CB. To fill the big wide receiver spot the coaches are looking at Jonathan Jones from Everman and Sam Roberson from Sommerville. The wide receivers available include Ron Brooks from Irving MacArthur, William Cole from Cedar Hill and Alonzo Adams from Houston Westside. The cornerbacks left are some of the best recruits still out there and include Marcus Ellis from Everman, Derrious Bell from Hillcrest, Greg McCoy from Woodrow Wilson and Tim Hayter from Tyler. Joseph Leary from Copperas Cove, Quinn Ashley from Paris are a few of the safeties still being considered. Don’t ask me who they want as a quarterback.
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