Tie first, TCU

TCU

August 31, 2006

2005 record: 11-1

2005 MWC record: 8-0

2006 predicted record: 10-2

Predicted bowl: Poinsettia Bowl, TCU vs. Fresno State

Head coach: Gary Patterson, sixth

Last bowl appearance: 2005 Houston Bowl, beat Iowa State 27-24

QUARTERBACK: TCU was predicted to finish strong in its first season of MWC play, but the Frogs made it look easier than expected. TCU went through conference play unbeaten at 8-0 and finished the regular season with a 10-1 record before tacking on a Houston Bowl win over Iowa State for an 11-1 mark. One reason the Frogs may repeat is the return of quarterback Jeff Ballard, who earned honorable mention after taking over the starting job in the fifth week of the season. Ballard passed for 1,801 yards with 13 touchdown passes against only seven interceptions. He’s also a threat to run the ball as he finished third on the team with 314 yards rushing while scoring eight touchdowns. Chad Huffman returns as a junior backup.

RUNNING BACK: TCU returns two running backs with all-conference recognition as senior Robert Merrill was honorable mention and Aaron Brown was the Freshman of the Year. Merrill led the team in rushing with 911 yards, 10 touchdowns and 4.9 yards per carry. Brown added 758 yards, six touchdowns and 5.9 yards per carry. Similar to Ballard at quarterback, Merrill emerged as the starter in the third week of the season. Otherwise he might have finished with a 1,000-yard season. His high game for the season was 170 yards at San Diego State when the Frogs avoided an upset with a 23-20 win. In addition to Brown’s 758 yards rushing, he caught 11 passes and scored three touchdowns.

RECEIVER: Two of the three starting wide receivers return with seniors Cory Rodgers and Quentily Harmon. Rodgers was honorable mention as a receiver and first team as a return man. He caught 52 passes for 685 yards and 13 touchdowns. Five of the top six wideouts return with backups Derek Moore, Ervin Dickerson and Michael DePriest. The Frogs also have depth at tight end as Chad Andrus, who caught 10 passes for 115 yards and one touchdown, is a senior returning starter and senior Brent Hecht again plays a backup role.

OFFENSIVE LINE: The bad news for TCU’s strong running game is the Frogs return only one starter up front. One reason TCU was so strong last year was the Frogs played a physical game in the trenches. The good news is that the one returning starter is senior Herbert Taylor. He earned first-team All-MWC honors last year as a right tackle. The rebuilding effort gets a jump start since all five backups return in 2006. Wade Sisk steps up at left tackle, Preston Phillips at left guard, Blake Schlueter at center and Matty Linder at right guard. Backup right tackle Maurice Bouldwin played behind Taylor last year, but he may be too talented to keep out of the lineup at another position.

DEFENSIVE LINE: Juniors defensive ends Tommy Blake and Chase Ortiz are both back as bookend first-team All-MWC picks last year. They combined for 27.5 sacks with Ortiz recording 14 and Blake 13.5. There pressure had a lot to do with TCU’s plus-13 in the turnover ratio. With this kind of young talent returning, the Frogs can think about renewing their series with former Southwest Conference rival Texas, which, in fact, the teams have done for the 2007 season. TCU needs to find new starters in the middle. Jarrarcea Williams takes over at nose guard and Lorenzo Jones has an opportunity at tackle.

LINEBACKERS: Both linebackers return as all-conference honorees after emerging as starters in their redshirt freshman year. Middle linebacker Jason Phillips was a second-team choice and strongside linebacker Robert Henson was honorable mention. The Frogs have depth to go with their talent at the linebacker spots as two backups return at both spots with Ryan Schlenger and Matt Panfil at middle linebacker and David Hawthorne and Andrew Ward at strongside linebacker.

SECONDARY: The secondary could be a weak spot for the Frogs, especially now that they’re playing in the pass happy MWC. There are only two returning starters among the five defensive backs. Marvin White earned honorable mention at rover safety position that doubles as a third linebacker and Eric Buchanan is back at strong safety in his senior season. But all three backups moving into starting roles are seniors, so that will help. The cornerbacks are Drew Coleman and Quincy Butler and the free safety is Elvin Gallegos. Other defensive backs in the mix are Vernon Russell, Rafael Priest and Stephen Hodge.

SPECIAL TEAMS: Two first-team All-MWC picks return on special teams with place-kicker Chris Manfredini and return man Cory Rodgers. Rodgers, in addition to being a starting wide receiver, handles both the punt and kickoff return duties. He returned two kickoffs for touchdown and averaged 15.3 yards per punt return.The Frogs also return senior punter Brian Cortney.