Year in review: Handing out position grades for TCU football

With the regular season and championship weekend finally in the books, it’s time to look back at TCU’s season and how the Horned Frogs performed across the board.

The program wishes it was preparing for a bowl game, but with a 5-7 record TCU missed bowl eligibility after making the national championship game a season ago.

Inconsistency was the theme for most position groups this season, but there was still some groups that were able to stand out.

With that in mind let’s get to it with position grades for TCU:

Quarterback

Grade: C

Breakdown: Chandler Morris and Josh Hoover had flashes where they showed they could be a top tier quarterback in the Big 12. They also had frustrating moments that led to unfortunate losses as well. The two combined to throw 14 picks, including two costly ones by Morris in the 45-42 loss to Colorado in the season opener. Hoover tossed a backbreaking interception late in the first half against Texas that ultimately was the difference.

As a passer, Morris was slightly more efficient with a 65% completion percentage compared to 62.1 for Hoover. However, the offense seemed to function at a higher level with Hoover, who took more deep shots down the field. Hoover threw 15 touchdowns to Morris’ 12. Morris was more of a dual threat with 249 yards on the ground with three touchdowns while Hoover added two rushing touchdowns as well.

So, who was better when they actually played? Hoover would get the slight edge with a B- compared to a C- for Morris. You must account that Hoover got his starts in the toughest part of the schedule and was thrust into action on the fly.

Runnning backs

Grade: B+

Breakdown: Despite losing two running backs to the NFL, the Horned Frogs still had another 1,000 rusher in Emani Bailey. Bailey finished tied for fourth in rushing in the Big 12 with 1,209 yards and eight rushing touchdowns. He was the most consistent player on offense with his hard-running style inspiring his teammates. Bailey also added 184 receiving yards and a touchdown against Oklahoma.

The only reason the group doesn’t get an A is the depth behind Bailey. Alabama transfer Trey Sanders was a solid red zone weapon with six touchdowns, but only managed 176 yards on 48 carries. He was eventually passed up in the rotation for Cam Cook, who only had 16 carries on the year.

Wide receivers and tight ends

Grade: C+

Breakdown: With the receivers you could probably break their grades into two sub sections: With Chandler Morris and with Josh Hoover. With Morris under center, the ball was spread out a lot to different receivers with JP Richardson being Morris’ favorite target. Richardson was a solid pickup from Oklahoma State and was second on the team with 536 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

However, Richardson struggled at times to stay healthy as he dealt with a number of nagging injuries. Savion Williams and Jared Wiley were two players that really shined with Hoover as they both posted career days against Texas and Oklahoma, respectively. Wiley was voted first team All-Big 12 by the league’s coaches and Williams led the team with 573 yards and four touchdowns. JoJo Earle also had a career day with Hoover at quarterback.

Transfers like Jack Bech, Warren Thompson and Jaylon Robinson were hit or miss. Robinson had the most yards out of the trio with 397 yards and a touchdown. Thompson’s season was cut short by an injury and Bech missed four games as well.

Injuries and inconsistent quarterback play stopped this group from receiving a higher grade.

Offensive line

Grade: C-

Breakdown: There was more regression up front than anticipated despite the fact that TCU returned three of its six top offensive linemen from a year ago. While TCU had an 1,000 yard rusher, yards on the ground were difficult to come by at times, especially in the red zone where the Horned Frogs were one of the worst red zone offenses in the country. An inability to win the line of scrimmage in third-and-short situations was the defining theme for the unit.

The early move of pairing Andrew Coker and Brandon Coleman on the same side didn’t work and eventually the two were moved back to their originally positions at tackles. It should be noted Coleman was voted second team All-Big 12 and Jackson State transfer Willis Patrick did wonders for his draft stock with a solid season. The unit wasn’t bad, but the drop off from last year was hard to ignore.

Defensive line

Grade: D+

Breakdown: With no Dylan Horton to deliver flash plays, TCU’s defensive line really struggled, especially in the latter half of the season. Damonic Williams didn’t take a big jump this season, was better than a year ago with three sacks. Outside of him, it was a unit that still needs more talent. Paul Oyewale started the season hot with three sacks in the first three games, but he was eventually benched in favor of Soni Misi.

Misi and Caleb Fox were serviceable. The defensive line was pushed around at the point of attack against the better competition and still struggled to generate consistent pressure against the quarterback in the 3-3-5 defense. This is the area where TCU needs to grow the most for next season.

Linebackers

Grade: C

Breakdown: There was a lot of good and bad with the second level of TCU’s defense starting with the emergence of Namdi Obiazor down the stretch. The former safety moved to linebacker to replace Dee Winters and finished as the team’s leading tackler 84 tackles and four sacks. But Obiazor had his issues early on adjusting, which was to be expected.

Jamoi Hodge was second on the team with 83 tackles and 6.5 stops for loss, but Hodge was exploitable in the passing game like on the game-deciding touchdown pass in the loss to Colorado. Hodge had the lowest grade of all TCU’s linebackers according to Pro Football Focus.

Johnny Hodges was an All-Big 12 linebacker a year ago, but missed most of the season with a hand injury. Shad Banks finished the season strong with 11 tackles against Oklahoma, but he was only graded slightly higher than Hodge. The unit wasn’t TCU’s biggest problem, but it wasn’t a strength either.

Cornerbacks

Grade: C-

Breakdown: Josh Newton saves the corners from having a much lower grade. Newton earned All-Big 12 honors for the second straight season after picking off a pass and having nine more passes defended. He was graded a top-five corner in the Big 12 by PFF and while Newton gave up more plays than a year ago, he was still a reliable shutdown corner and will hear his name called in the NFL Draft.

Transfer corner Avery Helm was the starter most of the year opposite Newton, but didn’t have a great year. PFF graded Helm below 60, well below average for a Power Five starter. He wasn’t great at contesting catches and gave up two crucial completions to Travis Hunter and Adonai Mitchell in narrow losses to Colorado and Texas, respectively.

Junior college cornerback Channing Canada was better in coverage than Helm, but struggled in run support according to PFF. With Newton departing, TCU will need to bring in another corner.

Safeties

Grade: D+

Breakdown: There was belief that TCU could possibly have the best safety group in the country with Millard Bradford, Mark Perry and Bud Clark all returning for another season. It didn’t work out that way as all three saw some level of regression. Clark in particular seemed poised to be a NFL Draft pick with his ball skills, but Clark had to lowest grade of all TCU defensive backs.

He led the team with three interceptions, but gave up just as many touchdowns if not more. Perry unfairly received the brunt of criticism from the fanbase down the stretch. Numbers indicate he wasn’t as bad as fans thought, but his and Bradford’s PFF grades all dropped a notch or two this season. With safeties being so important to the defense, it’s the reason they have to be graded the hardest.

Special teams

Grade: D+

Breakdown: Special teams were superb a year ago with Derius Davis being the best returner in the country and Griffin Kell being one of the most clutch kickers in the country. That didn’t carry over to this season as Kell’s field goal percentage dropped 89.5% to just 66.7% this season. Kell missed three field goals in a three point loss to West Virginia and another against Colorado.

He was asked to hit some difficult kicks, including seven 50-plus yard field goals, but to see that type of drop in accuracy is alarming. The Horned Frogs had just one special teams touchdown, a blocked punt against Nicholls. JoJo Earle had to be benched as a punt returner for JP Richardson. Major Everhart was the lone bright spot with over 600 kick return yards, but his youth showed at times with questionable decisions to take the ball out of the endzone instead of kneel.