TCU Insider: Why running back Trey Sanders sees similarities between TCU and Alabama

Trey Sanders knows a thing or two about winning cultures.

The former five-star running back spent three seasons with Alabama, including the 2020 national championship season, before arriving in Fort Worth this spring.

Sonny Dykes and Nick Saban have very different approaches to how they run their program. Saban is all about the control and sticking to the process down to most minute details.

Dykes is more laid back, creating a player first environment and with an emphasis on a positive quality of life for both the players and the staff. While their approaches may be different, the effectiveness is similar in the eyes of Sanders.

“It’s not necessarily that different, Alabama worked as a championship team too,” Sanders said Friday. “Coach Dykes is very detailed and Coach (Anthony Jones) is detailed too. Everything we do is very detailed and attention to assignment, I would say it’s pretty much the same thing as Alabama, a championship team.”

Landing Sanders in the transfer portal was a direct benefit of TCU’s magical run to the national championship game this past season.

Looking for an opportunity to showcase his skill, TCU just made sense and it certainly helped two of his Alabama teammates JoJo Earle and Tommy Brockermeyer joined him.

If there was any doubt he had about his decision, it was quickly erased when he arrived and watched his new set of teammates begin their off-season workouts.

“The hungriess from everybody, coming off a championship game like that everybody wanted to come back and be the best version of themselves,” Sanders said. “The first day I came to workouts I could see in everybody’s eyes that wasn’t the team that played in January, they wanted to come back and do better this year.”

Sanders added that he’s excited he’ll be able to aid and assist the Horned Frogs this year. Sanders has been in a three-man battle with Emani Bailey and Trent Battle so far during the spring.

There are also high hopes for incoming freshman Cameron Cook and optimism that Corey Wren could also have a bigger year. The running back room is diverse and in Sanders’ eyes, it’s also elite.

“I say we’ve got the best running back room in the country,” Sanders said. “I ain’t just saying that to say that, I ain’t just talking. We work our ass off everyday and we bring it, that’s our goal to be the best running backs in the country.”

It’s lofty praise for his teammates, especially considering TCU is losing two potential NFL backs in Kendre Miller and Emari Demercado. But once again Sanders is speaking from experience having played with NFL backs Najee Harris, Brian Robinson Jr. and soon-to-be rookie Jahmyr Gibbs.

Sanders believes Jones could help join those five in the NFL. Dating back to Memphis, Jones has quietly put together a resume that few can match after developing multiple NFL backs at Memphis like Tony Pollard and Kenneth Gainwell.

“Coach Jones is a helluva running backs coach with a good resume,” Sanders said. “He pushes me everyday to become the best and that was one of the main reasons I chose to come here.”

Now the goal for Sanders is to finish out the spring strong and healthy. He’s shown flashes of the ability that made him a five-star recruit and wants to show his explosiveness in the final days of spring ball.

“I haven’t shown my explosiveness since my sophomore year,” Sanders said. “But I’m excited for this spring game and this season to show people what I’m capable of.”

In his best season at Alabama, Sanders was a productive reserve back rushing for over 300 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 4.4 yards per carry.

If Sanders has it his way, he’ll triple that production in 2023 while helping TCU remain in competition for a championship.