TCU nails down one of its highest-rated recruiting classes in history
During Gary Patterson’s 17-season tenure as the head coach of TCU football, Horned Frogs’ recruiting classes have gone from ho-hum to oh wow.
Winning begets better classes, which in turn (hopefully) begets more winning. That is the perfect storm every college football fan dreams about for their team.
TCU, which finished ranked No. 9 after going 11-3 and winning the Alamo Bowl, announced its latest recruiting class Wednesday afternoon on National Signing Day.
It’s the second highest-rated class in program history, rated No. 25 by 247Sports. The 2016 class – which included Darius Anderson, Sewo Olonilua and Mat Boesen – rated No. 21.
“This class will go down as one of the best classes in the Patterson era,” 247Sports recruiting analyst Jeremy Clark said. “It shows the level of improvement the coaches have achieved on the recruiting trail. TCU has gone head to head with the blue bloods of college football; they’ve beat the likes of Texas, Oklahoma, LSU, Texas A&M and Alabama for kids in this class. When fans look back on this class four years from now that they’re going to be very pleased.”
The class includes the highest-rated recruit ever to sign with TCU, dual-threat quarterback Justin Rogers. The Bossier City (La.) Parkway graduate is rated the third-best dual-threat quarterback prospect in the county and 43rd best overall recruit.
Patterson had to cancel his usual signing day press conference because of a root canal, according to a school source. Another reason for the cancellation is that TCU was still in the mix for Vernon Jackson, a four-star linebacker who appears to be leaning toward Texas A&M. Jackson hadn’t announced his decision as of 5:30 p.m. Wednesday.
Most of the class signed during the early signing period in December. Four defensive players made it official on Wednesday, including linebacker Jacoby Simpson, safety Hidari Ceasar, cornerback Derius Davis and linebacker Izaih Filikitonga. Filikitonga hails from Euless Trinity.
Among the 22-man class, the most represented positions were offensive line and defensive backs with five each. The linemen include two tackles, two guards and a center. The secondary added three safeties and two cornerbacks. Of course, Patterson’s staff, as it has numerous times in the past, could switch any of the recruits to another position. TCU added three wide receivers, three linebackers and two athletes.
The class includes a TCU-best nine players rated as four-star recruits by at least one service. Two of the four-star prospects, Rogers and offensive tackle Anthony McKinney, enrolled in January. Athlete Taye Barber and tight end Pro Wells also enrolled early. Barber is one of two players in the class labeled as athletes. Clark says Barber will be a receiver.
“He’s a slot type that has some big jets,” Clark said. “I heard he’s already making quite the impression on campus.”
2018 TCU recruiting class
Justin Rogers
School: Bossier City (La.) Parkway
Position: Quarterback
Rating: Four-star
Ranking: No. 43 nationally, No. 3 QB nationally, No. 3 in Louisiana
Anthony McKinney
School: Iowa Western CC
Position: Offensive tackle
Rating: Four-star
Ranking: No. 12 nationally, No. 3 OT nationally, No. 1 in Iowa
Taye Barber
School: Cypress Springs
Position: Athlete
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: No. 575 nationally, No. 45 ATH nationally, No. 79 in Texas
Pro Wells
School: Northwest Mississippi CC
Position: Tight end
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: No. 69 nationally, No. 4 TE nationally, No. 17 in Mississippi
Atanza Vongor
School: South Grand Prairie
Position: Safety
Rating: Four-star
Ranking: No. 189 nationally, No. 16 S nationally, No. 21 in Texas
Tevailance Hunt
School: Texarkana, Texas
Position: Wide receiver
Rating: Four-star
Ranking: No. 267 nationally, No. 45 nationally, No. 35 in Texas
Fabian Franklin
School: Hattiesburg (Miss.)
Position: Running back
Rating: Four-star
Ranking: No. 298 nationally, No. 13 RB nationally, No. 3 in Mississippi
Bryson Jackson
School: Kingwood Park
Position: Wide receiver
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: No. 459 nationally, No. 76 WR nationally, No. 65 in Texas
Trevon Moehrig-Woodard
School: Smithson Valley
Position: Cornerback
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: No. 468 nationally, No. 47 CB nationally, No. 66 in Texas
Ben Wilson
School: Sumner (Wash.)
Position: Linebacker
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: No. 550 nationally, No. 27 inside LB nationally, No. 6 in Washington
John Stephens
School: Logansport (La.)
Position: Athlete
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: No. 580 nationally, No. 47 ATH nationally, No. 22 in Louisiana
Ochaun Mathis
School: Manor
Position: Defensive end
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: No. 737 nationally, No. 43 DE nationally, No. 102 in Texas
John Lanz
School: Denton Guyer
Position: Center
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: No. 820 nationally, No. 14 C nationally, No. 116 in Texas
Chase Van Wagoner
School: Lucas Lovejoy
Position: Wide receiver
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: No. 870 nationally, No. 132 WR nationally, No. 122 in Texas
Ian Burnette
School: Wimberley
Position: Guard
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: No. 937 nationally, No. 38 OG nationally, No. 132 in Texas
Esteban Avila
School: South Grand Prairie
Position: Guard
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: NA nationally, No. 45 OG nationally, No. 150 in Texas
Kris Dike
School: Van
Position: Offensive tackle
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: NA nationally, No. 100 OT nationally, No. 153 in Texas
Hidari Ceasar
School: Monroe (La.) Richwood
Position: Safety
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: NA nationally, No. 96 S nationally, No. 51 in Louisiana
Jacoby Simpson
School: Aldine MacArthur
Position: Linebacker
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: No. 626 nationally, No. 96 ILB nationally, No. 87 in Texas
Derius Davis
School: Saint Francisville (La.) West Feliciana
Position: Cornerback
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: No. 980 nationally, No. 86 CB nationally, No. 42 in Louisiana
Izaih Filikitonga
School: Euless Trinity
Position: Linebacker
Rating: Three-star
Ranking: NA nationally, No. 81 OLB nationally, No. 168 in Texas
Stefan Stevenson: 817-390-7760, @StevensonFWST
This story was originally published February 7, 2018 at 6:07 PM with the headline "TCU nails down one of its highest-rated recruiting classes in history."