This TCU LB earned Big 12 player of the week honors; Frogs get commitment

TCU coach Gary Patterson said he had a special place in his heart for linebacker Jawuan Johnson, a grad transfer from Northern Illinois.

Johnson joined the TCU football program last spring, and has become a vital part of the Frogs’ defense with the rash of injuries to the linebacking corps. Ty Summers has missed multiple games, and Garret Wallow had to switch from linebacker to safety with all the secondary injuries in the middle of the season.

Johnson has made a seamless transition into a more prominent role, the latest being a 12 tackle performance in helping TCU knock off Oklahoma State on Saturday.

Johnson earned Big 12 defensive player of the week honors for his performance, the conference announced Monday.

Along with the 12 tackles, which tied for the team lead with senior safety Ridwan Issahaku, Johnson had one tackle for loss and returned a fumble 15 yards for a touchdown.

The 12 tackles were a personal-best for him in his lone season at TCU, and matches a career-high he set twice in his career at Northern Illinois (the last being a 12 tackle game vs. Duke in last year’s Quick Lane Bowl).

Johnson has 46 combined tackles in TCU’s last five games, including 10-tackle performances in consecutive weeks against Kansas and Kansas State.

Johnson played high school football at New Boston where he was teammates with TCU cornerback Jeff Gladney.

The other winners of the Big 12’s weekly awards was Oklahoma quarterback Kyler Murray as offensive player of the week, Oklahoma running back (and Mansfield product) Kennedy Brooks as newcomer of the week and Oklahoma kicker Austin Seibert as special teams player of the week.

Recruiting updates

Over the weekend, Jason Vaughn announced his commitment to TCU.

Vaughn is a defensive end from the South Florida area, and will add depth to a position need for a TCU team that will lose starting DEs Ben Banogu and L.J. Collier, as well as rotational DEs such as Michael Epley and Ty Summers.

Additionally, TCU has offered a scholarship to Seth Vernon, one of the top JUCO punters in the country. Vernon announced on his Twitter feed that it was his first scholarship offer. The Frogs have also offered JUCO defensive tackle Soni Misi, per his Twitter feed.

This story was originally published November 26, 2018 at 11:47 AM.