‘TCU was the perfect fit for me.’ Inside how TCU landed German QB Alexander Honig
Alexander Honig had a simple mindset when it came to his recruitment, especially as a prospect from Germany.
“I’m not about all these numbers and getting as many offers as I can,” Honig said. “I just needed one offer that is perfect.”
The perfect offer came on Saturday from TCU, and Honig didn’t take long to accept it from co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Sonny Cumbie. Honig made his commitment public on Monday.
“I knew I wouldn’t get anything better than TCU,” said Honig, a 17-year-old German who speaks perfect English and is the Frogs’ first 2021 commit. “TCU was the perfect fit for me and I had to pull the trigger immediately.
“Plus, being German, I wanted to get it done earlier because they won’t see my season like the Americans, so it’s kind of out of sight, out of mind.”
Honig ranks as one of the most intriguing recruits by TCU in recent memory, playing the most high-profile position in football. He impressed the TCU coaching staff during a camp on Friday.
One person on hand said Honig can “spin it … like for real for real.”
Honig, who is 6-foot-6 and 230 pounds, said he can throw a football 65 yards “easily.” He has 11-inch hands and his 40-yard dash has been timed in the 4.7-second range.
Honig feels he has similar traits to the Buffalo Bills’ Josh Allen, a big-framed, big-armed quarterback who played at Wyoming.
At TCU’s camp, Honig only went through throwing drills. He showed enough natural talent to land an offer, though.
“I feel like when I get to a good university and get the right coaching, I practice two or three times a week now in Germany, but I think my ceiling is real high,” Honig said. “Josh Allen is a guy who’s playing style is very similar to mine.”
Honig also received an offer from Baylor. He had interest from other programs, but some didn’t feel he projected as a quarterback. Penn State, for instance, viewed him as a tight end.
In the end, Honig felt at home with Cumbie and TCU, and liked that they viewed him as a QB first. Oh, and it doesn’t hurt that there are daily direct flights to and from Germany out of DFW Airport.
“I wouldn’t say the decision was based on that, but it was another plus,” Honig said, laughing. “But TCU really wanted me as a QB and Coach Cumbie is a great guy. We did some drills at the camp and his enthusiasm while coaching is great. He has so much enthusiasm running around, rushing us, giving us pressure, and then such a nice guy.
“I felt very welcomed and had a great time at the camp. I can’t wait to go to work with him.”
Honig’s back story
American football is probably not the first thing that comes to mind when “Germany” is mentioned. And it wasn’t an easily accessible sport for Honig in his hometown of Roth, a Bavarian city of 25,000 just south of Nuremberg.
As Honig described it, “It’s a very old city compared to the U.S. We still have buildings from the middle ages over there and cobblestone roads in downtown.”
He paused and chuckled, “An American would say it looks like Disneyland.”
Yes, the Neuschwantstein Castle in Bavaria served as an inspiration for Disneyland’s Sleeping Beauty Castle.
Going back to football, it’s a sport that isn’t widely played in Germany. In fact, football doesn’t even crack the Top 10 most popular sports in Germany.
Soccer, unsurprisingly, is the country’s top sport followed by golf, ice hockey, basketball and Formula 1 racing.
“You have to know someone who has played the sport or sees it on TV,” Honig said of football. “It’s very rare that you’ll run into a game over here. There aren’t many games. It’s a club sport, but I got into it through my dad.”
Honig’s father, James, played in the German Football League in the 1980s and 1990s as a linebacker and later offensive lineman. Watching film of his father’s playing days sparked interest in Honig and he certainly has a knack for the sport.
Jeremy Clark, a recruiting expert and publisher of Horned Frog Blitz, came away impressed watching Honig at TCU’s camp last weekend.
“As an international player you wouldn’t expect him to have the type of mechanics and technique he possessed,” Clark said. “As you would expect with his size, he has a very strong arm, but I was just as impressed with his accuracy, which is something he has worked and been developed at. The Frogs are getting a big-time player.”
DFW-bound
Honig has no regrets about his trip to Texas.
Football seasons in Germany run from April to August, and Honig had to forgo a quarterfinal game in order to make the trip with other European prospects.
“It turned out to be a good decision,” Honig said. “I got an offer from TCU and committed.”
Plus, his team back home won the quarterfinal matchup and he’ll be back in time for the semifinals in two weeks and, hopefully, his team will be playing for the national championship in four weeks.
Maybe there will be more future college football players in that game, too. Honig feels the talent in Europe is getting better and college programs are just starting to scratch the surface.
“I think Europeans are invading college football and it’s going to be even more,” Honig said. “It’s so much easier to send over a tape these days.”
And, hey, one day there may be football’s version of Dirk Nowitzki, the German who became a Mavericks legend and the best European player in NBA history.
That’s the dream for players such as Honig.
“I”m a big fan of Dirk,” Honig said. “He’s the first German to really make an impact over here. There’s more famous soccer players in Germany, but Dirk is really a role model for all of us playing U.S. football and basketball.”
This story was originally published July 31, 2019 at 5:45 AM.