This TCU linebacker leads the Big 12 in tackles. That isn’t necessarily a good thing.
TCU linebacker Garret Wallow is pleased to see his name atop the Big 12 leaders in tackles. The 113 stops show how active he’s been in the Horned Frogs’ defense.
“It’s important for me, I guess. It’s always good to see my accomplishments,” said Wallow, who has led the team in tackles in nine of 11 games.
“But at the end of the day I always want to see my team win. My accomplishments aside, it doesn’t really mean much to me unless my team is happy, my team is winning, so that’s the main thing I focus on.”
So far this season, TCU has lost more than its won despite impressive individual seasons from players such as Wallow. At 5-6, the Frogs are facing a must-win situation for bowl eligibility when they face West Virginia (4-7) on Friday.
Kickoff is set for 3:15 p.m. at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
Expect Wallow to have another standout game as he’s recorded double-digit tackles six times, including three of the last four games. In TCU’s 28-24 loss to Oklahoma last week, Wallow finished with a team-leading 16 tackles, including two for loss.
That performance pushed Wallow over the 100-tackle mark for the first time in his career. In fact, Wallow has almost twice as many tackles as TCU’s second leading tackler, safety Trevon Moehrig (58).
Only one other player, redshirt freshman safety Ar’Darius Washington, has more than 40 tackles with 42. Safety Vernon Scott (39) and defensive tackle Ross Blacklock (38) round out the top five.
This isn’t a positive trend in coach Gary Patterson’s mind.
“No. 1, it’s not a good thing when somebody has this many tackles,” Patterson said. “That means a lot of guys are not making tackles. So when one guy is making a lot of tackles, that’s usually not a positive thing.
“But in respect to Garret, you have the ability to make those tackles. We had some guys in space last week that didn’t make those tackles, and some of the younger guys, they’ve got to get ready for the speed of that kind of a game. But outside of that, he’s one of our leaders. He’s been a captain all year, and we’re glad he’s coming back next year.”
For his career, Wallow has 193 tackles, 20.5 tackles for loss and four passes defended in 38 games. Pretty impressive considering Wallow joined TCU as a three-star safety prospect out of New Orleans John Curtis Christian School before transitioning to linebacker.
As Patterson said, Wallow has developed into a defensive leader and the linebacker corps has promise for the future.
Freshmen Wyatt Harris and Dee Winters have each made starts at linebacker, as well as sophomore Ben Wilson. All are expected to return next season along with Wallow.
Asked about being the “old man” of the group, Wallow could only smile. It wasn’t too long ago he was the youngster learning under proven vets such as Ty Summers.
“It’s been a good experience,” Wallow said. “I found a lot in myself mentoring those guys, helping those guys out. Crazy or not, the more I help them out, the more I even learn to better myself. So it’s a good experience.
“It’s different because I’m not really used to it. Like last year, I had a bunch of older guys in the room. It was kind of weird at first, being the oldest guy in the room, but it’s a good experience. I enjoy spending time with those guys. I enjoy seeing them get better and better every day, and I enjoy motivating those guys and keeping their head up, and keep them going.”
This story was originally published November 27, 2019 at 9:00 AM.
