Dylan Horton is the latest TCU football player to find success after a position switch
Jerry Hughes played running back in high school and then became an All-American defensive end at TCU. Ben Banogu played quarterback early in his high school days before becoming an All-Big 12 defensive end with the Frogs.
Dylan Horton is following in their footsteps. Horton was a safety coming out of high school and has now emerged as a starting defensive end for TCU.
Horton made his first start at TCU in the season-opening 45-3 victory over Duquesne, finishing with three tackles including one tackle for loss and one quarterback hurry. He’s expected to remain in the starting lineup as TCU hosts California at 2:30 p.m. Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium.
“He’s just going to keep getting better,” TCU coach Gary Patterson said of Horton.
Patterson drew comparisons between Horton and Banogu, which is easy to do. Banogu and Horton are both from north Dallas suburbs — Banogu played at Prosper and Horton at Frisco. Both started off at lower-level Division I schools before landing at TCU — Banogu played at Louisiana Monroe while Horton played two seasons at New Mexico.
And both have similar builds and speed coming off the edge — Banogu was listed at 6-foot-4, 249 pounds; Horton is listed at 6-foot-4, 250 pounds.
The hope is Horton develops into an All-Big 12 caliber player like Banogu. Horton studies film of Banogu and Hughes given their TCU connection and likes being compared to players who have gone on to NFL careers.
“I watch some of their film and see what they do and try to implement it into what I do,” he said. “It’s easy that way because we came from TCU. I try to mimic them or watch them to do better.”
As far as Patterson’s compliments, Horton said: “I feel happy that he’s talking good about me. I just want to make sure that I prove myself on the field, make sure my actions are just exactly what he’s saying.”
Horton, who is majoring in economics with a minor in accounting, has developed into a starting-caliber player by the work he’s put in since leaving high school. He was a 6-foot-4, 202-pound safety leaving Frisco and has consistently added weight over the years.
He started his college career as a linebacker at New Mexico. He played in every game as a true freshman in 2018, finishing with 13 tackles including 1.5 tackles for loss and one sack. He had 23 tackles, including 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, as a sophomore in 2019.
Horton then joined TCU, playing in eight games last season. He had eight tackles, highlighted by a sack in the regular-season finale against Louisiana Tech. He’d like to pile up more sacks this season.
Becoming a sack artist, though, is not something Horton envisioned when he left high school.
“Honestly, I didn’t but I kind of got here a long way,” Horton said. “I’m happy I’m here. When I was playing DB, I couldn’t picture playing defensive end right now. I’m just happy to be here, playing defensive end and doing it.”
The biggest adjustment has been going from reading a play from the secondary as a safety to being at the line of scrimmage as a defensive end.
“The play happens right in front of you,” he said. “I had to adjust that way. That was pretty new to me.
“But playing D-end is playing D-end. You’ve got to make your plays when they come to you.”
Horton made plenty of plays throughout fall camp. His teammates noticed and are expecting good things the rest of the way.
“He’s a very good defensive end,” wide receiver Taye Barber said. “I didn’t know he used to play defensive back so that kind of surprised me a couple of weeks ago. He’s a very good defensive end and he’s getting better week in and week out. I’m excited to see what he does the rest of the season.”
