Here’s why coach Sonny Dykes isn’t worried about TCU football’s recruiting ranking
Sonny Dykes’ inaugural recruiting class for TCU football is underwhelming based on the national recruiting rankings. The Horned Frogs were sitting at 54th nationally on 247Sports’ rankings as of Wednesday afternoon.
Dykes isn’t reading too much into it.
“If we went out and signed 27 high school kids, or 25 high school kids, I think this recruiting class would be ranked really high,” Dykes said. “We’re going to do what we think is the best thing for our program. The one thing that we always want to do is be ranked in December and January as opposed to being ranked in February. Those two things go hand-in-hand, don’t get me wrong, but there’s a lot of ways to add talent to your football team. I feel really good about this group.”
Dykes went on to say: “I hate to burst anybody’s bubble, but I think the recruiting rankings in today’s world are really insignificant.”
That’s because they don’t factor in the ever-growing importance of the transfer portal and tend to favor quantity. For Dykes and TCU, the transfer portal is a significant avenue to add talent. And the Frogs vowed not to “reach” for players in the recruiting cycle, taking a deliberate and methodical approach.
TCU wants to acquire talent, of course, but are selective in what players best fit their system and will contribute to a winning culture. Based on the individual player ratings by 247Sports, TCU fared well among Big 12 schools trailing only Oklahoma and Texas. The Frogs’ average player rating was 88.19.
So Wednesday marked just another step in the process of building the roster. Dykes is excited about the prospects they landed — wide receiver DJ Allen of Gladewater; cornerback Ronald Lewis of Warren Easton High School in New Orleans; defensive lineman Connor Lingren of College Station; and defensive lineman Lwal Uguak, a UConn transfer.
The “headliner,” according to Dykes, is Allen. The four-star prospect is the third-highest ranked player in the class. He originally committed to TCU under former coach Gary Patterson and then decommitted amid the coaching change.
But Dykes kept receivers coach Malcolm Kelly on the staff, and that relationship paid off in ultimately retaining Allen. Dykes used terms such as explosive, fast and physical in describing Allen. “Just an outstanding athlete,” he said. “We’re really excited about him.”
Dykes called Lewis a very long and athletic cornerback who makes plays. Lewis had been committed to Texas before flipping to TCU in recent days. “He’s got a lot of upside,” the coach said.
Lingren hadn’t officially signed when Dykes held his signing day news conference but he is a prospect who held offers from schools such as USC, Purdue, Vanderbilt and Virginia.
Uguak, meanwhile, is a college veteran after spending four seasons at UConn. He’ll provide depth and versatility across the D-line.
“Very smart,” Dykes said. “I think he can play a variety of positions up front. I’m excited to see where he fits.”
In all, TCU has added 22 newcomers since Dykes took over. The Frogs added nine players during the early signing period in December; nine through the NCAA transfer portal; and four on Wednesday.
That number should grow with Arkansas running back Trelon Smith expected to become official this week. It’ll grow again in May, too, as TCU is expected to be active in the transfer market following spring practices.
Dykes estimated that eight to 12 players may be added following spring ball. “We’ll add players to our roster all the way up until August and potentially September,” he said. “That’s just the way college football recruiting goes these days.”
Allen to Nebraska
It wasn’t all good news for TCU on Wednesday.
As it goes with every recruiting cycle, there are players the program misses out on.
A notable one this cycle is running back Ajay Allen of Neville High School in Monroe, Louisiana, flipping his commitment from TCU to Nebraska.
Allen committed to TCU in August under the previous staff, but he ended up following former TCU running backs coach Bryan Applewhite to Lincoln.
Portal watch
Dykes has made it no secret that TCU will be active in the transfer portal under his watch. He mentioned a few quarterbacks in the portal expressed interest in joining the Frogs, but the program is standing pat for now.
They have been aggressive at other positions, though. Uguak boosts the defensive line depth and Smith will be another commodity among the running back corps.
Uguak had 34 tackles, including 3.5 for loss, and seven quarterback hurries in 10 games for the Huskies. Smith rushed for 598 yards and five touchdowns for the Razorbacks last season.
Other portal additions include linebackers Terrence Cooks (Texas) and Johnny Hodges (Navy); offensive lineman Alan Ali (SMU); tight end Jared Wiley (Texas); running back Emani Bailey (Louisiana); and defensive backs Mark Perry (Colorado) and Ish Burdine (Missouri).
Ratings bump
TCU had a couple of 2022 signees bumped to “four-star” status this week by 247Sports. Rowlett defensive end Michael Ibuken-Okeyode and Amarillo Tascosa running back Major Everhart, who is expected to be a slot receiver for the Frogs, were elevated in the recruiting rankings.
This story was originally published February 2, 2022 at 2:54 PM.
