Inside look: Why TCU wide receiver Jack Bech deserves to be an All-American
He has more receiving yards than Colorado’s Travis Hunter, more touchdowns than Alabama’s Ryan Williams and more receptions than Ohio State’s Jeremiah Smith.
You can put TCU wide receiver Jack Bech’s numbers against the nation’s best and they’ll speak for themselves about the type of season he is having.
As college football approaches awards season, the players mentioned above will surely land on plenty of All-American and all-conference lists. Bech doesn’t have the national hype of some of the other star receivers, but he has more than earned a spot as an All-American.
But it’s not just Bech’s 982 yards or nine touchdowns that makes him deserving of the honor, it’s what he’s overcome off the field that’s truly made his breakout season so special.
Finding his faith
Bech’s first year in Fort Worth didn’t go as planned after he transferred in from LSU. Bech had a bright start to his career, but a coaching change led to Bech entering the transfer portal. Coming off of a national championship appearance and possessing a wide open, pass heavy offense, TCU was a natural fit.
Yet, the Horned Frogs underachieved in 2023 as the program limped to a 5-7 record. Bech missed four games and chunks of the offseason as he managed a career-low 146 receiving yards on 12 catches. It was a frustrating year.
“It’s definitely always hard when you have injuries you’re dealing with,” Bech said. “I had an injury from my sophomore year at LSU that was lingering, I transferred here and it was still bothering me. I wasn’t able to do spring workouts or any spring football. Come the season, I still wasn’t back to where I wanted to be, back to my usual self.
“Then I ended up getting a high ankle sprain and having tight rope (surgery) on that. There was a bunch of stuff I was dealing with.”
As a freshman in 2021 Bech led LSU with 43 receptions and also added 489 yards. Over the next two seasons he had just 28 catches for 346 yards.
What started as a promising college career now seemed to be in jeopardy as Bech’s eligibility clock was ticking down. It was at that point that Bech realized he was at a crossroads with two paths to take.
“You can either take the path of ‘Why me?’ or the path that the lord doesn’t love you, he doesn’t care about you,” Bech said. “Or you could dive deeper into your faith and start praying more and more and understand that everything truly happens for a reason.
“Through my faith, my belief and trust in God, you can get through anything. Every morning I just thank him for the good times and the bad times. If you don’t have those bad times, you can’t truly grow and become the person you want to end up being. I thank him for everything he’s put me through.”
Bech believes the adversity he dealt with has not only made him a better receiver, it’s also helped him become a better person with one of his goals being to give back to others as much as possible.
Bech has always had strong religious conviction and coming to TCU only helped him strengthen that bond. One person that helped strengthen his relationship with God is TCU quarterback Josh Hoover.
“We’re all on the same page with our faith you know? He’s a firm believer in Christ,” Bech said. “He leads a bible study every week that we all go to. He’s always going to be at chapel, mass or whatever it is.”
Bech said Hoover’s belief that the players are bigger than football has resonated with the team and is one of the many reasons they have such good chemistry on the field.
“We share that same belief that no matter what happens we’re still loved and cared about,” Hoover said. “We don’t have to go prove our worth every Saturday, we can go out there and play free and trust that whatever happens is a part of the plan for our lives. There’s not the pressure that other people feel.”
Hoover said Bech’s unyielding belief and his sense of humor are two of his favorite things about his receiver. Bech’s belief also paid off after the 2023 season as he was presented with an opportunity to find his way back to old self on the field.
Before the breakout
It’s been a surprise to many to see Bech be TCU’s leading receiver while also ranking in the top 10 nationally for receiving yards, but Bech offered a glimpse of what was to come during spring football.
Through injuries and load management, TCU had most of its scholarship receivers out during spring camp with the exception of Bech, Boise State transfer Eric McAlister and a few other younger players. Hoover also missed the spring with a back injury.
With so much experience on the sidelines, someone had to step up and it was Bech that answered the call.
“He showed us his versatility,” outside wide receivers coach Malcolm Kelly said. “We moved him outside some in the spring, he was primarily inside, but we gave him some opportunities on some jump balls and contested catches. He came through, he was consistent.
“We had guys out, some we were keeping out and he had an opportunity to do it and he did it.”
Hoover, who spent spring camp watching every detail he could, said he was blown away by how Bech performed in camp and had an idea it could translate to the regular season.
“I think it was the first time he was truly healthy since he’s been here,” Hoover said. “He was kind of banged up when he got here, but in the spring you saw what he could do while he was truly healthy. He was explosive and it was really cool to see. I knew he had that ability, I didn’t know how it was all going to play out, but I would say it played out perfectly.”
By the time spring ball was done, Sonny Dykes called Bech the offense’s MVP for his consistency and production. He caught nearly everything thrown his way and showed he was much more than just a possession receiver with a number of chunk plays against TCU’s defense.
It was also during this time that TCU began to develop the idea of potentially moving Bech outside full time instead of in the slot. A move that Bech was more than eager to make.
“I’ve really been an outside receiver my whole life,” Bech said. “I played inside, outside and a little tight end my first year at LSU. My sophomore year I got moved to only the slot and last year I was in the slot. But man I love the outside, it’s you vs. one other person. Who’s going to be more gritty? Who’s going to prepare better?
“Whenever you’re out there on an island, that’s what I love.”
Bech among the best
It’s the first game of the season against Stanford in Palo Alto and the Horned Frogs are leaning heavily on star receiver Savion Williams early in the game. However as the game wore on, Williams attracted more of the Stanford’s defense’s attention, opening up the door for Bech to take advantage.
He finished that game with six receptions for 139 yards to lead TCU. If you asked fans who would lead TCU in receiving, there probably wouldn’t have been a lot that initially guessed Bech, but the Stanford game was just the beginning of his breakout.
Bech went over 100 yards in four of the first five games including a 200-yard performance against UCF and 166 against SMU. It was a thrilling experience for a player that had been waiting years for this opportunity, but his individual stats didn’t matter as much compared to his most important goal.
“I would say it’s all about the team first,” Bech said. “You always want to get the W first, because that helps everybody out from every aspect. It helps the seniors, juniors trying to get drafted. Or the guys coming up just trying to make a name for themselves, so it’s team-first and trying to get the win.
“Being able to do those things, man it’s truly just God blessed me with an opportunity. It’s not me, it’s never been me, it’s God. I couldn’t be more thankful like I said.”
One thing that helped Bech’s breakout is learning from Kelly. Kelly was a big-time receiver during his playing days as he was an all-conference receiver at Oklahoma and was drafted in the second round of the 2008 NFL Draft by Washington.
He’s already helped develop two former Horned Frogs (Quentin Johnston and Jalen Reagor) into first round picks and now he could have two more draft picks with Bech and Williams this season.
“He’s helped me become a better route runner, he talks to us about having that dog mentality,” Bech said. “He’s done it at the highest level, so he talks to us about running routes better and understanding defenses. Even if a team has been showing man the whole season, with us they might come out in Cover 2. He shows us different clips of how to beat different coverages.
“He’s going to show us everything, every look we might get.”
Under Kelly’s tutelage Bech has elevated his game and plays with a sense of freedom knowing he has room to make mistakes and work through them. Kelly helped empower Bech in his new role and watching it all unfold has been the highlight of the season for him.
“It’s a big deal and it speaks to his consistency, his drive and he’s one of the best dudes to coach,” Kelly said. “I don’t ask my guys a whole lot, I don’t want to turn my guys into robots. You don’t get the full version of the athlete, but the thing I do demand is they know what to do and they go as hard as humanly possible. Jack Bech goes as hard as humanly possible at all times.
“I saw this coming, he’s very competitive and his will to win is second to none.”
Bech has gone from being projected as maybe the fourth or fifth receiver in the pecking order in the preseason to ranking to being No. 5 in the country in receiving yards. He’s been the Horned Frogs leading deep threat weapon and also has been one of the best receivers in the country after the catch.
Everything about Bech’s season, his story, his production and his character on and off the field proves that he should be an All-American.
As much as it would mean for Bech to earn that individual accolade, the more important thing for him is making sure TCU finishes the season strong and that he helps send his teammates out in the best possible way.
“You want the individual recognition, but it’s all about the team first,” Bech said. “You want your team to succeed because if that happens everybody is getting fed, everybody is eating and that’s the main thing.”
This story was originally published November 15, 2024 at 4:00 AM.
