TCU football notebook: Which young offensive lineman is turning heads at spring camp?
It can be tough for young offensive linemen to receive playing time earlier in their collegiate careers as they need time to get stronger and adjust to playing against Division I defensive linemen.
After a productive redshirt season, freshman offensive tackle Ryan Hughes has fully acclimated to life to the next level and is on pace to be a key building block on the offensive line for the Horned Frogs.
Hughes appeared in four games last season, including starting at left guard in the Horned Frogs’ New Mexico Bowl win over Louisiana.
Hughes has been running with the first-team offense at left tackle most of the spring and could form a nice tackle duo with Ben Taylor-Whitfield, who has mostly been at right tackle.
Starters haven’t been determined yet, but Hughes has been one of the early standouts up front.
“I’m playing with a lot of confidence, there’s competition, so I’m not going to shy away,” Hughes said. “I’m just going out there doing the best I can do each play and we’ll see what happens.”
Hughes said the playing time he received at the end of last season was huge for his development and confidence.
“Those last four games, it was big,” Hughes said on Thursday. “Coach (A.J.) Ricker came to me after the Baylor game and said ‘Hey we’re going to give you a shot here.’ I felt like that’s prepared me for this upcoming season when we go to North Carolina, so it’s not just jumping off the deep end.”
One thing that allowed Hughes to start fast was his experience from playing 6A football in Texas. Hughes played at The Woodlands near Houston and the Highlanders were always one of the top teams in the area.
The continued development of Hughes will be critical for the Horned Frogs this season as they try to improve a run game that ranked last in the Big 12.
“(The transition) wasn’t overly difficult. The biggest thing is knowing the playbook like the back of your hand,” Hughes said. “Most of the guys in my class are physically ready to play. Playing 6A ball in Houston, it’s definitely the best there is. It definitely prepares you for college ball.”
While TCU has only had practice in full pads during spring camp, Hughes believes the running game is trending in the right direction.
During Thursday’s practice a number of running backs had big plays including multiple touchdowns from Nate Palmer plus some chunk plays produced by Jeremy Payne and Kevorian Barnes.
Hughes and the rest of the offensive linemen are fully aware of what the rushing numbers were last season and Ricker has challenged everyone in the room to change their mindsets.
“It’s just a mentality. We’re going to establish the run in these 15 practices,” Hughes said. “And then when fall camp comes around that’s going to be our priority. We know we can pass it, but we’re able to run it too.”
The Horned Frogs will return to practice at 6 p.m. Friday. The practice was originally supposed to be open to fans, but those plans have changed due to expected rain.
