Why TCU football coach Sonny Dykes expects Horned Frogs to make big jump in 2025
Entering his fourth season as head coach of the TCU football program, Sonny Dykes believes 2025 will be a pivotal year for the Horned Frogs.
While other teams like Texas Tech and Arizona State have dominated the preseason headlines as Big 12 favorites, in Dykes’ mind the Horned Frogs have everything they need to reach the Big 12 title game at AT&T Stadium starting with quarterback Josh Hoover and the return of both coordinators.
“I thought he really finished the season last year,” Dykes said Wednesday at Big 12 Football Media Days. “I’m really excited about who he is, what kind of leader he is, what type of player he is. I think having (defensive coordinator) Andy Avalos back for year two, I think we’re going to make some huge strides defensively.
“Kendal Briles is going into year three as offensive coordinator, I think our guys know what to do and how to do it. I expect us to make a big jump as a program.”
What’s a big jump for a team that finished last season 9-4 after winning six of their final seven games? It’s making the leap from good to a College Football Playoff contender.
Setting the standard so high is a sign of how much confidence Dykes has in the roster and the program he’s built since he took over for Gary Patterson in November 2021.
“What is a successful season for us? For us to reach our potential,” Dykes said. “If you go back to 2022 and you said what would’ve been a successful season from the outside looking in, maybe it was seven or eight wins. We went 12-0 and ended up playing for a national championship.
“So for us it’s really about reaching our potential, what does that look like? I don’t really know that yet, a lot of that is going to be how these pieces come together.”
The main pieces Dykes is talking about will revolve around TCU’s ability to stop the run and establish their own run game.
One-dimensional teams rarely compete for conference championships and establishing balance will be essential for TCU to navigate what may be the most difficult slate in the Big 12.
“The big thing is we have to be able to run the football on offense,” Dykes said. “Our offense really works at a high level when we can run the ball. We have some young running backs, I think Nate Palmer really asserted himself in the spring.
“I’m very excited about him, he’s a young player that has a tremendous opportunity. Jeremy Payne is another very exciting young player that was really our most productive running back last year.”
Both have the talent and upside to become the lead running back, which would be the first major step to TCU getting back to level of contention.
There are less questions on defense as that unit returns Bud Clark, Namdi Obiazor and has completely transformed the depth and talent of the defensive line room. There’s one position group that Dykes believes is the best he’s had since he took over in Fort Worth.
“I think we’ll be able to do more things defensively,” Dykes said. “We’ve got more depth outside at the cornerback position that I think will allow us some freedom that we haven’t had in the past to be a little more exotic in some of the things we do defensively. I think we got six or seven guys I would feel comfortable playing which is something we haven’t had in the past.”
The Horned Frogs have one of the Big 12’s best quarterbacks, depth across the board and continuity on the roster and in the coaching staff.
The foundation has been set for a run back to Arlington and Dykes is embracing the expectations that come with the roster he has built.
“I think we’re at that point as a program where if we’re not in the Big 12 championship game it’s probably not a successful season,” Dykes said. “That’s where we want to be and we think we’re a team, year in and year out, that should be in the Big 12 title hunt. We think this team is capable of doing that, we’ll see how it plays out.”
This story was originally published July 9, 2025 at 2:18 PM.
