Four early surprises from TCU football training camp
The first three practices of fall training camp are in the books for TCU as the season opener against North Carolina quickly approaches.
It was a productive opening stretch of camp for the Horned Frogs, who got a number of key contributors back lengthy injuries from last season.
So far, the Horned Frogs have been able to avoid injuries at camp, a goal for every single college team in the country.
The usual stars have made many plays from Eric McAlister winning most of his reps during 1-on-1s or Bud Clark intercepting Josh Hoover off a deflection caused by Jamel Johnson during Sunday’s practice. But there have been a few Horned Frogs that have been pleasant surprises so far at camp.
Here’s a look at four of them:
Dozie Ezukanma, WR
Breakdown: The Horned Frogs will have a difficult task of replacing three receivers currently on NFL rosters. While the Horned Frogs return McAlister and added veteran receivers Jordan Dwyer and Joseph Manjack from the portal, the wide receiver position still feels a bit unsettled. That’s where a young player like Ezukanman comes into the mix.
The redshirt freshman took a step during the spring and has continued that developmental momentum in the first stages of camp. Ezukanma has grown as a route runner, earning praise from wide receivers coach Malcolm Kelly, during 1-on-1s on Sunday and he’s also gotten stronger with battling for contested passes. He already has the speed and length, but now Ezukanma is starting to refine his game. There’s optimism around the program he could excel in the role McAlister had last year, when he was the first receiver off the bench but still had over 700 yards.
Ezukanma has the inside track right now to be one of the first receivers in the rotation.
Tristan Johnson, DL
Breakdown: It can be hard for defensive linemen to stand out when there’s little to no tackling in practice, but Johnson hasn’t had an issue still making flash plays. He was one of the top reserves during spring camp and there hasn’t been any drop off in camp.
The redshirt freshman has run with the second team defense at defensive tackle and showed how effective he can be against the run while TCU was working on its red zone offense on Sunday. Johnson was a rock in the middle, limiting space for the running backs to find holes and he also earned praise from Sonny Dykes on the first day of practice on Friday.
“Tristan Johnson is a guy that stood out during the spring,” Dykes said Friday. “Today I thought he showed up. There’s going to be a ton of competition at (defensive line).”
Jacobe Hayes, WR
Breakdown: Hayes was a late addition to TCU’s 2025 recruiting class after the Horned Frogs flipped the former Mansfield standout from North Texas. So far, it’s proven to be a wise decision as Hayes has turned many heads with his opening performance at camp.
The 5-foot-10 freshman’s speed has been easy to see in both teams and 1-on-1 settings. His best play of camp came while working with freshman quarterback Adam Schobel. After Schobel fumbled a handoff exchange with a running back, he came right back on the next play and threw a nice seam pass to Hayes for an at least 20-yard gain. With his type of speed, there’s a chance Hayes could work himself up the rotation with other fellow freshmen like Ed Small and Terry Shelton.
Kylin Jackson, S
Breakdown: There aren’t many positions up for grabs on defense, but one of them is the nickel safety position and Jackson has made a strong opening statement that he should receive consideration to start. The LSU transfer plays with swagger and a refreshing level of physicality even if there’s no live tackling going on during the drill.
Jackson had a nice run stop during the red zone team drill on Sunday and in general has caused the most havoc at the position going back to the spring. The nickel safety is essentially a hybrid linebacker/corner position in TCU’s defense. The nickel needs to be able to be a quality run defender, but also have the ability to cover slot receivers or even tight ends.
Jackson has the talent and upside to do it. The battle between him and Austin Jordan will be one to watch the rest of camp.
TCU will resume fall camp on Tuesday.
