TCU’s Green produces like No. 1 back but embraces committee role

Aaron Green has every right to think of himself as the lead back for TCU — that’s the way he made it look down the stretch last season.

The senior from San Antonio topped 100 yards in four of the last six games in the regular season, and his 7.1 yards per carry for the season was third best in Big 12 history.

He thinks like a lead back. He produced like a lead back. Yet he’s preparing to be part of a committee.

“We have a really talented running back group, probably the most talented running back group I’ve ever been a part of, honestly,” he said. “We make each other better. We encourage each other. I expect a big year from all of us.”

He’s not alone there.

Coach Gary Patterson said Green, sophomore Kyle Hicks, redshirt freshman Shaun Nixon and sophomore Trevorris Johnson are “all four No. 1’s” heading into the Sept. 3 season opener at Minnesota.

So the Horned Frogs are going to try to use all four. But the bulk of the work might still come down to Green’s legs — and hands — after a season of rejuvenation.

“Hopefully, he’ll just pick back up where he left off and continue to feel more comfortable in pass protection,” co-offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie said. “We may be able to get him the ball a little differently out of the backfield. His vision is really strong. He’s always putting his foot in the ground and going north and south.”

Green put a highlight finish on his 2014 season with a 31-yard touchdown catch in the Peach Bowl against Ole Miss, shooting up the middle of the field for a ball from receiver Kolby Listenbee to ignite the Frogs’ 42-3 victory.

He added a 15-yard touchdown run later in the first quarter, finished with 114 total yards, and wound up the team’s all-purpose yardage leader for the season with 922 yards rushing and 166 receiving. Green, who went from backup to starter because of an injury to B.J. Catalon eight games in, had delivered on what he wanted — a chance.

“I always knew what I was capable of doing,” he said. “I just knew I needed a shot. I just gave myself a little taste, the rest of Horned Frog Nation a taste of what I could do. Now I’m just really ready to give a whole season of it.”

The final six games of the regular season, when he averaged 107 yards and a touchdown and averaged 7.8 yards per carry, were probably what Green envisioned when he came out of San Antonio’s Madison High School in 2011 as a four-star recruit ranked the 11th-best player in the country by ESPN.

But after a year with the Cornhuskers, getting only 25 carries, he had second thoughts. A transfer to TCU panned out, but he still had to sit a year.

Even after he became eligible with the Frogs, restarting his career was not as easy as it sounded. His days as a big recruit were two years in the past, and hot new recruits are always coming in.

“I kind of had a rocky road here, with the transfer, not playing as much,” he said. “But I wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s grown me up as a man. It’s humbled me a lot, and I wouldn’t rather be any place but here. The things that I’ve learned in my time here, in my time at Nebraska, that’s stuff I’ll be able to take and pass down to my kids or another young football player.”

Green is being rewarded for his faith, said receiver Josh Doctson, who transferred into TCU the same year.

“Aaron is tremendous. I’ve always seen that in Aaron,” Doctson said. “When we weren’t playing, it was a little hard for us. Everybody wants to play. But putting in the work and the effort, all the time, the dedication — it’s kind of an indescribable feeling where we are today and where we were three years ago.”

Green didn’t have to teach himself to wait for his moment.

“I’m a patient person,” he said. “It’s how I was raised. I’m a humble person. So when things don’t go my way, I sit back, encourage others. When it’s time for me to ball, I ball.”

When he stepped in as Catalon’s replacement, Green gave the Horned Frogs as much or more production. The offense showed its trust in him over the final seven games, and he repaid it with explosive plays.

“That’s how I’ve played my whole life, whether it’s basketball, football, soccer; I’ve always been the one to make the big play,” Green said. “That’s what I pride myself on.”

He was sincere when he said he wanted to pass the lessons on. He tells his fellow running backs to seize their moment. He was in their place a year ago.

“I tell them all the time, ‘Man, you just don’t know what I’ve been through to get here, the discouraging thoughts, starting to doubt yourself a little bit,’” he said. “But deep down, you know you can play. Then, when you finally got your shot, saying you made it happen. And I tell all of them the same thing, because all of them are extremely talented. And I know this year, they’re all going to do great things.”

This story was originally published August 18, 2015 at 11:48 PM with the headline "TCU’s Green produces like No. 1 back but embraces committee role."