Why the return of this veteran defensive end was so beneficial for TCU football
One of the stranger stories for TCU football last season was the looming transfer decision of defensive end Paul Oyewale in December.
Two weeks before the Horned Frogs’ win over USC in the Alamo Bowl, multiple reports surfaced that Oyewale intended to enter the transfer portal. Typically when that happens, players leave their old programs and no longer practice.
However, Oyewale went through bowl practices, played in the Alamo Bowl and ultimately never officially entered his name in the portal — and he’s back in Fort Worth for his senior season.
“It all comes down to, I believe in this team, I believe in what we got going on, and they reinforced that,” Oyewale said Tuesday. “I see the vision that we do have. Once we get everybody jelled together and everybody schemed up, we have a bright future.”
Oyewale’s return is significant, as he was the last piece TCU needed to retain its entire defensive front. Oyewale had a career-high 31 tackles last season with two sacks and a forced fumble.
He gives TCU a quality run defender on the edge, and his return will allow the Horned Frogs to experiment with Zach Chapman at the stud position to replace senior Devean Deal.
The Horned Frogs also bring back starting defensive tackles Markis Deal and Ansel Din-Mbuh.
“The D-line and the edges, we’re a really tight group,” Oyewale said. “Getting them to stay, I think we’ll have a really nice D-line as long as we stay healthy, I think we can do a lot of good things.”
Chapman has missed the spring rehabbing from an injury, while Deal has been held out of most team drills to stay healthy.
Their limited action has allowed players like redshirt freshman Chad Woodfork, sophomore Tristan Johnson and transfer Koron Hayward to get plenty of reps. Head coach Sonny Dykes previously said he believed this could be his deepest team, and Oyewale agreed with his assessment when it came to the defensive line.
“I think he’s right. There’s a lot of talent on this team,” Oyewale said. “There’s a lot of depth, but it comes down to the scheme. Once we get the chemistry together, everybody knowing exactly what they need to do in these situations, that’s when the talent can shine.”
Oyewale will play a big role in getting everybody up to speed schematically, as he’ll need to be one of the new leaders on defense with the departure of safety Bud Clark and linebackers Namdi Obiazor and Kaleb Elarms-Orr.
All three will likely be selected in the upcoming NFL draft, but Oyewale said TCU has the pieces needed to replace last season’s stars.
“We lost a lot of key guys, but at the end of the day we got a lot of talent on this team,” Oyewale said. “Once those guys step up it’s not gonna be — yeah, it sucks we lost them — but we have guys who can replace them once they get the experience. That’s what fall camp is. That’s what spring ball is for.
“So once they get that experience in, I think we can replace a lot of those guys in the two-deep.”
TCU’s chances of taking another step defensively will largely come down to whether the defensive line can live up to internal expectations. With Oyewale and the other returners, the Horned Frogs have a chance to have one of the better units in the Big 12.
This story was originally published April 15, 2026 at 5:00 AM.
