2026 TCU football preview: Can Jaden Craig replace Josh Hoover at quarterback?
The beginning of July means that football season is right around the corner.
The 2026 season will be a pivotal one for TCU head coach Sonny Dykes as he enters his fifth season in Fort Worth. The Horned Frogs have averaged nine wins in Dykes’ first four years, and now the program is hoping to take the leap from good to great.
One key to accomplishing that goal will be the quarterback position, where the Horned Frogs will have a new starter. New offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis is another key factor to TCU’s hopes of elevating as a program, and his primary job will be tailoring a system to the quarterbacks on the Horned Frogs’ roster.
Sammis has a short but strong track record of leading offenses from his time at UConn. Talent won’t be an issue, but will he be able to maximize the talent under center?
The Star-Telegram begins its 2026 TCU football preview with a look at the quarterbacks:
Quarterback
Departing players: Josh Hoover, Ken Seals
Returning players: Adam Schobel
New players: Jaden Craig, Jack Daulton
Projected starter: Jaden Craig
Breakdown: After leading the program for 2.5 seasons, Hoover opted to leave Fort Worth to transfer to Indiana and play for the defending national champions. Hoover threw for 9,629 yards, 71 touchdowns and 33 interceptions during his time with TCU. There’s no doubt he was extremely productive and should enter 2026 as a top-10 quarterback for Hoosiers.
After his departure, TCU was strategic with whom it pursued in the transfer portal and landed on Craig, who starred at Harvard and led the program to the FCS playoffs for the first time. Craig owns multiple passing records for Harvard and checked many of the boxes the Horned Frogs were looking for, as the senior has plenty of experience.
Craig is bigger and more athletic than Hoover with similar arm talent. From an accuracy standpoint, Craig needs to find more consistency against FBS defenses, but showed flashes during the spring. There’s optimism that Craig’s athleticism can provide a new element to the offense through the quarterback run game.
Schobel is a former four-star recruit entering his redshirt freshman season. Listed at 6-foot-5, Schobel didn’t appear in a game last season, but is the future of the quarterback room. He’s still a bit raw, but showed improvement during the spring and should be the second-team quarterback.
TCU has high hopes for Schobel, which is why it pursued a quarterback in Craig with just one year of eligibility.
Daulton is a true freshman who enrolled early during the spring and had good moments working with the third-string offense. It’s expected he’ll redshirt and compete with Schobel next season for the starting job.
Overall, TCU is in a good place at quarterback, with a veteran leader and young talent waiting in the wings.
Biggest question: How will Craig’s game translate to the Power Four level? Making the jump from the Ivy League to the Big 12 will be a significant one, and there could be an adjustment period. Will it just be a series against North Carolina? Or could it take Craig the entirety of the non-conference schedule to find his rhythm? A fast start for Craig equals a fast start for TCU.
Prediction: Craig doesn’t have the cleanest game in the season opener against North Carolina, but ultimately has a strong year, finishing with over 2,800 yards, 21 touchdown passes and under five interceptions. Craig will add more touchdowns on the ground as he rushes for more than 300 yards.
It’s a similar stat line to what Joe Fagnano produced under Sammis last season at UConn. Craig is slightly less productive of a thrower than Hoover, but makes up for it with his ability to extend plays and avoid turnovers.
Schobel gets valuable playing time in blowout wins over Arkansas State and Grambling State, setting up a big 2027.
