Christmas came early for TCU football staff on recruiting trail
In terms of recruiting, it was a very merry Christmastime for the TCU coaching staff.
Twenty recruits in the class of 2015 pledged their commitment before Dec. 25, and two have already signed their letter of intent to play for the Horned Frogs, all but wrapping up the class more than a month before National Signing Day, Feb. 4.
As it stood Christmas Day, TCU had the 25th best class in the nation, according to Rivals.com. It was rated 22nd by Scout.com and 36th by ESPN Recruiting Nation.
The class features two consensus four-star recruits, cornerback DeShawn Raymond out of East Jefferson High School in Metairie, La., and wide receiver J.F. Thomas from Dallas South Oak Cliff.
Raymond has already signed his letter of intent to play for TCU.
For Jeremy Clark, publisher of HornedFrogBlitz.com with 10 years’ experience covering TCU recruiting, his eyes are on three-star defensive end Tipa Galeai out of Euless Trinity.
The 6-foot-5, 210-pound senior was one of the last recruits to commit before the bowl-season dead period.
“I’ve always liked TCU and I’ve always admired coach Patterson and his scheme of football,” Galeai said.
Clark said after putting on some muscle once he’s on campus at TCU, Galeai will remind TCU fans of current Horned Frogs defensive end Josh Carraway.
“He’s extremely fast, and in a 4-2-5 defense under Gary [Patterson] and especially under coach [Dick] Bumpas, he’s going to get a lot of good coaching,” Clark said. “He’s got a very high ceiling.”
What Galeai quickly found out about TCU’s 2015 class is the instant bond that is formed between the future Frogs, led by South Grand Prairie wide receiver Jaelan Austin.
As one of the first commitments in the class of 2015, Austin has taken it upon himself to become a recruiting asset for the coaching staff, reaching out to prospective recruits and commits alike.
“Once I got offered midseason from TCU, Jaelan was the first one to tell me to join the fam and I would make a good decision to commit to TCU,” Galeai said. “That part really stuck to me, especially coming from a kid I don’t even know. I said I’d check it out and I really loved it. Jaelan played a big part in it.”
Clark believes TCU is decently content with its class and has no other pressing needs to fill, but one big name has yet to make his decision.
Rest assured Austin and Galeai are working on their best pitches for five-star defensive tackle Daylon Mack from Gladewater.
Mack decommitted from Texas A&M on Dec 19 and tweeted his new top-two choices were TCU and LSU.
Clark said Mack could be the crown jewel of an already stacked TCU class.
“He’s the kind of guy that you make room for,” he said. “That’s kind of the position TCU is in right now. They might have one or two spots, but even if it’s an 11th-hour commitment and Daylon Mack calls TCU the night before signing day and wants to be a Frog, he’s one of those players that you say you have to make room for.”
Mack is scheduled to announce his decision Feb. 4.
A season after TCU posted a 4-8 record and missed out on a bowl, Clark said the Frogs coaches have outdone themselves, given that most of the incoming class that pledged to TCU did so before the successful season was completed.
It’s enough for Galeai to already be thinking about rings.
“When I saw all the commits, I actually looked at all their highlight films and I would not be surprised if we did not win a national championship,” he said. “I know that this class is a very special class. We’re all dedicated, and we’ll work hard and do anything we can to get a ring.”
This story was originally published December 25, 2014 at 5:11 PM with the headline "Christmas came early for TCU football staff on recruiting trail."