Tom Brady’s tackles are TCU alums who were a part of the Frogs’ best recruiting class
Not only are Tom Brady’s starting tackles both TCU alums, they both arrived in Fort Worth as part of the same recruiting class.
Gary Patterson’s recruiting class of 2006 was the most complete, productive and best class in the modern era of the program.
That class built the bones of a team that essentially pushed the program from the Mountain West Conference into the Big 12. It won conference titles. Went to the Fiesta Bowl. Won the Rose Bowl.
From that class, tackles Marshall Newhouse and Marcus Cannon start in New England. Quarterback Andy Dalton was the starter in Cincinnati for his first eight NFL seasons. Jerry Hughes remains a starting linebacker in Buffalo. Safety Colin Jones is in his ninth NFL season and spending the past eight with the Carolina Panthers.
“Knowing now how much luck and chance go into a long NFL career, the sheer odds of something like that don’t work out,” Newhouse said in a phone interview this week. “Guys from the same school, the same class generally doesn’t happen. We were just knuckleheads in college.
“The TCU guys who are in the league are upstanding guys, and it’s fun to see.”
TCU players ascend in New England
While Cannon’s spot with the Patriots steadily rose, Newhouse’s arrival to the starting spot was a case of necessity. He was signed by the team in early September and was originally slated to be a swing tackle.
“At the time (the Patriots signed him), he was an experienced player in the league. He was in Buffalo in a similar system, and we had seen him play against a lot of good players in the league,” Patriots coach Bill Belichick said during his conference call this week with media members who cover the Cowboys.
“He has done a good job for us. Marcus is one of our best players. He’s a smart kid that understands football well. He’s one of the better right tackles in the league.”
Read between the lines, and Belichick thinks Newhouse is fine and Cannon is top tier.
Newhouse is simply one of the most traveled tackles in the league. He is a pro and knows what to do. He has lasted this long for a reason.
Now in his ninth NFL season, Newhouse has played for the Packers, Bengals, Giants, Raiders, Bills and Panthers. He signed with the Saints in May but suffered an injury and was cut the next day.
He was not ready to retire.
“My head was still in it, and my body felt good. It was just an unfortunate injury,” Newhouse said. “I went on one other visit, and things just lined up here really well. When I came here on a visit, they were trying to see what I could still do. I’m comfortable knowing what the business is about.”
He signed with New England shortly thereafter, and now he’s Brady’s left tackle for a team that is 9-1.
In September, he lined up as the left tackle against former TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes in a game against the Bills. After the game, Hughes posed for a photo with his old college teammates.
“I think I played pretty well, but we both understand that between the lines, we’re all locked in,” Newhouse said. “But after the game, we took pictures with the wife and kids, and then we had to go on our way.”
When they met and first played against each other in practice, they were all teenage kids. Just college knuckleheads playing for a college team who wanted to be taken seriously as players.
Fourteen years later, TCU is in the Big 12, and Newhouse and Cannon are teammates again. Starting on the same line again.
They’re just adults now. They’re pros, still playing in the NFL.
Whatever else they do in football, guys like Newhouse, Cannon, Jones, Dalton and Hughes will always be linked as the men who comprised the best recruiting in the history of TCU.
This story was originally published November 24, 2019 at 5:00 AM.
