TCU 2013 Offense Preview.

There are many headlines heading into the season for the TCU offense. The Frogs lost a couple offensive linemen, and impact players Josh Boyce, Skye Dawson, and Matthew Tucker, but shouldn't feel those players' absence. New (and some rehabilitated) faces at the skills positions should help improve the 8th ranked offense in the Big XII from the 2012 season.     

           

Look for these transfers to make an immediate impact:

Josh Doctson: The 6'4" 190 pound wide receiver transferred from Wyoming after a solid freshman year with the Cowboys. He was a three-star recruit coming out of high school, and finished his freshman season at Wyoming with 35 receptions for 393 yards and five touchdowns. Doctson, who is from Mansfield, Texas, decided to transfer to a school closer to home after his freshman year in college, which led him to TCU, where he has family ties.  

Ja'Juan Story: Coming out of high school, Story was a highly touted four-star recruit. He chose to stay in his home state and attend the University of Florida. Following the resignation of the coach who recruited him, Urban Meyer, Story wasn't sure how his game would transition into Florida's new offensive scheme, which ultimately led to him transferring to TCU. Story had a great high school career at Nature Coast Technical in Florida, where he played many positions his senior season. At the end of his senior year, he passed for 427 yards, rushed for 847, and had seven receptions for 123, while totaling 17 touchdowns. His versatility, as well as size (6'4" 208   lbs) resulted in him being ranked No. 43 on the ESPNU Top 150 following his high school career.

Aaron Green: Green may be the highest rated recruit to ever play at TCU. After a high school   career in which he rushed for nearly 5,000 yards, ESPN ranked him as the No. 11 prospect in the nation. He chose to attend the University of Nebraska, where he played in all 12 regular season games his freshman year, but only totaled 24 carries for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Green decided to transfer after seeing limited playing time during his freshmen year.

These three transfers all have the potential to contribute to the TCU offense immediately. The wide receivers join a group of somewhat unproven talent (with Ladarius Brown, Cam White, Kolby Listenbee, and David Porter) . They will be competing to see who can be the No. 2 receiver behind junior Brandon Carter, while they hope to fill the void left behind by Josh Boyce and Skye Dawson. Green and Story should play with a self-imposed chip on their shoulders, considering that they both left programs that didn't allow them to prove that their high school talent could transition into the collegiate game. Out of the three transfers, look for Ja'Juan Story to make the biggest impact. Given his size and talent, he could quickly become a favorite target for the TCU quarterback, whoever that may be.

Despite the addition of these recruits, TCU's biggest offensive "additions" for the 2013 season are players who were lost early in the previous season, Waymon James and Casey Pachall.

Waymon James: James, the senior running back, is coming back from an ACL tear that sidelined him for the season after suffering the tear at Kansas. He was the team's leading rusher coming into the 2012 season, and accumulated 168 yards rushing in the short amount of time he played before going down. He led the team in rushing in 2011 with 875 yards and a 7.2 yards per carry average. He will be expected to be the leader of a young group of running backs, both on the field and at practice. His presence should really help the running game, as well as open up the passing game for some play action looks. He is listed on the Doak Walker Award Watch List for the upcoming season, and will be expected to make a huge impact on the offensive side of the ball, if he can stay healthy. At the Big XII media days, he said "I feel better than I did before. I'm ready."

Casey Pachall: Pachall returns to the team after leaving the program to enter a drug and alcohol rehabilitation center. He has been with the team since the spring, and was welcomed back by his teammates. Before leaving the team last season, he was the most efficient quarterback in the nation through four games with a 66.0 completion percentage, 948 yards passing and 10 touchdowns to one interception. During his sophomore season, he led the Horned Frogs to an 11-2 record, a Mountain West Conference championship, and won the Poinsetta Bowl. He led the Frogs to a 4-0 record before leaving last season. According to the media, he is the All-Big XII preseason team quarterback, and was named to the Davey O'Brien Award watch list. Although Coach Patterson hasn't stated who will be the starting quarterback, Pachall should earn that title, barring any setbacks. A lot will be expected of Casey on the field, and will be expected to stay out of trouble off the field to avoid the letdown that the whole school suffered through last year. He will bring back the pocket presence that Trevone Boykin struggled to bring during his first season as a collegiate quarterback, and I am sure Pachall will be excited to try out his new offensive weapons that the team has to offer.  

The offensive for 2013 should be much improved from the previous season, and will be better equipped to compete with the up-tempo, high-scoring offenses of the Big XII, IF the Frogs can stay healthy. The Frogs do have much more depth offensively than a year before, but much of it is unproven talent. For TCU to win the Big XII in 2013, that offensive talent must be proven. The much maligned (and penalized) offensive line from 2012 must come back improved and ready to lead one of the best back fields in the Big XII. But, as we saw from a year ago, the most important thing for the TCU offense is to stay healthy, and drug free. If these things happen, the preseason expectations of many TCU fans could be fulfilled, and TCU could be celebrating its first Big XII championship.