The most successful season in modern TCU Horned Frogs history helped the secure two significant weekend pledges after the blowout victory over the Iowa State Cyclones.
TCU’s two weekend pledges continue hot start to 2016 recruiting
The Horned Frogs are still doing it their way on the recruiting trail, but a big-time 2014 season is making everything easier.
Kevin Jairaj-USA TODAY Sports
Katy (Texas) Tompkins athlete Christian Wallace and Humble (Texas) Kingwood athlete Sewo Olonilua both added their names to the 2016 class for head coach Gary Patterson and his staff on Saturday.
Notice the designations on the two players? Patterson has consistently built defenses by taking offensive stars or two-way players in high school and turning them into NFL-caliber defenders in his 4-2-5 scheme. Athletes, in other words.
Read more about TCU sports
Read more about TCU sports
The 6’2, 203-pound Wallace is a consensus four-star prospect ranked as the No. 124 player overall, No. 8 athlete nationally, and the No. 15 player in the state of Texas.
Houston, Mississippi State, Oklahoma, Oregon State, and Texas had all extended offers prior to his commitment.
After bursting onto the scene as a freshman playing on the same Sealy (Texas) team as current Texas A&M wide receiver Ricky Seals-Jones, Wallace transferred to Tompkins and has excelled at running back and cornerback there, but projects to a number of different positions in college, including safety and possibly even linebacker if he continues adding weight.
A physical cornerback with an equally impressive physique, Wallace is basically a blank canvas on which Patterson has the potential to create another spread-busting masterpiece.
The 6’2, 212-pound Olonilua is a consensus three-star prospect ranked as No. 570 player nationally, No. 40 athlete in the country, and the No. 76 player in the state of Texas.
TCU is his only confirmed offer, but he had interest from a number of other programs.
It took until his sophomore season to raise his profile on the recruiting scene after gaining 830 yards on the ground and scoring 10 touchdowns. With his frame currently less filled out than that of Wallace, Olonulua looks like a potential linebacker at the next level who could end up playing between 225 and 230 pounds, at least. And at that weight, he should still possess the range that Patterson not only covets, but needs from his linebackers, who have to traverse the field from sideline to sideline.
The pledges, along with the early December addition of Fort Worth (Texas) Paschal athlete Dylan Thomas, a consensus three-star prospect who could play wide receiver or cornerback at TCU, suggest that the strong season on the field is starting to pay big dividends on the recruiting trail.
TCU went 7-6 and 4-8 in the Big 12 after joining the conference, expected growing pains after the increase in competition. But now that the school has proven it can compete at the highest levels in college football, recruiting should get a little bit easier for Patterson and his staff, even though the group will likely continue doing an excellent job of evaluating early and targeting under-the-radar prospects.
Check that, recruiting is getting a little bit easier for Patterson and his staff.
And with the offense now producing at a high level, expect skill position players who project on that side of the ball to start showing more interest in the Horned Frogs.
The three recent commits in the class have joined Marble Falls (Texas) quarterback Brennen Wooten, another consensus three-star prospect, as well as Shepherd (Texas) defensive end Jonathan Marshall. At 6’3 and 249 pounds and from a small town in East Texas, Marshall has the profile of another incredible find for the Horned Frogs and could eventually earn a fourth star with his skill set.
Just how strong is the start for the Horned Frogs? The five-man class ranks No. 8 nationally in the 247Sports Composite team rankings and No. 2 in the Big 12, behind only Baylor.
