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Pay Back By Chad Carey After the Horned Frogs suffered their first defeat of the season, which very well may have cost them a Bowl Championship Series appearance and a chance to win the Western Athletic Conference outright, they are now faced with the task of regrouping. TCU (7-1, 4-1 WAC) plays Fresno State (5-3, 4-1 WAC) Saturday at Amon Carter Stadium in a game that has major implications on the WAC standings. A TCU win puts the Frogs in sole possession of third place in the WAC. Despite his team’s failures last week at San Jose, head coach Dennis Franchione said the Horned Frogs will be ready to play Saturday. “I’d like to think this team has enough heart and grit to rebound,” Franchione said. “We can still finish ranked, win a conference championship and go to three-straight bowl games. I’d say that we still have a lot to play for.” Although the Frogs have the No.1-ranked defense in the country, the Spartans exposed holes in TCU’s defense last week. With three games remaining on the schedule, senior middle linebacker Shannon Brazzell said the Frogs need to get their killer instinct back. “We’re having a very intense week of practice,” said Brazzell, who tied for the team lead with seven tackles against the Spartans. “We need to get the chip back on our shoulder. Last year we lost early, but this year we didn’t. It’s time to get our attitude back, and come out and play with some intensity.” With the defense struggling as a whole, Brazzell also said the Frogs need to step back and assess their individual performances. “In practice this week, we need to step back and look at ourselves individually,” he said. “We need to work on each one of our individual performances, and then we need to put it all together.” On the offensive side of the ball, senior tailback LaDainian Tomlinson said the Frogs need to forget about last week and focus on the future. “What happened last week is over,” said Tomlinson, who continues to lead the nation in rushing with an average of 181 yards a game. “It’s time for us to go back to work and start worrying about Fresno State.” One factor the Frogs do have in their favor going into the Fresno State game is that they have a senior-laden team with experience. “I’d like to think that our seniors will help lead the team this week.” Franchione said. “They have a lot of pride, and I expect them to come out fighting. “I coached a team in 1988, and we lost the last game of the season 13-10. Anything less than a national championship appearance that year was not good enough for our players. “The loss on Saturday hurt a lot, but I don’t think that were at that point yet where one loss can ruin a season.” Chad Carey
Volley Frogs dig into last two games, come out on top By Colleen Casey A record-breaking win for the Volley Frogs against Sam Houston State Tuesday night has the Frogs well on their way to winning all the remaining matches of the season and fulfilling head coach Sandy Troudt’s expectations of how she would like the team to finish the season. “The last two wins have been huge, and the fact that we’re at .500 is huge as well,” Troudt said. “It fits perfectly into how we want to end the season.” The Frogs’ win bumped their record to 14-14, breaking TCU’s
all-time single-season record for wins. Troudt said if TCU wants to establish itself as a strong program, the Volley Frogs must learn to win on the road. “We’re going to need to take care of business in the next five matches to achieve our season goals,” Troudt said. “We still want to be in the top three in the (Western Athletic Conference).” Currently TCU sits fourth in the WAC standings. With hopes of moving into the third slot, the Frogs must look for Texas-El Paso to beat San Jose State and for Tulsa to defeat Nevada. The Volley Frogs have agreed on a common goal of winning their remaining five season matches, Troudt said. She said the remaining two matches on the road trip are huge for the team and added that the match at Rice should be particularly hostile. “We have the potential to beat (the next five opponents),” junior middle blocker Allison Lynch said. We’ve been working well together, and we all have something that we’re strong at.” Troudt said the team is also focusing on its upcoming match against SMU on Friday. Regardless of the Frogs’ current standing, Troudt said the match against SMU will be a challenge requiring a full effort from her team. “It’s basically a countdown until we play SMU again,” Troudt said. “We throw out all records because it’s going to be a war.” The last time TCU played SMU was Sept. 22 at home when TCU won 3-1. Having lost the previous five matches to SMU, the Frogs are trying to start a streak of their own against the Mustangs. “Right now the team is swamped with schoolwork and with working in preparation for SMU,” Troudt said. “I even had to remind them all to vote. They’re just really driven towards volleyball right now.” In Tuesday’s game, Sam Houston State led throughout game one and
eventually took the first game, 16-14. TCU came into the match wanting to get it over quickly and without much thought, Troudt said. However, the Frogs refocused in the third and fourth games. “We came in wanting to (whip) up on somebody,” Troudt said. “I kept telling them to be patient and they’d get their chance.” They got their chance in the third and fourth games, as two huge leads led to two 15-2 wins for the Frogs in both games. Colleen Casey
Walk-on football players dream of success It’s not an easy job, players say, but it’s worth it By Chad Carey The days are long and the temperatures can sometimes be excruciating at practice. As the players continue with the workout, they begin to wonder if all the time and effort put into the football program is really worth it. But for TCU football walk-on Tyson Meek, he said there is no doubt that it’s all worth it. For most walk-on football players, the dream of playing college football starts in high school. It’s not until then that they’ll know if they possess the physical skills and mental toughness to play football at the collegiate level. Even if they do possess the necessary skills, the chances of getting a scholarship are low. Current NCAA regulations limit Division 1-A football programs to 85 scholarships a year. With Division 1-A programs limited on the amount of players they can take, TCU head coach Dennis Franchione said walk-ons can be a large part of a football program’s success. “You never know how a player is going to progress,” Franchione said. “There are so many kids to look at from a recruiting standpoint that you are bound to miss a few. Having a strong walk-on program is an important part of a football program’s success on the field.” One of the most important choices that a potential walk-on must make is where he wants to play college football. Meek, a sophomore wide receiver, said the decision was easy for him. “My brother lives in Dallas, and I wanted to live close to him,” Meek said. “I also talked to (cornerback coach Chris Thurmond), and he said they wanted me to walk-on, so I applied to TCU, got accepted, and here I am.” Senior place kicker and former walk-on Chris Kaylakie, who received his scholarship after his sophomore year, said the process of picking a potential school to walk-on at can be a hard decision. “The TCU coaches invited me to look at TCU,” Kaylakie said. “Miami, Fla., and Tulsa were also interested in me. I went to Tulsa on a visit and they didn’t treat me that well. I really liked the business program at TCU, so I decided to walk-on here.” Although walk-on players are part of the football program, Kaylakie said they face many hardships that scholarship players don’t. “There are a lot of things that are different for a walk-on,” Kaylakie said. “We have to pay for our own meal plan, pay for our education and have to earn our spot on the football team. We are all out here only because we want to be.” Players who excel in a program can eventually end up playing Saturdays, like Kaylakie and junior linebacker Chad Bayer, who has since gone on to lead TCU in tackles this season. Other players become members of the scout team and help prepare the first-string team for future football games. “The scout team may be more important than the second team,” Franchione said. “Players know the guys they are lining up against in practice are preparing them for Saturday.” Although the odds are long, one of the ultimate goals of every walk-on is to earn a scholarship. Not only does a scholarship ease financial burdens for a player, but it also symbolizes the fact that a walk-on player worked his way through the program and earned his scholarship. “Yes I want to earn a scholarship, but it’s hard to achieve,” Meek said. “I play football because I enjoy the game and have fun at practice. If you are not having fun, then you shouldn’t be out here. “I’ve only played a couple of snaps in an actual game, but the positives of being a walk-on are far greater than the negatives. I’ve been to a bowl game, made good friends and have a championship ring.” Chad Carey |
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