Top Ten Greatest TCU Horned Frogs
Who are the best TCU football players of the Athlon era?
By: Braden Gall | 5/4/12, 4:45 AM EDT
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10. Larry Brown, DB, 1989-90
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Athlon looks at the 10 greatest players since 1967.
Brown is certainly best known for his MVP performance in Super Bowl XXX in which he intercepted two passes to help Dallas win its – and his – third Championship. He was the first cornerback to ever win the Super Bowl MVP trophy, but he was also a standout in another part of the Metroplex — Ft. Worth, Texas. Brown was drafted in the 12th round of the 1991 NFL Draft by the Cowboys.
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9. Tank Carder, LB, 2008-2011
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The Sweeny, Texas, native played in 50 games, starting the final 39 consecutive, in his storied Frogs career. He finished his career with 228 tackles, 25.0 tackles for a loss, 9.0 sacks, four interceptions and 19 pass breakups. Carder was named to the All-Mountain West team as a sophomore before landing on six All-American teams as a junior. In 2010, Carder helped lead what is arguably the best team in school history as TCU beat Wisconsin in its only BCS bowl victory in program history in the Rose Bowl. The linebacker was named game MVP and earned Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year honors. In 2011, he earned his second Mountain West Defensive Player of the Year award and landed on his second All-American team in as many years. TCU never won fewer than 11 games during his tenure and he ended his career on a team that went 47-5.
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8. Bo Schobel, DL, 1999-03
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The second-most famous Schobel to suit up for TCU, Bo set the single-season sack record with 17.0 QB sacks in 2003. His 120 yards lost on tackles that same year were second-best in school history as well. Despite missing an entire season with a torn ACL, he posted 28.5 career sacks, putting him third all-time in TCU history. Schobel was selected in the fourth round of the 2004 NFL Draft by the Titans. He earned a Super Bowl ring with the Colts as a back-up in 2006.
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7. Kenneth Davis, RB, 1982-85
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Davis left school as TCU’s most productive running back — a status that lasted nearly two decades (see No. 1 on this list). He finished his career with a then-school record 2,904 yards and 24 rushing touchdowns. His junior season of 1,611 yards and 16 TDs earned him consensus All-America honors, a 5th-place finish in the Heisman Trophy voting and the single-season rushing record for any Frog — a mark that also lasted nearly two decades. His career numbers would have been dramatically better had he not been suspended for all but one game during his senior season, leaving Frogs fans to wonder what could have been after the 24-carry, 152-yard season debut. Davis was selected in the 2nd round of the 1986 NFL Draft by the Green Bay Packers.
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6. Mike Renfro, WR, 1974-77
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The three-time all-conference performer is TCU’s all-time leading receiver with 2,739 yards in his four-year career. He also caught at least 21 passes in every season, finishing with 162 career receptions — good for second-best in school history. His 10 TD catches in 1977 are a single-season school record, and his 17 career scoring catches are tied for the top mark in Frogs history (Cory Rodgers). The Houston Oilers selected Renfro with in the fourth round of the 1978 draft. He played 10 years in the NFL for both the Oilers and the Cowboys.
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5. Max Knake, QB, 1992-95
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Until Andy Dalton arrived, Knake pretty much owned the TCU passing record book as a three-year starter under center. He set the single-season record with 2,624 yards in 1994 as well as the single-season TD record with 24. His 49 career TD passes and 7,370 yards were both school records when Knake left school. Single-season and career pass attempts and completions records were also set by Knake during his time at TCU. The gritty quarterback led the Frogs back to a bowl game for the first time in a decade (1994 Independence Bowl, where they lost to Virginia).
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4. Aaron Schobel, DE, 1997-00
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The older cousin of Bo Schobel, Aaron set a school record for sacks in a single season when he registered 10.0 in 1999. Although two other players on this list have since broken that mark, his 31.0 career sacks remain a TCU career record for sacks. Schobel is also the career leader in yards lost by tackling with 315 yards lost. He earned WAC Defensive Player of the Year honors in 2000. After dominating offensive lines for four seasons in Ft. Worth, Schobel was selected in the 2nd round of the 2001 NFL Draft by the Buffalo Bills. From 2003 to 2008, he went on to start 116 straight games and made two trips to the Pro Bowl.
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3. Jerry Hughes, DE, 2006-09
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Hughes capped one of the most dominating careers in school history in 2009, when he became only the second Frog to earn two-time consensus first-team All-America honors. Hughes’ 15.0 sacks in 2008 led the nation and were good for second all-time in school history. He followed that year up with 11.5 sacks, helping lead TCU to a 12-0 record and the school’s first BCS Bowl berth. Hughes won the Lott and Hendricks Award as a senior, finishing second all-time with 28.5 career sacks. He also owns the No. 2 and No. 3 best single-season sack marks. The Colts selected Hughes in the first round of the 2010 NFL Draft with the 30th overall pick.
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2. Andy Dalton, QB, 2006-10
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The red-headed signal caller has left an indelible mark on the TCU program, producing the best four-year run of success in school history. The two-time Mountain West Conference Player of the Year was 42-7 as the starter — including two BCS Bowl berths and a Rose Bowl championship. The win over Wisconsin last winter saw Dalton win his third bowl game MVP trophy (Texas Bowl, Poinsettia Bowl) after a 247-yard performance against the stout UW defense. As expected, Dalton completely rewrote the TCU passing record book as a senior. He set the single-season TD mark with 27 in 2010 as well as the single-season accuracy record at 66.1% completion percentage. His 61.7% career completion mark is also a school record. He became the all-time leader in total offense for not only TCU history but MWC history as well (11,925 yards). His 10,314 passing yards and 71 passing TDs are both school records. His 22 rushing touchdowns are actually good for seventh all-time in Ft. Worth. He finished with 1,611 rushing yards as well.
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1. LaDainian Tomlinson, RB, 1997-00
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LT was an unheralded recruit when he arrived at TCU in 1997 from Waco’s University High. After two solid seasons — 538 yards and six TDs as a freshman, 717 yards and eight TDs as a sophomore — Tomlinson exploded onto the national scene. His 269 yards against Arkansas State and 300 yards against San Jose State merely set the stage for his NCAA record-breaking 406 yards against UTEP. He carried the ball 43 times and set a school record with six touchdowns against the Miners. His 1,850 yards led the nation in rushing in 1999, but Tomlinson upped the ante as a senior when he posted the Frogs’ first 2,000-yard season. His 2,158 yards were not only a school and conference record, but also led the nation in rushing and placed as the fourth-best rushing season in NCAA history (at the time). He owns every major rushing record at TCU, while his 5,263 yards rank sixth all-time in NCAA history. As a senior, Tomlinson was a Heisman finalist and claimed the Doak Walker Award as the best running back in the nation. He finished his TCU career with 907 carries — at a 5.8 yards per attempt clip — and 54 rushing TDs. As the fifth overall pick in the 2001 NFL Draft by the Chargers, LT went on to become arguably the greatest NFL running back to ever play the game.
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