TCU Preview: Two Key Players to Watch on the Horned Frogs Offense

The Cowboys head to Ft. Worth this weekend with hopes to finish the 2018 season on a high note with a victory against TCU. To preview the game, I wanted to take a look at two key players on each side of the ball for the Horned Frogs. For this post, I will focus on the offense and I will come back later in the week to touch on the TCU defense.

The Frogs’ offense has been struggling pretty much all season. They are currently ranked 98th in total offense, and even though they were able to pick up a win last week in Waco, they still only managed to put 16 points on the board. The Horned Frogs will also be starting their third-string quarterback on Saturday, after Week 1 starter Shawn Robinson went down earlier this season with a shoulder injury and backup Michael Collins suffered a leg injury last week against Baylor.

To make matters worse, TCU’s highly-touted freshman quarterback Justin Rogers won’t be available as he is experiencing injury issues himself, meaning the only quarterbacks left on the Frogs’ roster are two walk-ons. Not to mention TCU’s best offensive player, wide receiver KaVontae Turpin, was dismissed from the team earlier this year due to off-field issues.

All of that being said, TCU still has some talented players on the offensive side of the ball. Below I’ll dive into the two main guys that could cause issues for the Oklahoma State defense this weekend.

Jalen Reagor | WR | 5-11, 195 | So.

Last season’s Big 12 Co-Offensive Freshman of Year Jalen Reagor is having another stellar season and has been one of the lone bright spots for the Horned Frogs offense. He currently has 962 yards receiving and eight touchdowns, along with one TD on the ground, and will most likely finish the season as TCU’s leading receiver for the second year in a row. The sophomore will line up at the “Z” receiver spot and has insane speed making him TCU’s main downfield weapon.

Reagor isn’t a big guy at 5-11, but he does a great job of high-pointing the football and can make catches in traffic. In addition, if you don’t bring him down on initial contact, he’s most likely gone, as you see here against K-State.

Also, it’s not just the deep ball that makes Reagor dangerous, just ask the Baylor defense as he turned this wide receiver screen into a huge touchdown for TCU.

Reagor didn’t have a great day against OSU last season, recording just three receptions for 25 yards, but he’s got the skill set to turn a few catches into a few touchdowns on any given day.

Darius Anderson | RB | 5-11, 21 | Jr.

The TCU running game has struggled mightily this season. Two weeks ago against West Virginia they finished with -7 total yards rushing on the day. Yes… you read that right.

However, running back Darius Anderson is an incredible athlete who possesses the speed to score every time he touches the ball, as he showed against Ohio State earlier this year.

Anderson had the best game of his career a season ago in Stillwater, rushing for 160 yards and three touchdowns to go along with 41 yards receiving. This performance earned him national player of the week awards, and rightfully so, as he was an absolute nightmare for the Cowboy defense.

Similar to Reagor, Anderson is a guy you have to bring down on initial contact or he has the speed to make you pay. With the Frogs coming into this game with very little experience at the quarterback position, the Pokes can’t allow the junior running back to beat them on the ground as he did a year ago.