Frogs shed rust, plan for busy December
Two weeks without on-field activity came to an end for the TCU football team over the weekend, but none of the Horned Frogs seemed to mind being back at practice.
The Texas Bowl is only 18 days away, and the chance to play again in 2007 fueled the enthusiasm displayed during the Saturday and Sunday sessions designed to acclimate TCU to football again.
"We're a little bit rusty, like everybody is," coach Gary Patterson said. "I think we practiced hard, and these guys will be excited to play."
Senior safety Brian Bonner said he feels grateful to still be playing after the Frogs won three of their final four games to get to 7-5 and in the bowl hunt.
"We dug ourselves out of a hole to be in the situation we're in," Bonner said. "As seniors, we're fortunate to get one more game, and the young guys have to start working on next year. It all starts now."
Junior linebacker Jason Phillips said he didn't have a preference as to which bowl bid TCU would land. Had the Big 12 Conference not landed a second team in the BCS, the Frogs likely would have been headed to the New Mexico Bowl on Dec. 22.
"I would have been fine with New Mexico, just as long as we went somewhere," said Phillips, whose hometown of Waller is just northwest of Houston. "It works out better for me because it'll be easier for my family to go and a lot of my friends can show up."
Patterson said work on the bowl opponent, Houston, will begin next weekend. TCU players will be off this week to concentrate on final exams, and coaches will be on the road recruiting.
"There's just a bunch going on, so we're just trying to get better," Patterson said.
The season-ending team banquet was Saturday night, and 10 recruits made official visits over the weekend. Offensive tackle Zach Roth, of Garden City (Kan.) Community College, gave a verbal pledge to sign with TCU.
Award winners
Defensive end Chase Ortiz was selected by his teammates for the Dan Rogers Award, which goes each season to the team MVP. Awards were presented Saturday at the team banquet.
The senior, who was also named the defensive MVP, is TCU's first three-time, first-team all-conference choice since receiver Mike Renfro in 1975-77. Ortiz has a team-best eight sacks and 15.5 tackles for loss.
Other winners were sophomore running back Joseph Turner, offensive MVP; senior punter Derek Wash, special-teams MVP; senior offensive lineman Matty Lindner, Davey O'Brien Fightin'est Frog Award; and senior safety Brian Bonner, Abe Martin Leadership Award.
Bonner's honor was the second he received during the week. He was voted as the Mountain West's first-team return man for the second consecutive season.
"I look at it as a blessing," he said. "It's a good way to go out by achieving awards and things like that. I'm very fortunate to get it."
Texas Bowl
TCU vs. Houston
7 p.m. Dec. 28, Reliant Stadium, Houston
Records: TCU 7-5, 4-4 Mountain West; Houston 8-4, 6-2 Conference USA
Tickets: $75, $50, $35, $30, $25 at gofrogs.com, or go to texasbowl.org (active and retired military $15).
Call 817-257-7967 for information.
TV: NFL Network
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