Football season is finally here, with TCU slated to open its preseason fall camp Wednesday morning.

After back-to-back nine-win seasons, the Horned Frogs are hungry for more as they enter the fifth year of the Sonny Dykes era.

TCU has been good the past few seasons, but how can the program elevate from good to great? It’ll start in camp, where there’s more intrigue than ever.

The Horned Frogs have a new offensive coordinator, quarterback and countless new faces at key positions. How all the new pieces fit will be the key to TCU getting to double-digit wins for the first time since 2022.

Here are five storylines to watch in the Horned Frogs’ preseason camp:

1. The development of Jaden Craig

All eyes will be on transfer quarterback Jaden Craig, whom the program brought in from Harvard to replace Josh Hoover, who is now at Indiana. Craig had a good shot of landing on an NFL roster if he entered the draft, but he opted to transfer to Fort Worth to challenge himself at the Power Four level and potentially improve his draft stock.

Craig is bigger and more mobile than Hoover with comparable arm talent. In terms of accuracy, the edge would still go to Hoover based on a small sample size in spring camp. Craig was mostly solid during the spring, but had multiple turnovers in the final scrimmage. It’s not the end of the world, and it presented a good growing opportunity for Craig, Dykes and new offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis.

How has Craig grown since March and April? At Big 12 media days, he said he was taking more of a leadership role with player-led workouts, and his teammates agreed that he had stepped up as a leader.

How will that translate onto the field?

2. New scheme, new results?

Sammis arrived from UConn to take over for Kendal Briles, who left for South Carolina in December. Sammis runs more of a pro-style offense compared to Briles’ more Air Raid-like scheme. Despite being limited on running backs in the spring, the early returns for Sammis have to be considered positive.

The Horned Frogs’ offensive line did a good job of creating holes for running backs Jeremy Payne and Landon Walker. There were more plays that started under center and involved play action passes that allowed the quarterbacks to get on the edge. Sammis’ scheme is all about efficiency and creating easy, open looks for the quarterbacks and the running backs.

Ideally, Sammis will ask less of Craig than Briles did of Hoover and TCU will have its most balanced offense since 2022. But before the Horned Frogs can get there, they need to finalize their scheme and iron out any kinks.

3. The linebacker battle

The most unsettled position headed into fall camp is the second linebacker position. Max Carroll solidified his starting position with a strong spring and will take over for Kaleb Elarms-Orr, but who will the void left by Namdi Obiazor?

TCU has options, but none were able to lock up the position in the spring. The two names that will likely have the first crack are Michael Short and Michael Teason. Short is a transfer portal addition from Virginia Tech, where he was mostly a reserve. He missed the early portion of spring camp, but returned near the back end and was solid.

Teason has been with the program since last year after transferring in from Missouri State. He was an FCS All-American, but mainly played special teams last season. Could he have a bigger role this year?

Behind them are a group of redshirt freshmen hoping to make a leap. Anthony Williams, Sam Haley, Dillon Arkansas, Keylan Abrams are all hoping to crack the rotation, with Williams and Haley having the best chance. Abrams could also be used in a pass rushing role.

A true freshman to watch is Noriel Dominguez, who is already physically ready to play. TCU needs one of the players to rise up and meet Carroll’s play or TCU could have a weakness on its defense.

4. Who will be WR2?

Another major position battle to watch is the other outside starting receiver position. Jordan Dwyer will be leaned on to replace Eric McAlister as the go-to option after posting 730 yards and seven touchdowns in his debut season. But one reason he was so successful last year were the one-on-one opportunities McAlister created for him while drawing double-teams.

TCU has intriguing options that could be the second outside starter, starting with former four-star recruit Terry Shelton. The 6-foot-4 redshirt freshman has improved rapidly since being an early enrollee last season, getting stronger and improving as a route runner. Is he ready to start? He’ll have competition from redshirt sophomore Dozie Ezukanma, another rangy wide receiver who has plenty of potential and good size at 6-3.

South Alabama transfer Jeremy Scott should get into the mix as well after missing the spring. Scott was the lone receiver TCU signed out of the portal and had 417 yards and four touchdowns for the Jaguars last season.

One of these three will need to emerge as the starter.

5. Sorting out the secondary

After linebacker and receiver, the most interesting position battles will occur in the secondary. At safety, the Horned Frogs return All-Big 12 standout Jamel Johnson, but need to replace longtime veteran Bud Clark at free safety and find a new starter at nickel. At free, Louisiana Tech transfer Jacob Fields and Jordan Lester are the two primary candidates to know. Fields was voted Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year last year with the Bulldogs, while Lester is a former four-star recruit who has studied under Clark the past three seasons.

At nickel, Kylin Jackson and Julius Simms will be the primary competition. Jackson, a LSU transfer, was second on the depth chart behind Austin Jordan last year. He brings a physical element to the position, but he needs to be more consistent in coverage. Simms saw his role increase throughout the season, with the sophomore leading TCU with six tackles against Cincinnati and intercepting a pass against Houston.

At cornerback, it’s less about position battles and more about Vernon Glover and Gil Jackson establishing themselves as two of the better cornerbacks in the Big 12. Glover is another year removed from a torn ACL that kept him out of the 2024 season, and he feels more confident physically and mentally. Jackson, a 6-3 sophomore, was one of the top performers in the spring and looks like he has star potential.

There’s good depth behind them with the arrival of Colorado transfer Teon Parks and Central Michigan transfer Kalen Carroll. Both players have starting experience and should push Glover and Jackson in camp.

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