Football season is finally here, with TCU slated to open its preseason fall camp Wednesday morning.<\/p>\n
After back-to-back nine-win seasons<\/a>, the Horned Frogs are hungry for more<\/a> as they enter the fifth year of the Sonny Dykes era.<\/p>\n TCU has been good the past few seasons, but how can the program elevate from good to great<\/a>? It\u2019ll start in camp, where there\u2019s more intrigue than ever.<\/p>\n The Horned Frogs have a new offensive coordinator<\/a>, quarterback<\/a> 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.<\/p>\n Here are five storylines to watch in the Horned Frogs\u2019 preseason camp:<\/p>\n 1. The development of Jaden Craig<\/p>\n All eyes will be on transfer quarterback Jaden Craig, whom the program brought in from Harvard<\/a> 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<\/a> and potentially improve his draft stock.<\/p>\n 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<\/a>, but had multiple turnovers in the final scrimmage. It\u2019s not the end of the world, and it presented a good growing opportunity for Craig, Dykes and new offensive coordinator Gordon Sammis.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n How will that translate onto the field?<\/p>\n 2. New scheme, new results?<\/p>\n 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\u2019 more Air Raid-like scheme. Despite being limited on running backs in the spring, the early returns for Sammis have to be considered positive<\/a>.<\/p>\n The Horned Frogs\u2019 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\u2019 scheme is all about efficiency and creating easy, open looks for the quarterbacks and the running backs.<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 3. The linebacker battle<\/p>\n The most unsettled position headed into fall camp is the second linebacker position. Max Carroll solidified his starting position<\/a> with a strong spring and will take over for Kaleb Elarms-Orr, but who will the void left by Namdi Obiazor?<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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?<\/p>\n 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.<\/p>\n 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\u2019s play or TCU could have a weakness on its defense.<\/p>\n 4. Who will be WR2?<\/p>\n