• The KillerFrogs

TCU Football: The best of the best -- Running back

EdKamen

Active Member
RUNNING BACKS/HALFBACKS



Whether it was the speed backs of the '50s, the two-pronged veer attack of the '80s or the RB-by-committee under Patterson, the Horned Frogs have had some seriously great ballcarriers.



1 -- LaDainian Tomlinson ('01): What can be said that hasn't been said? Impossible to stop at the goal line, impossible to catch in the broken field and nearly impossible to pen in on the edges, LT holds almost every Horned Frog rushing mark. BUT, for the record, here are the incredible numbers: His 5,263 career yards are 1,500 (!!!) more than anyone else. A workhorse, he carried the ball 907 times (Curtis Modkins is second with 672), averaging 5.8 yards a try, five times carrying 40 or more times in a game. He had 13 100-yard games, five 200-yard games, two 300-yard games and a still-hard-to-believe NCAA-record 406 yards against UTEP in 1999. That's 21 times over 100 yards! He led the nation in rushing twice – 1,850 yards in 1999 (destroying the school record by 239) and then 2,158 yards in 2000, the fourth-highest total in NCAA history. LT scored, hello, SIX TDs in the UTEP game and five in two others, finishing with an astounding 54 touchdowns, including 22 in 2000. Want more? Consensus All-American in '00, he was fourth in the Heisman voting, received the Doak Walker Award (as the nation's outstanding running back) in 2000, was twice Western Athletic Conference MVP and led TCU to back-to-back co-conference titles. A two-time Rogers Trophy winner, his No. 5, although not "retired," will never be worn by another Horned Frog. Oops, forgot, he's also a future NFL Hall-of-Famer, too. Thank God, he talked Franchione out of keeping him at fullback.



2 -- Jim Swink ('57): One of the greatest running backs in Southwest Conference history, he was a legendary two-time All-American (1955, 1956) and College Football Hall-of-Famer. TCU's first 1,000-yard runner, he led his team in rushing three times and even in receptions once. Upon graduation, he covered the TCU record books, many of his marks standing for nearly 30 years – 2,618 career rushing yards (now ninth), single-season rushing with 1,285 in 1955 (sixth), 32 career TDs (fourth), 20 TDs in 1955 (second). There's more. "The Rusk Rambler" led the nation in scoring with 125 points and was second in rushing during his amazing 1955 season (TCU was ranked sixth in the nation that year), finishing second to Howard "Hopalong" Cassady of Ohio State for the Heisman Trophy. He averaged a ridiculous, nation's-best 8.2 yards per carry in '55 and a school-record 6.3 for his career! And, by the way, he was the only two-time Academic All-American in TCU history. But forget the stats -- the man could glide through a hole and then slash to daylight like no one of his generation. Older Frog fans still think he's the best ever. (Oh, and he single-handedly kicked the living you-know-what out of Texas both years, too. Get this: 235 yards rushing and four TDs in a 47-20 win in '55 -- including a 62-yard cut-and-run considered one of the greatest plays in SWC history – and then 122 yards rushing and three TDs, plus a 57-yard TD reception, in '56. Final score: TCU 46, Texas 0.)



3 -- Kenneth Davis ('86): Running Jim Wacker's famed "veer" offense to perfection, Davis shattered many of Swink's records during the heart-stopping 1984 season. A consensus All-American and fifth in the Heisman vote, the 5-10, 210-pound "Temple Tornado" rushed for 1,611 yards and 16 TDs AND averaged a nation's-best 7.6 yards a pop! An unstoppable force, he twice led TCU in rushing and finished with a then-school record 2,994 yards, three times topping 200 yards (all in 1984, an SWC record) and 13 times topping 100 in his career. No Horned Frog had ever combined such power and speed before. Alas, inspired by a fiery pep talk from his coach on integrity, he admitted he (and, by extension, numerous teammates) had received inappropriate cash payments from boosters. He and six others were booted off the team. NCAA sanctions followed, ending his senior season and handcuffing the Frogs for the rest of the decade. He went on to play in a pair of Super Bowls for the Buffalo Bills.



4 -- Tony Jeffrey ('88): As a freshman, he teamed with roommate Kenneth Davis to become the greatest backfield duo in TCU history. In 1984, he veered his way to 840 yards and nine TDs, with TCU opening the season by obliterating the school record with 494 yards rushing vs. Utah State and a week later tacking 463 on Kansas State. In fact, Jeffery was in the backfield in seven of the top nine team-rushing games ever by TCU. But that was just the beginning. Despite NCAA sanctions and some terrible teams, the goggle-wearing Jeffrey rushed for a then-TCU record 3,749 yards and 31 TDs in his career, including three runs over 80 yards. "The Gladewater Glide" rushed for 1,353 yards during his All-SWC senior year in '87. But he is best remembered for the single-greatest rushing performance in SWC history – a conference-record 343 yards and five touchdowns on JUST 16 CARRIES against Tulane to open the 1986 season.



5 -- Cy Leland ('30): One of the fastest men in the world – he tied the WORLD RECORD in the 100-yard dash with a time of 9.4 seconds in 1930 – he turned all that speed loose on the football field to become the first great halfback in TCU history. In 1929, he was All-SWC and led the Frogs to an undefeated season and their first-ever SWC title, rushing for 680 yards and scoring 13 touchdowns (11 rushing) – a record that would stand for 26 years. The Lubbock native averaged 7.2 yards every time he carried the ball – best in the nation. He also returned a kickoff and a punt for touchdowns – both over 90 yards. He was an unmatched breakaway runner in the days of "four yards and a cloud of dust." He was All-SWC again in 1930, as well as an All-American, when he rushed for 583 yards and nine more TDs.



6 -- Andre Davis ('96): The most prolific dual-threat back in TCU history. On TCU's 1994 co-SWC champs, Davis led TCU in rushing with 1,494 yards (second only to Kenneth Davis at the time) AND receiving with 47 catches for 522 yards. He even accounted for 63 of the 69 yards (and the TD) on the Frogs' fourth-quarter, game-winning drive to beat Texas Tech and grab a share of TCU's ninth SWC crown. A third-team All-American as a junior, he shared SWC Offensive Player of the Year honors with his quarterback, Max Knake. Three times No. 6 led the Frogs in rushing and is not only third all time in rushing yards (plus 21 TDs), but is also tenth in receptions with 114. He had a career-high 325 yards and two TDs in a wild, 44-29, win against New Mexico in '94. The Longview product is second behind LT in all-purpose yards with this incredible stat: 3,182 yards rushing, 1,084 yards receiving and 598 yards in kick returns.



7 -- Jimmy Lawrence ('36): "The heart of the Frogs' power attack" in the days of Baugh and Lester, it was once said, was halfback Jimmy Lawrence. An All-Southwest Conference selection three-straight years (1933, 1934 and 1935), he led the team in rushing in '33 and '35, scoring in '34 and '35 and receiving in '35. The Harlingen native was also a standout safety on defense. During the national championship season of 1935, Lawrence caught 23 passes for 218 yards, rushed for 432 yards and scored seven TDs. More significantly, however, he received the Rogers Trophy as team MVP. The hard-nosed back was a first-round pick of the Chicago Cardinals in the NFL.



8 -- Basil Mitchell ('99): No one was happier to see the arrival of Dennis Franchione and TCU's new option-based offense than Mitchell. Even though he had led TCU in rushing the two previous years, he exploded in 1998, registering just the fifth 1,000-yard season in TCU history (1,111 yards). Mitchell always had a knack for big games in, well, big games. He took off for 186 yards and three TDs in Coach Fran's debut, a 31-21 win over Iowa State. Needing a win to become bowl-eligible in the WAC finale that year, Mitchell rushed for a career-high 220 yards against UNLV in a 41-18 blowout. But Mitchell will always have a place in the hearts of Frog fans for his dominating, bowl-record,185-yard effort against USC in the '98 Sun Bowl – the game that literally turned TCU football around. Sixth all time in career rushing (with 2,783 yards), the 5-11, 192-pound back had 12 100-yard games and a pair of 200-yard games. He was All-WAC in 1998.



9 – Ross Montgomery ('69): An All-Southwest Conference selection at halfback in 1967, Montgomery teamed with (and in place of) Norm Bulaich in the TCU backfield to fantastic results – three times leading the Frogs in rushing ('66, '67 and '68), combining for 1,812 yards rushing and 11 TDs. He was the second TCU rusher (after Swink, of course) to rush for 200 yards, with his 213-yard effort against Baylor in 1967, when he also tied a school record with four TDs.



10 (tie) -- Lonta Hobbs ('07): Injury-saddled throughout his career – he played in parts of five seasons – Hobbs nonetheless was a scoring machine, hitting paydirt seven or more times in four different seasons, finishing with 38 rushing TDs (41 total). The first TCU freshman to rush for 1,000 yards (1,029 in just eight games!), he was named honorable-mention All-MWC four long years later in 2006. He's fourth in TCU history with 3,071 yards, including 11 100-yard efforts. He exploded with a blistering, career-high, freshman-record 287 yards against Memphis in 2002 to lock up the Frogs' first-ever C-USA championship. We all, unfortunately, know where he wound up.



10 (tie) -- Robert Merrill ('07): Consistent and dependable – which oft-injured backfield mates Lonta Hobbs and Aaron Brown sometimes were not – he topped the Frogs in rushing all three years he played, maxing with 1,107 yards as a freshman in 2003 – breaking Hobbs' TCU record. Twice all-conference, he led the MWC-champion Frogs in '05 with 911 yards and ten TDs. He had a career-high 204 yards against Houston in '03 and is seventh on the all-time rushing list at 2,771. He also had ten 100-yard efforts. Ironically, an injury robbed Bobby of his senior year in '06 – the Frogs sure could have used him in '07.



10 (tie) -- Aaron Brown ('09): Few runners in TCU history got the crowd on its feet in anticipation like Brown. The quick-cutting, ultra-fast back burst on the scene in his very first game as a freshman in 2005 – rushing for 163 yards on 17 carries in the dramatic 23-20 overtime win over Utah in '05, snapping the Utes' 18-game win streak. Then came 129 against New Mexico, then 105 with three TDs against UNLV. The sky was the limit. He was MWC Freshman of the Year and an honorable-mention Freshman All-American. He led the Frogs in rushing in '06 with 801 yards and nine TDs, earning second-team All-MWC honors, proving to be just as dangerous as a receiver out of the backfield – he had an 84-yard TD reception vs. Baylor that year. Then the injuries came. He still rushed for 490 yards and caught 24 passes, but he was never 100 percent in '07. Or for some of '08. Splitting time with Joseph Turner, he still rushed for 547 yards as a senior to finish tenth on the all-time list, include 102 yards and a TD in his final game – TCU's 17-16 nail-biter against Boise State in the Poinsettia Bowl. If only he had been healthier ….



Honorable mention -- Mike Luttrell ('75), Jim Shofner ('58), Curtis Modkins ('93), Joseph Turner ('10), Blanard Spearman ('33)
 

oldscribe

Member
I think Luttrell belongs in the top 10 rather than HM......big, tough and slippery, with (often) very little blocking.....I'll never forget when we were coming up to his sophomore year (frosh hadn't been eligible) and the SWC Press Tour was in town and someone asked Mike what he ran in a 100-yard dash (this was before everybody had a 40 time on the tip of his tongue) and Mike said, ``11 flat". Which wasn't very fast, you see, but I saw him take a pitch around end at Indiana and outrun everybody about 80 yards.....
 

tcudoc

Full Member
Great list.
I want to add a bit more about Swink:
He "should have" won the Heisman, but he was a junior and it was given to the less qualified senior because it was not normal for it to go to an underclassmen.
He was the reason for the longhorn hand signal "Hook'em Horns." IT was an attempt to put a "hex" on him so he could not destroy the Longhorn's defense. The hex didn't work.
A description of his most memorable run that day:
In what would eventually be a 62 yd touchdown run, Swink zig-zagged through the defense. Witnesses state that every Longhorn defender had at least two chances to tackle him. Nearing the 15 yard line, having left his own blockers lying on the turf, Swink picked up two new blockers wearing burnt orange. He had turned the two defenders around to the point that they were briefly out in front running interference for him. (From Greatest Moments in TCU Football History, Edited by Dan Jenkins, Francis J. Fitzgerald; 1996)
Drafted by George Halas and the Chicago Bears, he decided to forgo the NFL for med school at UT Southwestern in Dallas. As he was finishing med school, he made an arrangement with the Dallas Texans of the AFL to play for them. He had limited playing time and eventually abandoned the NFL. He has a football card made by Fleer which is nice.
69_Jim_Swink_football_card.jpg

He was also featured on the cover of Sports Illustrated:
1226_large.jpg

After med school, he went to vietnam where he was the recipient of the Purple Heart, Silver Star, and the Army Commendation Medal for Valor.
He then trained at Scott & White Hospital in Orthopedic Surgery.

His other accolades include:
'77-Inducted into Texas Sports Hall of Fame
'80-elected to the National Football Foundation Hall of Fame
'82-NCAA Silver Anniversary Honor in recognition for combined achievements in athletics and professional life.
'89-Charter member of the GTE Academic Hall of Fame
'00-Inducted into Cotton Bowl Hall of Fame
'05-Doak Walker Legends Award (in the distinguished company of greats Gale Sayers, Archie Griffin, Tony Dorsett, Earl Campbell and many others).
 

Hoosierfrog

Tier 1
Jim was also a decorated combat medic in Vietnam where he came back at the rank of captain. Jim was awarded a Purple Heart, a Bronze Star, Air Medal, the Combat Medic Badge, the Army Commendation and the Vietnamese Crown of Gallantry.
 

joejordan

Member
When Scott Ankrom and Tony Jeffery came in the same recruiting class, we all thought that TCU's football fortunes were finally on the rise...these guys were heralded football stars, then the UNbelieeeevable '84 season with them as young contributors...then darkness.

Tony had a great college career with severe team disadvantages. Scott was oft (or once and never fully recovered) injured and was not able to utilize his speed and football gifts to really help the Frogs. But, he has that glorious 99 yard TD to Maness. I was in the endzone for that play, yet I cannot remember why.
 

Leap Frog

Full Member
tcu doc summed up what I would say about Jim Swink, except for one thing. Jim played in a full-house backfield and only got about 14 snaps per game. His 8.2 ypc in '55 and his 6.3 career ypc still stand, I believe. If not, I'm sure I'll be corrected. You really had to see him to believe his amazing feats-- imagine him today with 35 carries a game, and not having to play defense.
 

tcudoc

Full Member
tcu doc summed up what I would say about Jim Swink, except for one thing. Jim played in a full-house backfield and only got about 14 snaps per game. His 8.2 ypc in '55 and his 6.3 career ypc still stand, I believe. If not, I'm sure I'll be corrected. You really had to see him to believe his amazing feats-- imagine him today with 35 carries a game, and not having to play defense.

Thanks for adding that. It makes it all the more impressive. Didn't they also have a couple fewer games back then?
 

EdKamen

Active Member
I couldn't believe Norm was not on there.


Bulaich, although not really a fullback, is listed No. 5 at fullback. He deserved recognition, but his career as a halfback was obviously derailed by his numerous injuries. I can only wonder how many games TCU had with Montgomery, Bulaich and Post all healthy in the same backfield..
 

cdsfrog

Active Member
Ed Wesley will pass Aaaron Brown on the list.

Will end up with 300-500 more rushing yards, at least 5 more rushing TDs with a YPC of 1 yard more.

Watch out for Waymon James too, he has 2 more years left.

Joseph Turner with almost 2000 yards in 3 years and 28 TD deserves honorable mention too.
 

Limp Lizard

Full Member
I think Luttrell belongs in the top 10 rather than HM......big, tough and slippery, with (often) very little blocking.....I'll never forget when we were coming up to his sophomore year (frosh hadn't been eligible) and the SWC Press Tour was in town and someone asked Mike what he ran in a 100-yard dash (this was before everybody had a 40 time on the tip of his tongue) and Mike said, ``11 flat". Which wasn't very fast, you see, but I saw him take a pitch around end at Indiana and outrun everybody about 80 yards.....
I'm with you on Luttrell, too. He as a tall back who was extremely graceful and smooth. He was very good running the deep handoff in the I-formation. Unfortunately, Shofner did not use him well and he had a so-so Senior season. Didn't he become a physician, too?

Speaking of RB's who became doctors. Once again I will state the oft-told story by Prof. Hewatt when he taught comparative anatomy. He said that when there was a home game, Swink would come into the biology lab to study his cat (at least through the 60's every student in comparative anatomy was issued a cat to dissect and study; learn how the innards of the cat really look, memorize the 90-some muscles, their origin, insertion and action...whew). Get ready for Hewatt's notoriously tough lab exams and oral exam(a rule of his oral exam was that your first answer always counted...he feared students reading his face if they gave a wrong answer and changing their answer). I can't think of any Prof. I ever knew at TCU who had as much pure power as Hewatt...being on his good side was absolutely necessary if you wanted to get into medical or dental school. Sorry for the highjack, folks.

 

Wog68

Active Member
Bulaich, although not really a fullback, is listed No. 5 at fullback. He deserved recognition, but his career as a halfback was obviously derailed by his numerous injuries. I can only wonder how many games TCU had with Montgomery, Bulaich and Post all healthy in the same backfield..

Don't forget Bubba Thornton at flanker with his legitimate 9.3 speed.
 
When Scott Ankrom and Tony Jeffery came in the same recruiting class, we all thought that TCU's football fortunes were finally on the rise...these guys were heralded football stars, then the UNbelieeeevable '84 season with them as young contributors...then darkness.

Tony had a great college career with severe team disadvantages. Scott was oft (or once and never fully recovered) injured and was not able to utilize his speed and football gifts to really help the Frogs. But, he has that glorious 99 yard TD to Maness. I was in the endzone for that play, yet I cannot remember why.
My favorite Ankrom play was the QB sneak he ran for around 50 yards. Can't remember who it was against.
 
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