Five Frogs Honored By Collegefootballnews.com
12/12/2003 12:00:00 AM | Football
Dec. 12, 2003
Five TCU Horned Frogs have earned All-America recognition by collegefootballnews.com, according to the website devoted to college football. Defensive end Bo Schobel and placekicker Nick Browne were named to the third team All-America squad, while wide receiver Cory Rodgers earned first team Freshman All-America honors. Tailback Robert Merrill and offensive tackle Herbert Taylor were given honorable mention Freshman All-America accolades.
Schobel, a 6-5, 268-pounder from Columbus, Texas, earned first team all-conference honors according to both the league's coaches and media and collegefootballnews.com. He was named the Conference USA Player of the Year by The Sporting News and is one of six finalist for the Ted Hendricks Award, given to the nation's top defensive end. He led C-USA in sacks and in tackles for loss this season, figuring in on a school record 16.0 sacks and on 26 TFLs.
Browne, a 5-10, 172 placekicker from Garland, Texas, was named first team All-America by the Football Writers Association of America, by the Walter Camp Foundation and second team All-America by The Sporting News. He was a first team all-league selection for the second straight year and was named the 2003 Conference USA Special Teams Player of the Year. He is also a first team CoSIDA Academic All-American for the second straight year. Browne is tied for second in the NCAA in field goals made (27), is tied for first in field goals made per game (2.25) and is 11th in the nation in scoring, averaging a conference-leading 9.6 points per game.
Rodgers earned third team all-conference honors as a punt returner and was named to the Conference USA All-Freshman squad as both a wide receiver and punt returner. The 6-1, 186-pound redshirt freshman from Houston led the team and was fifth in the league in all-purpose yardage, averaging 114.6 yards per game. He was second on the team in receiving with 33 catches for 539 yards, an average of 16.3 yards per catch.
Merrill, a redshirt freshman from San Antonio, started the season on the third team on the depth chart and ended the year as a second team all-Conference USA selection, a member of the C-USA all-Freshman squad and a second team Freshman All-American, according to The Sporting News. He broke the TCU freshman rushing record, set by Lonta Hobbs last season. The 5-10, 190-pounder carried 193 times for 1,081 yards, an average of 5.6 yards per carry. It was just the ninth 1000-yard rushing season in TCU history.
Taylor started all 12 games at right offensive tackle in 2003. A 6-4, 270-pound redshirt freshman from Houston earned Conference USA All-Freshman recognition. TCU is one of seven schools in the country averaging over 200 yards rushing and 200 yards passing per game.
