Camp '09 - Hughes Anchors Defensive Line
8/29/2009 12:00:00 AM | Football
Aug. 29, 2009
FORT WORTH, Texas -- GoFrogs.com continues its preview of the 2009 TCU football team with a look at the defensive line.
Defensive end Jerry Hughes (6-3, 257, Sr.) was a consensus All-American last season and a finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy and Ted Hendricks Award. He's been named to nine preseason All-America teams and six watch lists for major awards in 2009.
A senior from Sugar Land, Texas, Hughes was a tailback and kick returner in high school. He never played on defense until arriving at TCU. Hughes started just one game his first two seasons with the Horned Frogs before exploding on the scene last fall.
Hughes led the nation with 15 sacks and six forced fumbles. He also ranked in the top 10 in tackles for loss (19.5) and fumble recoveries (three). Hughes added two interceptions, including one returned for a touchdown.
In the Frogs' 32-7 win over BYU, Hughes recorded four sacks and forced two fumbles to receive multiple National Defensive Player of the Week honors. His final sack of the season came in the waning minutes of the Poinsettia Bowl to help preserve the 17-16 win over Boise State.
Wayne Daniels (6-2, 250, Jr.) entered the fall as the starter at right defensive end. The Kilgore, Texas, native totaled 11 tackles last season with a sack and fumble recovery.
Pushing Daniels will be Ross Forrest (6-4, 246, So.) and Braylon Broughton (6-6, 248, So.).
Forrest came to TCU as a walk-on. His impressive preseason camp enabled him to play in 11 games as a true freshman. Broughton was the 2008 Preseason Mountain West Conference Freshman of the Year.
Veteran Clarence Leatch (6-4, 245, Jr.) adds depth at defensive end and will vie for playing time.
Kelly Griffin (6-1, 295, Jr.) came out of the spring as the starter at nose tackle. In 2007, he became the only true freshman to start in the eight-year tenure of TCU coach Gary Patterson. Griffin started all 13 games for the Frogs that campaign.
Pushing Griffin will be fellow junior Henry Niutei (6-4, 300, Jr.), TCU's 2008 Scout Team Defensive Most Valuable Player.
Cory Grant (6-2, 303, Jr.) began the fall No. 1 on the depth chart at defensive tackle. Grant has three tackles for loss, including two sacks, in his career.
Jeremy Coleman (6-2, 285, RFr.) is a very promising young player who will compete for playing time. He was a redshirt in his first fall on campus.
BY THE NUMBERS:
1 - Nephews (Clarence Leatch) of former TCU football players (Stephen Hodge)
5 - Number of schools (Kansas State, Tennessee Tech, Utah State, Navy, TCU) where TCU defensive coordinator/defensive line coach Dick Bumpas and head coach Gary Patterson have worked together
13 - Number of games started by Kelly Griffin as a true freshman in 2007
17 - TCU single-season sack record set in 2003 by former defensive end Bo Schobel
1,412 - Yards rushing by Jerry Hughes as a senior at Austin High School in Sugar Land, Texas
