Tomlinson's Legacy Lingers at TCU
10/2/2014 12:00:00 AM | Football
TCU Athletics Media Relations
FORT WORTH, Texas - It's been nearly 15 years since LaDainian Tomlinson took a snap for the Horned Frogs, but the effects of his storied career still loom large and are still being felt.
When 25th-ranked TCU plays host to No. 3 Oklahoma on Saturday in a high-profile matchup that has become more of the norm than rarity in Fort Worth, Tomlinson will receive an On Campus Salute at the close of the first quarter for his efforts in helping build that tradition that ultimately sent him to the College Football Hall of Fame.
From 1936-1999, the Horned Frogs ended the season in the AP final poll eight times. However, including Tomlinson's final year in 2000, the Frogs have since finished in the final poll nine times.
In the 10 years prior to his arrival to TCU, the Frogs experienced just three winning seasons. After going 1-10 his first season, the Frogs won 25 games in his last three years and were co-champions of the Western Athletic Conference in 1999 and 2000.
The Frogs claimed seven wins in 1998, tying for the most since 1984, including a 28-19 win over USC in the Sun Bowl.
After a slow start in 1999 (1-3 after four games) the Frogs went 7-1 down the stretch and were co-conference champions while topping No. 20 East Carolina, 28-14, in the Mobile Alabama Bowl.
TCU opened the 2000 season ranked No. 20 and climbed as high as No. 9 en route to the school's first-ever 10 win season.
Tomlinson ran wild during his senior season in 2000 with 2,158 yards on the ground, finishing fourth in the Heisman Trophy voting while receiving the Doak Walker Award, signifying the nation's top running back.
Tomlinson, who prepped at Waco's University High School, came on campus in 1997 and when he left four years later, he had led the nation in rushing in 1999 (1,850 yards) and again in 2000 (2,158 yards), becoming the first back in TCU history to rush for more than 2,000 yards. At the time his total was the fourth highest in NCAA history.
Tomlinson also busted off 406 yards on 43 carries in a win over UTEP in 1999, a total that still tops the nation.
Tomlinson, the fifth overall selection by the San Diego Chargers, would go on to play 13 seasons in the NFL (Chargers for 11 seasons and the New York Jets for two seasons), racking up 13,684 yards and 145 touchdowns. He also recorded 624 receptions for 4,772 yards and 17 scores.
He was named the league's MVP and AP Offensive Player of the Year in 2006 -- the first of two seasons in which he led the league in rushing. He also made five Pro Bowl appearances and is a member of the 2000s All-Decade Team.
As TCU's first high-profile representative in the NFL in recent history, Tomlinson became the face of the program, ushering in a new class of Horned Frogs. As of July, a total of 19 Frogs were on NFL rosters and close to 50 more former standouts, who played with Tomlinson and after him, have spent time in NFL or CFL camps or rosters.
Earlier this year, Tomlinson, along with 15 others (14 players and two coaches), were inducted into the College Football Hall of Fame. Tomlinson, a 2005 graduate of TCU, will be enshrined on Tues., Oct. 7 in Atlanta, Ga.
He joins Tony Boselli, Shane Conlan, Darrin Nelson, Dave Butz, Dre' Bly, Joe Hamilton, John Huard, Willie Roaf, Derrick Thomas, John Sciarra, Sterling Sharp, Leonard Smith and Wesley Walls, and coaches Mike Bellotti and Jerry Moore in the 2014 Class.
