TCU’s defense is already showing some bite in fall camp, and Andy Avalos likes what he’s seeing.
After the Horned Frogs’ second practice Thursday, the defensive coordinator said his group came out strong, with the secondary setting the tone and making life tough on the offense when it tried to push the ball down the field. The day belonged in part to the defensive backs, who were active all over the field.
One of the biggest standouts was senior cornerback Teon Parks, the Colorado transfer who kept showing up in coverage. He finished with multiple pass breakups and capped the day with a highlight interception in a one-on-one drill.
“We’re very fortunate to have Teon here,” Avalos said. “His growth from when he got here in January ...
We’re very excited that he’s here and the things he’s doing and what it means to him to be here, and obviously it’s showing up on the field. He’s very talented, and the skills and habits that he’s starting to build now are going to allow him to be a pretty dang good player.”
Parks’ emergence matters because TCU is replacing some important voices on that side of the ball. Safety Bud Clark and linebackers Kaleb Elarms-Orr and Namdi Obiazor are gone, and Avalos knows the next wave has to fill both production and leadership.
“We’re very fortunate. We had a great group of talent and leadership, and that’s pretty special,” Avalos said.
“We were able to do some pretty cool things last year and will our way through some games. There’s plenty of guys that are here right now, they get to step up and be the big brother that helps lead the family.”
Avalos named senior defensive tackle Ansel Din-Mbuh, junior defensive end Paul Oyewale and junior linebacker Max Carroll as players beginning to take on that role. Senior safety Jamel Johnson, a preseason All-Big 12 selection, already gives the unit an established presence.
The linebackers, though, are still the group that needs the most help from the rest of the defense. Outside of Carroll, Avalos said that room doesn’t have much experience yet, which makes the work of the defensive line and secondary even more important.
“It helps to have those guys around the linebackers,” Avalos said. “We have linebackers; they’re talented. Of course, they don’t have quite the experience that other positions may have, and we’re working diligently to get them that experience to get them the reps on different levels.”
For Avalos, the encouraging part isn’t just talent. It’s the way the group has handled the offseason grind. He said the players have leaned into the work instead of trying to dodge it, and that matters as TCU tries to build depth and confidence.
“We have good talent. We got good dudes, but they also know we got to gain this experience by how we work,” Avalos said.
“You know, guys are going to compete to be starters. Guys are going to compete to be in the rotation.
A guy starts to move himself into being a starter, move himself into being in the rotation. There’s no room to slow down.
“We don’t ask a lot here, man. Coach [Sonny Dykes] is awesome about it.
Be a good teammate, and for us and what we talk about all the time, being a good teammate for us on defense to build that experience is to show up every single day prepared and show up with a great vibe and attitude. And if we can start each and every day off like that, we’ll go take care of the rest and grow each day.”
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