TCU may have to navigate its home opener against Grambling State without two of its most important starters, and one of them is already officially shut down.
Senior edge rusher Zach Chapman was ruled out Tuesday by head coach Sonny Dykes, while senior wide receiver Jordan Dwyer is still questionable for Saturday night’s game at Amon G. Carter Stadium. The Horned Frogs, who opened the season with a loss to North Carolina, host Grambling State at 7 p.m.
“I don’t think you’ll see Zach this week,” Dykes said when asked about Chapman’s spot on the depth chart.
Chapman, a former freshman All-American, was held back through fall camp while wearing a boot because of a lower leg injury, and he also missed the opener. He’s one of TCU’s top pass rushers, coming off a season in which he started nine games and finished with 28 tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Dwyer’s situation is less certain. The team’s top receiver is dealing with a foot injury, and Dykes said the staff is still waiting for word on whether he’ll be available.
“We’re waiting to hear on him,” Dykes said.
Dwyer transferred in from Idaho and was second on the team last season with 730 yards and seven touchdowns. He entered the year expected to push for All-Big 12 recognition, but he could miss a second straight game.
If Dwyer can’t go, Dykes already has a plan for the receiver rotation. “Depending on the personnel grouping you’re going to see Ed [Small],” Dykes said.
“He’s performed really well for us. Jeremy Scott is a guy that is getting better consistently.
Jacobe Hayes will probably be the first three that roll out.”
Small and Hayes are sophomores, while Scott is a junior transfer from South Alabama. Small led TCU with nine catches for 65 yards against North Carolina. Hayes finished with one catch for 23 yards, and Scott had one reception for three yards.
In Other News...
TCU Depth Chart Just Raised New Questions Before Grambling State
TCUs depth chart for the Grambling State game offered the kind of early-season snapshot coaches use to set the tone, but it also came with a few fresh wrinkles. Receiver Jordan Dwyer, who had been listed as questionable, is now penciled in as a starter, while the defense has a notable new layer with edge rusher Zach Chapman back in the mix after missing both spring and fall camp.
The chart also suggests more than a few spots are still up for grabs, with competition showing up along the offensive line, at linebacker, safety, nickel and kicker. For a program trying to sort out its rotation while still separating the week-to-week starters from the next wave of contributors, it is the kind of release that answers one question and opens several more. [Read more 🡒]
TCUs Biggest Week 2 Question Starts With Jaden Craig
TCU spent the week after its opening loss to North Carolina trying to clean up the details, and a lot of that attention naturally landed on Jaden Craig. The quarterbacks first outing gave the Horned Frogs plenty to sort through, while the defense is also being watched closely as players like Max Carroll and Hudson Hooper try to set a better tone in practice. The work has sounded physical enough to suggest the staff wants a sharper response when Grambling comes in, not just a better result.
The bigger question now is how much the coaches can get out of the rest of the quarterback room if Craig needs help getting the offense on track. There is already some speculation about backup options, including Schobel, and the next few days should tell TCU a lot about how quickly it can stabilize after Week 1. For a team trying to move past an uneven opener, the answer at quarterback may end up shaping everything else. [Read more 🡒]
TCU Faces One Early Stretch That Could Test The Frogs Fast
The next month on TCUs schedule should tell a lot about how quickly the Horned Frogs can settle in this fall. Grambling State and Arkansas State look like the kind of games a program expects to handle at home, but the conversation changes fast once the Frogs move into a run that also includes UCF and BYU. It is the kind of stretch that can lull a team into feeling comfortable before the real questions start arriving, especially when trap-game chatter is already part of the backdrop.
UCF and BYU are the matchups that give the slate its edge, and Baylors recent games offer a useful measuring point for what those opponents can look like. The concern for TCU is not just talent level, but timing and mindset, with the tougher tests landing after the opening pair of expected wins. BYU, in particular, still carries the memory of last seasons lopsided result against the Frogs, which is why this early run feels less like a warmup than a first real chance to see what TCU has under it. [Read more 🡒]