The 2017 Football season is over and the Horned Frogs finished 11-3 on the year and capped it off with another thrilling Alamo Bowl victory. The Frogs finished with a better record than most of us had predicted after a 6-7 season in 2016. Now it's time for the year-end awards for the 2017 season.
Freshman of the Year
Geoff: Jalen Reagor - Wide Receiver
Reagor led the team in yards receiving with 576 and touchdowns with eight. His eight receiving scores led the nation for freshmen. He made some spectacular plays throughout the year and capped the season off with five catches for 169 yards and a touchdown in the Alamo Bowl. We are just scratching the surface on how good Reagor can be. Reagor was named the Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year.
Billy: Jalen Reagor - Wide Receiver
Can't say it any better than that. Reagor is going to be the best wide out TCU has seen since Josh Doctson and he may be even more explosive. Reagor was a high school state champion leaper and one of the best sprinters in Texas. Give him a few years and we may see him get closer to Doctson's ability to high point a ball as well.
Newcomer of the Year
Geoff: Ross Blacklock - Defensive Tackle
Blacklock was named the Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year and with good reason. After redshirting last year Blacklock gave the Horned Frogs a stopper in the middle of the defensive line. Blacklock had 6.5 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks in 2017. The impact was even bigger from a run stopping point as the Frogs went from being ranked 73rd and allowing 185.8 yards per game to being ranked 5th and only allowing 103.9.
Billy: Ben Banogu - Defensive end
I'll say he counts since this was his first year playing for TCU. He made all Horned Frog fans happy last week when he announced he'd stay for another season. He had 49 tackles, 16.5 for loss and 8.5 sacks to go with three forced fumbles. It felt like he wasn't as effective later in the year due to opposing offenses having to account for him more, which led to monster days from Mat Boesen.
Senior Leader Award
Geoff: John Diarse - Wide Receiver
John Diarse's leadership can't be measured in catches or yards. What he brought to this team over the past two seasons was something special. What can be measured is the fact that he caught at least one pass in every game as a Horned Frog. He finished second on the team in receiving yards with 575, only one behind Jalen Reagor. When the Frogs needed a first down, they looked at John Diarse. He showed big play ability too, making one handed snags and leaping over defenders to make impossible catches. The offense will miss the consistency of Diarse.
Billy: Ranthony Texada - Cornerback
One of the fan favorites was the team leader in career games this year and the TCU defense needed Texada to step up in a big way when it lost Julius Lewis for the season. Texada missed a season due to injury already in his career so he knows the affect it could have on this secondary's depth. He tended to make up for his lack of height in fundamentals this season and was one of the best shut down corners in the Big 12.
Most Improved Player
Geoff: Darius Anderson - Running Back
Anderson showed a glimpse in the Texas game in 2016 when he ran for over 100 yards on just three carries, but he was penciled in behind Kyle Hicks at the start of 2017. When given the chance, Anderson answered the call rushing for 768 yards and eight touchdowns in just ten games, two of which he exited early due to injury. Expect for Anderson to be a focal point of the Frog offense for the next two years.
Billy: Jeff Gladney - Cornerback
He was good last year, but like with Texada, the injury to Lewis forced more on his plate. Gladney will be the top corner on this roster next year and has a lot of positives to build off of, including his pair of interceptions at Iowa State and the "pick-six-fumble recovery" against Texas tech.
Most Undervalued Player
Geoff: Patrick Morris - Center
It's hard to measure the impact of an offensive lineman in college football, but Patrick Morris was a difference maker in 2017. After making the move from left guard to center in the spring the offense looked different and it showed in 2017. In games Morris started at center the Frog offense averaged 193.1 yards rushing compared to 159.8 in games he missed and the two he didn't start while coming back from injury.
Billy: Patrick Morris - Center
Yeah really hard to go against Morris here. When he played TCU was one of the better offenses in the country. When he didn't, it was like being stuck in mud.
Special Teams Player of the Year
Geoff: Adam Nunez - Punter
Nunez did what Gary Patterson loves in a punter. Hang them up and don't let them return it. Nunez averaged 39.3 yards per punt and forced 36 fair catches while kicking 30 inside the 20 yard line and only four touchbacks. He flipped the field for the defense and consistent all year long. Let's not forget that he is also the holder for all field goals and extra points as well. TCU kickers were 14 of 16 on field goals in 2017.
Billy: Adam Nunez - Punter
Yeah again, hard to go against Nunez. He even had former NFL punter Pat McAfee tweeting about how good of a job he was doing in the West Virginia game where he had seven punts for 301 yards.
Defensive Player of the Year
Geoff: Ben Banogu - Defensive End
What can you say about Ben Banogu that hasn't already been said. He was a force on the edge and not only got to the quarterback, but was a good run defender as well. Banogu led the Frogs with 16.5 tackles for loss and tied for the team lead with three forced fumbles. Banogu was second on the team with 8.5 sacks. Banogu was named All-Big 12 first team at defensive end and was named the Big 12 Defensive Newcomer of the Year.
Billy: Mat Boesen - Defensive End
You know, normally I'd love to give an award to Banogu, but by the end of the year, there was nobody more dominating for TCU than Boesen. He finished with 64 tackles, 15 more than Banogu, 15 tackles for loss and 11.5 sacks. That might be a bit inflated by 5.5 sacks against a bad Baylor team, but if you set a school record in that and still have a "bad day" according to your coach, you still have to get some credit.
Offensive Player of the Year
Geoff: Kenny Hill - Quarterback
For all of the grief that Kenny Hill caught over his two years in Fort Worth, he handled it with class. Hill bounced back from a mediocre year in 2016 by throwing 23 touchdowns and only eight interceptions in 2017. He also ran for five touchdowns and caught two more. He broke the school record for completion percentage in 2017 by completing 67.2 percent of his passes. His 30 combined touchdowns scored in 2017 were fourth most in a season in TCU history (Boykin 41 in 2014, 40 in 2015, Dalton - 33 in 2010).
Billy: Kenny Hill - Quarterback
It was agonizingly painful to watch him at times, but then other times it was magnificent. He had two games where he ran, threw and caught touchdown passes this year. Nobody else even did it once. He was a riddle, wrapped in a mystery, inside an enigma his entire collegiate career, but at the end of the day, the team went as far as he took them.
