TCU Football Junior Day Sways Recruits

TCU and Gary Patterson welcomed 11 prospects to campus for Junior Day. These juniors would make up a part of TCU’s 2012 recruiting class.

As TCU’s current team begins Spring Practice today, let’s take a look at each prospect that attended Junior Day and where they stand in their recruiting process.

1. Griffin Gilbert- Gilbert is an enormous tight end prospect out of Austin, Texas. At 6’5 and 210 pounds, he moves extremely well for a big tight end. Rivals.com lists him as running a 4.5 second 40 yard dash. So far Gilbert has been offered by TCU, Texas, Clemson, and Texas Tech. Gilbert has the reputation of being a hard worker both on the practice field and in the weight room. Gilbert says that he will commit no later than the end of March.

2. LaDarius Anthony-As I just wrote, Anthony just committed to TCU. The big running back ran for over 1000 yards and scored 11 TD’s as a junior despite some nagging injuries. Anthony is the first running back recruit for TCU in the 2012 class.

3. Michael Starts-Michael is a highly sought after offensive lineman from Waco, Texas. At 6’4 and 280 pounds, Starts has commanded the attention of many high profile schools including Texas, Alabama, and Auburn. Baylor is also recruiting the big offensive lineman. So far Starts has six scholarship offers, but more could be on the way.

4. Mac Long– Mac is another big offensive lineman from Texas. Long has not been as highly recruited as Starts, and if fact, TCU has not even offered him a scholarhship despite inviting him to their junior day. Long’s only offers are from Texas Tech and Houston so far, so Long would most likely jump on an offer if TCU gives him a scholarship. Long claims that he has heard from TCU, Alabama, and Oregon in addition to the schools that have already offered him a scholarship. Long says he is looking for a college that can offer a “small-town feel.”

5. Benjamin Catalon-Benjamin is an all-purpose back out of Westside High School in Houston, Texas. The athletic back is only 5’8 inches tall, but he runs a 4.45 in the 40 yard dash, and he has averaged 14.1 and 8.9 yards per carry in his sophomore and junior years of high school respectively. Catalon has four offers so far from Missouri, Tulsa, Baylor, and Colorado. BJ Catalon can also catch the ball out of the backfield well, and he has very soft hands according to one scout. According to rivals.com, Catalon will finish high school early to enroll in the spring of 2012 at whatever college he decides to attend.

6. Kolby Listenbee-Kolby is listed as an athlete by rivals.com, and he resides in nearby Arlington, Texas. Listenbee served as a dual-threat quarterback his junior year of high school, and he ran for over 1,000 yards while throwing 9 TD’s as well. Listenbee figures to play the wide receiver or defensive back position in college. TCU has just recently offered him a scholarship. Texas A&M appears to be recruiting the Arlington native hard as well.

7. Russell Hansbrough-Hansbrough is another all purpose back, and he is also from Arlington, Texas. Russell already has 8 offers on the tables from schools like TCU, Auburn, Baylor, Kansas, and Missouri. Hansbrough’s stunning 4.2 speed has allowed him to rush for over 900 yards his junior and sophomore years in high school despite defenses gearing up to stop him. Hansbrough has sited TCU, Missouri, and Auburn as the schools who he is most interested in. Hansbrough has sited academics, a good offensive line, and a Christian base as things he is looking for in a school….sounds like TCU to me. However, Hansbrough has said he is in no rush to make his decision.

8. Kenneth Marshall-Kenneth is a cornerback from Houston, Texas. The physical cornerback currently has offers from Oklahoma State, Texas A&M, and Houston. With good size and foot speed, Marshall figures to pick up a few more offers in the future. TCU and Gary Patterson would like to acquire as many defensive backs as possible to fit in Patterson’s 4-2-5 defense. Marshall has said that he would like to stay in the Big 12, and if Texas offers Marshall, he could be headed to Austin.

9. James McFarland-James is a 6’3, 230 pound defensive end who will need to put on a little weight to play defensive end at the college level. He has listed only three main choices for his college decision according to Rivals.com. He currently only holds offers from TCU and Louisianna Tech, but he is interested in LSU as well. McFarland has also received letters of interest from Alabama, Arkansas, and LSU. McFarland comes from the same high school as 2011 TCU commit, Chuck Hunter. He will attend TCU, LSU, and Alabama’s camps this summer.

10. Denzel Devall-Devall is a weakside defensive end from Bastrop, Louisianna. He is an imposing physical presence on the field, and he holds offers from TCU, LSU, Texas A&M, and Arkansas. “It went great,” Devall said after his visit on junior day. “I really liked the facilities, they were much different than I expected. I thought they would be older but they were all new and really nice.” TCU hopes to add another recruit from Louisianna to go along with Jimmy Young, Kenny Cain, Curtis Carter, and Chuck Hunter who they have recently gotten from the state.

11. Austin Aune-Aune committed today to play football and baseball at TCU. He is a quarterback on the football field and star on the diamond as well. He is the second quarterback commit that TCU has already gotten for the 2012 class. Aune had previously committed to Baylor before switching to TCU.