TCU Football: Awards keep adding up for Frogs

by Todd E. Jones of College Football Top Ten

A ten win season will do it for you, garner many awards. That is what happened at TCU this year. The Horned Frogs were probably less than two minutes of regulation play away from getting an invitation to a BCS affiliated bowl game. They lost to Utah on the road in November, and the Utes finished out their schedule undefeated and now they are playing Alabama in the Sugar Bowl. The Horned Frogs will travel to San Diego to play undefeated Boise State in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl. The game will be December 23 at 7 p.m. on ESPN.

For the Horned Frogs, the awards start on defense, and no one has more of them than defensive end Jerry Hughes. The six foot three, two hundred sixty pound junior from Sugar Land, TX came in the season not on anyone’s radar. For the year, he finished first in sacks in the NCAA with 14. He also has six forced fumbles, three fumble recoveries and two interceptions, one of which he returned for a touchdown. Hughes ended the season a first-team All-American for seven media outlets: Walter Camp Football Foundation, Football Writers Association of America, Sporting News, CBSSports.com, Rivals.com, SI.com and Phil Steele. Additionally, he is a second-team All-American for the Associated Press, a first-team All Mountain West Conference selection and MWC Defensive Player of the year. Three times Hughes was a Mountain West Conference defensive player of the week, and, furthermore, he was named a Walter Camp Foundation and FWAA/Bronko Nagurski Trophy National Defensive Player of the Week.

Senior linebacker Jason Phillips of Waller, TX was named honorable-mention All-American by SI.com. Phillips has been named either first or second team All Mountain West Conference in four consecutive seasons, the only defensive player in conference history to do so. Phillips was a first-team All MWC in 2008. With 310 total tackles in his career, Phillips leads TCU’s second ranked defense in tackles this year with 79. Additionally, Phillips has been selected to play in the prestigious East-West Shrine Game on January 17 at Robertson Stadium in Houston.

TCU led the Mountain West Conference with 18 All MWC selections. Drew Combs was named a finalist for the Rudy Award, and Defensive Coordinator Dick Bumpas was a finalist for the Broyles Award given to the top assistant coach in the country as well as being named by FootballScoop.com as college football’s 2008 Defensive Line Coach of the Year. TCU Strenght and Conditioning Coach Don Sommer was named as the 2008 National Strength and Conditioning Coach of the Year by FootballScoop.com. Hughes was a finalist for several national awards. The Horned Frogs have definitely accumulated the hardware. For his part, TCU Head Coach Gary Patterson is a finalist for the George Munger National Coach of the Year Award.

Information courtesy of the TCU Athletic Decpartment