Monday, January 14, 2008

TCU football’s Blake and Roach added to East-West Shrine Game

By Pegasus News wire

TCU defensive end Tommy Blake and safety David Roach have been added to Saturday's East-West Shrine Game in Houston.

Blake and Roach join Horned Frog teammate Chase Ortiz on the West roster. TCU is one of only six schools to have three players in the game. Kickoff is 6 p.m. at the University of Houston's Robertson Stadium. The contest will be televised on ESPN2.

Roach, who already played in the Hula Bowl, will become the first Frog since the close of the 1997 campaign (tight end Mike Brown, defensive end Chance McCarty) to appear in two All-Star Games in the same season.

In his seven-year tenure as TCU's head coach, Gary Patterson has seen 29 players earn All-Star Game selections. He has had 16 players drafted with 30 in NFL camps.

Blake topped TCU with six tackles for a loss over the season's final five games. His three sacks in that span tied for second on the team. Blake ranks third on TCU's career sacks list with 23.

A native of Aransas Pass, Texas, Blake is a two-time first-team All-Mountain West Conference selection. He was a unanimous pick in 2006 as well as the Defensive Most Valuable Player in the 37-7 Poinsettia Bowl win over Northern Illinois. CollegeFootballNews.com tabbed Blake as the MWC Defensive Player of the Year in 2005.

Roach was a second-team All-Mountain West Conference selection as he placed fourth on TCU with a career-high 76 tackles this season. He tied for second on the team with seven pass break-ups, including two in the 20-13 Texas Bowl victory over Houston. Roach forced two fumbles on the year and had an interception at Texas.

A graduate student from Abilene, Texas, Roach started all 13 games. He was moved from weak safety to free safety, a position he occupied in 2006, prior to the Nov. 3 game with New Mexico. The Frogs proceeded to defeat the Lobos, 37-0, en route to four wins in their final five contests.

Source: TCU

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