Why Sonny Dykes believes TCU football can bounce back in 2024

Conference media days are always used as an opportunity to sell hope and to set the narrative for the upcoming season.

For TCU football coach Sonny Dykes, was clear Tuesday that he’s hopeful that the 2024 will be a much different season than last yea’s. In 2023 the Horned Frogs thought an appearance in the national title game would carry over and propel the program to another phenomenal season.

Instead, TCU regressed across the board, limping to a 5-7 season. Why will this season be any different? For Dykes it all starts with better chemistry in the locker room.

“I think we’ve come a long way,” Dykes said at the Big 12 Conference’s media day at Allegiant Stadium. “I just think our attitude, the standard that these players set for each other and hold themselves to is different than last year’s team. There’s not a whole lot of talk about individual accolades or getting to the league or any of that kind of thing.

“It has the hunger that successful teams have and the determination that successful teams typically have. I don’t think this group wants anything to be handed to them. I think they want to scratch and fight and earn everything they get, and I really love that mentality.”

Talking to different players and coaches in the aftermath of the 2023 season, it was clear that there was an attitude shift and leadership vacuum from the 2022 season. The leadership of Max Duggan, Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson and Steve Avila was much harder to replace than anticipated.

There was also a lack of understanding of what it takes to win at such a high-level consecutively, especially when you’re not stacking top-five recruiting classes back to back. But the sting of so many 2024 defeats seems to have had a positive impact on the mindset of the Horned Frogs, especially when it comes to toughness.

“The attitude is different,” defensive lineman Caleb Fox said. “We’re not going to let you talk to us anyway. At practice we’ll chirp at each other and if a fight breaks out, it just means we’re competing as hard as we possibly can. It’s just great to see that we’ll be back talking to each other and talking about the fight with the two people who were fighting.

“It’s good to see the competitiveness and the attitude we have.”

It may sound simple, but there were countless games last season where TCU showed a lack of fight like the road game at Kansas State or how the defense performed against Colorado in the season opener.

One thing the 2022 team had in bunches was resiliency and toughness, both physical and mental. This was a team that pushed around a Michigan team that would win a championship and constantly showed it could overcome adversity.

That effectiveness was absent in 2023 and Dykes said most of that fell on his shoulders. You can’t assume that leadership will transition from one roster to the next.

“I think when you had a year like we had in 2022, the assumption is these young players are going to watch these older players, guys like Max Duggan and guys like Dee Winters, “ Dykes said. “You think guys are going to watch them and they’re going to learn from them.

“What happens in today’s college football world, you turnover almost half your roster now every year. We have to make sure that we don’t rely on our players to teach that and to pass that tradition on. That’s got to be something that we teach as coaches.”

Dykes said the staff was more intentional about building relationships with the players off the field. Each position coach like Kendal Briles and A.J. Ricker has posted pictures to social media of the players being at their homes and spending time with each other.

The 2022 group was an extremely close group and it took time to build those bonds. It’s a part of roster building that goes underrated, especially in the transfer portal era.

As much as an attitude shift is key to TCU’s success in 2024, something that will be even more important is how the Horned Frogs’ new scheme does on defense.

Of all the coordinator hires across the country, there’s a case to be made that TCU landing Andy Avalos could have the most significant impact when you look at Avalos’ track record at Boise State and Oregon.

The shift from the 3-3-5 to a four man front was jarring to watch in the spring and it’s another reason Dykes is so hopeful for a bounce back year.

“What I love about the four-down system is you’re playing with two traditional big defensive linemen,” Dykes said. “A nose guard and a three technique, then you can play with a lot of different body types on the edge. That can vary from week-to-week in your opponent and who is going to get the lion’s share of the playing time.

“ So it allows you to get a little more speed, a little more of a pass rusher on the field. I love this group of pass rushers that we have. I think that, that’s going to be the biggest area of improvement for us is pressuring the quarterback. When you pressure the quarterback, that changes the game.”

If the spring was any indication, there should be a night and day difference in the type of defense TCU plays with more players being able to make an impact.

The scheme fits the players as opposed to the players having to fit into roles they weren’t comfortable with like Fox, who played more of a defensive end in the 3-3-5.

“I’ve never been an edge guy, I don’t have the body for that,” Fox said. “Being able to play on the inside and getting more 1-on-1s in pass rush situations I’m really excited about. We have so many great defensive ends, so now we’ll be able to have two ends out there to show the depth that we have.”

In a wide open Big 12 that no longer has Oklahoma and Texas, anything is possible for all 16 teams including the Horned Frogs. An attitude and scheme adjustment could be just what TCU needs to get back to a bowl game.