August 27, 2008
Albuquerque Journal
Rocky: Frogs Have Edge
By Rick Wright, Journal Staff WriterStephen Hodge, the TCU Horned Frogs' starting strong safety, stands 6 feet tall and weighs 230 pounds.
He has been timed in the 40-yard dash at 4.4 seconds.
And, with all that going for him, he didn't break into the Frogs' starting lineup until the ninth game of his junior year — just in time to be named Mountain West Conference Defensive Player of the Week for his seven tackles, three pass breakups and one sack in TCU's 37-0 rout of New Mexico last season.
One could say, then, that Hodge personifies the problems the Lobos will face when they meet the Horned Frogs on Saturday at University Stadium.
Talent. Depth. Speed.
Talent? Lobos coach Rocky Long worked at TCU as an assistant coach from 1988-90. He believes there's enough talent available to the Horned Frogs within 50 miles of their campus to support a championship-level program.
"(But) they recruit all of Texas," Long said, "so you go to Houston and San Antonio and all those places, and all of a sudden you've got 100-some more really good football players to choose from."
Long said that, to his recollection, UNM has never beaten TCU for a recruit from Texas.
"Every kid wants to play where his family can see him play," Long said. "So, if a kid has a choice between us and TCU and he's from Texas, we can be the best recruiters in the world and he's still gonna stay at TCU."
Depth? Last season, Hodge played behind senior Brian Bonner until the TCU staff shifted responsibilities in the Frogs' defensive backfield. Bonner, who moved to weak-side safety, made first-team all-MWC and now is on the San Diego Chargers' roster. Hodge stepped into the lineup, made second-team all-conference and now is a preseason All-American.
Speed? Long said TCU has been the fastest team in the Mountain West since it entered the conference in 2005..
"Their defensive linemen are fast," he said. "Their linebackers are fast. ... Other than the offensive line, I'm talking about all the rest of 'em.
It was a slow adjustment to TCU's team speed, Long said, that caused the Lobos to fall behind early in their past three games against the Horned Frogs.
"It reminds me of trying to get ready for the triple option," he said. "You can't simulate it in practice, so when you get into the game, it's kind of a shock unless you have a very veteran team."
All that might explain why the Horned Frogs are 3-0 against the Lobos in MWC play with an average margin of 21.3 points. But Long said neither he nor his players are living in the past.
"I don't think last year's game has anything to do with this year's game," he said. "... I think (the Lobos are) approaching this game like they always do."
That's true as well of Long, who — talent, depth and speed aside — points out that the more talented team doesn't always win.
"That's the great thing about football," he said.
NOTES: UNM had sold about 16,300 season tickets as of Tuesday morning, sports information director Greg Remington said. That's the second-best total ever, behind the 17,404 sold in 2005.
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.. TCU freshman defensive end Ross Forrest is the cousin of current Lobo Bubba Forrest and the son of ex-Lobo Mike Forrest, whom Long coached while an assistant at UNM in 1979.
Rocky: Frogs Have Edge
Recruiting Base Important Factor
Saturday
TCU vs. Lobos, 4:06 p.m.
TV: Versus. Radio: KKOB-AM (770)
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