2012 Preview: Duo Keys Ground Game

GoFrogs.com continues its preview of the 2012 TCU football team with a look at the running backs.

TCU returns a pair of talented tailbacks in Waymon James and Matthew Tucker who both rushed for at least 700 yards last season. James and Tucker make TCU the only school in the nation to place two players on the watch list for the 2012 Doak Walker Award, presented to the nation's top running back.

James (5-8, 203, Jr.) led the Horned Frogs last season with 875 yards on a 7.2 per carry mark and six touchdowns. He ran for a career-high 181 yards on just 12 carries at Wyoming. He had a 136-yard effort in addition to returning a kickoff 82 yards for a touchdown against Portland State.

Tucker (6-1, 218, Sr.) totaled 702 yards on the ground while topping TCU with 12 touchdowns. His 27 career rushing scores rank sixth on the Horned Frogs' all-time chart. Tucker had at least one touchdown in nine of 13 games last season while topping the 90-yard mark in three contests.

Former Parade All-American Aundre Dean (6-0, 215, Sr.) adds depth to the tailback position. Dean placed fourth on the Horned Frogs with 130 yards last season. He will be in his third season on the field for TCU after transferring from UCLA.

B.J. Catalon (5-9, 185, Fr.) was an early enrollee who participated in spring drills. The Houston native was ranked by Rivals.com as the No. 1 all-purpose back in Texas and No. 7 in the nation. The Houston Chronicle tabbed him the third-best running back in the state after he rushed for 2,269 yards and 32 touchdowns on a 12.2 per carry average his senior year.

Converted linebacker Laderice Sanders (6-1, 230, RFr.) was moved to fullback during spring drills and provides the Horned Frogs with another big back.

BY THE NUMBERS:

1- Number of schools (TCU) to have more than one player (Waymon James, Matthew Tucker) on this year's watch list for the Doak Walker Award

2- Former TCU tailbacks (Aaron Brown, Ed Wesley) active in the NFL

27 - Career rushing touchdowns by Matthew Tucker to place sixth on TCU's career list

181 - Waymon James' career-high rushing total on just 12 carries at Wyoming last season, the most yards in a game by a Horned Frog since Ed Wesley ran for 209 versus Air Force in 2010

406 - Rushing yards by TCU's LaDainian Tomlinson against UTEP in 1999 to set an NCAA single-game record that still stands