TCU Football Countdown: 6 Days

Wer'e finally inside one week until TCU football and today we have another two-for because TCU has a number six on offense and defense this year.  Both, coincidentally, have pretty awesome names that make me wish TCU still published a pronunciation guide for their players.   Wearing number six on the defensive side of the ball is Kenny Iloka.  Kenny is one of the-players that I am most excited about coming into the season.  Not only does he have 4.55 speed and great instincts to get to the football, but he is 6'2", 210 and can also lay a hit on someone. He also played in the 4-2-5 system at Tyler Junior College before he transferred to TCU, so while he has only been at TCU one year, he has had several to learn how to be a safety in Gary Patterson's system.

In 2014 Iloka played in all 13 games and recorded 15 tackles.  Although all of his tackles occurred during games which were blowouts, the fact that 14 of those were solo tackles is a testament to his ability to match up against offensive players in space. Iloka was the #1 junior college safety in the nation when he joined the Frogs last year as a transfer student.  In 2013, playing in the 4-2-5 at Tyler Junior College, he led the nation with 126 tackles, three and 1/2 sacks, and eight pass breakups.  He also played quite a bit of offense at the JC level, so he has the ability to get some yards back when he gets the ball in his hands.  Iloka's ceiling is very high, and performing at a high level runs in his family.  His brother, George Iloka, was drafted out of Boise State in 2012 and currently plays strong safety for the Cincinnati  Bengals.

Representing number six on the other side of the ball is senior quarterback Bram Kohlhausen. The current backup to Trevone Boykin has bounced around a lot in his college playing career.  He spent a year at Houston (his hometown team)  and one at L.A. Harbor College before ending up at TCU last year.  Once Matt Joeckel went down, Kohlhausen was Chief of Mop-Up Duty for the rest of the year.  He completed seven of his nine passes for 43 yards including one 5 yarder with about 5 minutes left in the fourth quarter against Texas Tech that Red Raider fans are still pretty sore about.

Patterson mentioned in the spring that outside of Trevone Boykin, he did not feel like he had another quarterback who was capable of winning a Big XII title.  I don't know if he still feels that way; he may not.  Last year one summer was the difference between Boykin being a struggling quarterback and a dominant one.  At this point, Sonny Cumbie seems capable of pulling Superfrog off the sidelines and turning him into a capable passer.  All I know is this: a few months ago during the spring game, Kohlhausen and Listenbee hooked up for a couple of big ones that convinced, at least me, that they'll be just fine teaming up together this fall if need be.