Kenedy Snell to transfer from TCU

The Frogs are losing an explosive offensive weapon, as WR/RB Kenedy Snell announced his intent to transfer Monday.

Snell, who came to the Frogs as part of the 2017 recruiting class, along with high school teammate Jalen Reagor, saw his playing time diminish in 2018 with the rise of players like Taye Barber, Derius Davis, and Emari Demercado. The three star recruit was highly-touted as a jack of all trades, a speedy game-breaker who never quite got going in Fort Worth.

Snell’s first touch as a Horned Frog was a reverse field touchdown scored as a freshman, the type of play that gets fans hyped for the future.

But he would find the end zone just twice more as a freshman, and finishing his first year with five receptions for 93 yards and 25 rushing attempts for 88. In 2018, Snell saw his touches decline even more, as he has just seven attempts for 23 yards and has not recorded a stat since the season-opener against Southern.

With the emergence of other players on offense, and his opportunities steadily declining since last fall, it makes sense for Snell to pursue other options. With his redshirt available, he will have three years left of eligibility upon transferring.

The speedy Snell will likely have many suitors - he was recruited by Michigan, Illinois, Kansas, Wisconsin, and others - but will be missed in Fort Worth. Especially by a player who has been by his side for a long time:

This is the first player to take advantage of the new “redshirt rule” at TCU, a stipulation that allows for a player to retain a redshirt year as long as they do not participate in more than four games. Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant and Oklahoma State wide receiver Jalen McCleskey are two of the more high profile players to take advantage of the new rule in 2018. Alabama QB Jalen Hurts famously declined to redshirt this season after losing the start job to Tua Tagovailoa. Gary Patterson has been vocal about the rule needing some tweaking, and will likely lean in even further after Monday’s news. He has a supporter in Mike Gundy, who spoke openly after McCleskey left Stillwater.

“So let’s say you have five guys [transfer]. Well, I’m playing with 80 instead of 85 on scholarship, and I can’t replace those numbers. This new rule, with how liberal it is just to get up and walk out, is going to start to show whatever side of an ugly face it has in the future, in my opinion.

“And I’m not against the rule. I’m good. But they just need to tinker with it a little to make sure it’s better for everybody involved if a player just wants to leave. And everybody’s been wanting that, right? I mean, everybody in the country, the fans, and [the media has] been writing about it, ‘Kids need to be able to leave whenever they want.’ So that’s what everybody wants. So that’s where we’re at.”

Regardless, it has hit home for the Horned Frogs, but we would all do well to wish Kenedy good luck going forward.