Recruiting Update: Horned Frogs’ 2020 offensive line class looking like one of Big 12’s best

Trinity Valley Community College (Athens, Texas) three-star offensive tackle Brandon Coleman became the latest member of TCU’s 2020 class on Monday.

The 12th overall commit in the cycle, Coleman is the fourth offensive lineman to verbally pledge to the Horned Frogs.

This class will be on the smaller side, but offensive line coach Chris Thomsen has done an excellent job of allocating his resources. Allowing the fewest sacks in the conference in back-to-back years, Thomsen’s effect on the offensive line has been apparent since he joined Gary Patterson’s staff in February 2017.

While the Horned Frogs lack the four-star prospects that Oklahoma and Texas possess, TCU compares favorably to every other Big 12 school at the offensive line position in the 2020 class.

In addition to Coleman, our three other commits in the positional group are three-stars, too. Michael Nichols (Justin, Texas) needs to add weight at only 255 pounds and just started playing tackle in 2018, but has shown rapid improvement. With the graduations of David Bolisomi, Anthony McKinney and Lucas Niang, there will be opportunities for Coleman and Nichols to compete for immediate playing time.

Guard Altrique Barlow (Virginia Beach, Virginia) has the potential to be Thomsen’s best in the class. At 6-foot-3 and a whopping 356 pounds, Barlow is comfortable in either pass protection or run blocking and has shown the ability to use his strength to slow the initial rush of opposing defensive tackles.

Tyler Bailey (Edinburg, Texas), a top-15 center nationally according to the 247Sports Composite, committed to TCU over LSU, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and others. What separates Bailey from the rest is his versatility. Having played tackle in high school, he has the quick feet necessary to play outside and the stability at 280 pounds to play on the interior.

TCU’s four offensive line commits are tied for the most in the conference right now with six other programs. Of those six, the Horned Frogs stack up well with three: Iowa State, Kansas State and Oklahoma State.

Like the Horned Frogs, each of the aforementioned programs has all three-star commits. 3-0 and receiving 51 votes in the AP Poll, Oklahoma State’s four commits having an average rating of .8667 using the Composite; TCU’s have an average rating of .8691. Iowa State is at .8545 and Kansas State is at .8458.

Trailing only the Sooners and Longhorns, there is a strong argument to be made TCU has compiled the third-best collection of 2020 offensive line commits. Factoring in the known success of a coach like Thomsen, there are plenty of reasons to be excited about the future of this group.

Off to a 2-0 start, the 2019 Horned Frogs host the SMU Mustangs on Saturday (2:30PM CT, FS1).

The “Battle for the Iron Skillet,” these two programs have met 98 times dating back to 1915. TCU leads the series, 51-40-7, and has won each of the last seven meetings.