TCU News: “I know I’ve just got to go out there with the best body language, the best mindset possible.”

Football:

TCU football mourns the loss of former player Jamal Powell, 39 | The Star-Telegram

A huge loss for the college football community.

Powell graduated from TCU with a degree in speech communications and a minor in business. He played professionally after his college career, including stints with the Tennessee Titans and Houston Texans, before starting his coaching career.

Powell joined SMU’s staff in 2018.

“It’s hard to put into [words] how heartbroken our family is but we are so thankful such a remarkable and unique man came into our life,” SMU coach Sonny Dykes wrote on Twitter. “He made everyone he met want to be better. God bless the Powell Family.”

Powell is survived by his wife, Rachel; daughters, Jaden and Ellison; and son, William. Funeral arrangements have not been announced.

TCU HC Gary Patterson says offensive line improving in spring camp | Horned Frog Blitz

When the defense is back to full strength, we will get a better judgement of the o-line.

When it comes to giving a fair evaluation of the offensive line improvement, Patterson says it hasn’t been hard at all despite the injuries to the defense.

“Up front it’s easy because we have a lot of our front guys,” he said. “We have all of our ends and four out of our eight defensive tackles so we’ve been able to see ourselves progress there. The linebackers have gotten better which will add depth in the fall.”

Patterson noted that Eze and center Steve Avila have particularly stood out this spring. A redshirt junior, Avila played center, guard and right tackle in 2020. Patterson feels Avila could be one of the best in the nation.

“I think Steve Avila is going to be one of the best centers in the country, if not the best. He’s a really good player. He’s 330-pounds and can really move side to side. I’ve been very impressed with him,” he said. “The whole offensive line is vastly improved. Every day we get better; all of our number two’s are redshirt freshmen.”

“The offense has really progressed; the offensive line, the tight ends, wide receivers and running backs; the whole group has gotten better since the beginning of spring.”

NFL draft profile: Trevon Moehrig of TCU | Chicago Tribune

Could Moehrig work with another former Frog in Chicago?

Trevon Moehrig moved from cornerback to safety when he joined TCU out of high school. Moehrig developed into one of the top safeties, earning second-team All-American and winning the Jim Thorpe Award for the country’s the top defensive back in 2020.

Baseball:

Lisbon’s Austin Krob makes an impact for powerful TCU baseball team | The Gazette

Krob looks like a big leaguer this year.

His pitching coach, Kirk Sarloos, a former major leaguer, told him he had to learn how to throw a changeup if he wanted to be a starter, so that’s what he worked on playing for a summer league team in San Antonio. Krob doesn’t use it much right now, but it’s another look for hitters who already have a difficult time with his fastball-slider combo.

That heater has topped out at 95 miles per hour this season.

“I knew that if I wanted to be a starter here, I had to have three pitches,” he said. “I knew that I wouldn’t be able to get by with just a fastball and a slider. My pitching coach, Kirk Sarloos, told me the changeup is one of the best pitches in the game and that he didn’t see people hitting me if I developed it. That really stuck with me, just thinking about how good I can be with a changeup if I can develop it. That was my main goal over the summer. It’s coming along.”

Basketball:

TCU basketball adds one, and loses one, to the NCAA transfer portal on same day | The Star-Telegram

What is happening in this program?

As far as Easley, there were rumblings he’d be headed to the portal so it wasn’t much of a surprise when he officially put his name in Wednesday, according to sources.

Easley joined TCU as a transfer out of Chattanooga following the 2018-19 season. Easley sat out the 2019-20 season and found himself in a limited role last season. He averaged 4.5 points and 3.7 rebounds in 26 games.

Easley is the fourth forward from last year’s opening-day roster to land in the portal, joining Diante Smith, Mickey Pearson and Jaedon LeDee.

TCU could also lose its leading scorer with RJ Nembhard declaring for the NBA Draft. Nembhard could still return to school, but some outlets project him as a top 50 prospect in the 2021 class.

Center Kevin Samuel also has yet to declare his intentions for next season.