2022 TCU Football Preview: Cornerbacks

TCU football kicks off the 2022 season in less than one month, with the Horned Frogs scheduled to usher in the Sonny Dykes era with a road game against Colorado on Friday, Sept. 2. Dykes has replenished the coaching staff with several new assistants including Carlton Buckels, who worked alongside new TCU defensive coordinator Joe Gillespie at Tulsa from 2018-21. Buckels will lead the cornerback room, which features a handful of experienced senior players as well as two transfers and a pair of incoming freshmen.

Among the most notable returning corners will be two-time All-Big 12 First Team senior Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson, who represented TCU at the Big 12 Media Days earlier this summer. With 76 total tackles, 34 games played, 23 passes defensed and two interceptions over the last three seasons, Hodges-Tomlinson should begin the season as one of TCU’s two starting cornerbacks. After deciding to return for his senior season, Hodges-Tomlinson could emerge as a high choice in the 2023 NFL Draft with a strong senior campaign.

Also returning to the program this season will be sixth-year senior Noah Daniels, who has ranked among the best corners in college football when healthy. While injuries have limited Daniels to only nine games played over the last three seasons, he’s been a starter when healthy and a productive one at that, totaling 32 tackles with six passes defensed. Daniels could play his way back onto NFL radars with a strong and healthy 2022 campaign.

TCU aggressively added transfers over the offseason and one of those players was Louisiana-Monroe cornerback Josh Newton, who has reportedly made an early impression during fall camp and even took first-team reps at a recent practice. A converted wide receiver, Newton recorded 68 total tackles and 10 passes defensed over his last two seasons at Louisiana-Monroe before opting to continue his career with the Horned Frogs. With 21 career starts, Newton has the experience necessary to be a Week 1 starter.

Missouri transfer Ish Burdine also joined the Horned Frogs over the offseason. A former four-star recruit, Burdine appeared in 14 games over three seasons with the Tigers, totaling 17 tackles and three passes defensed from the safety position. One of three redshirt juniors TCU will field at the cornerback position, Burdine will compete for a spot near the top of the depth chart along with returning cornerback Kee’yon Stewart, who has 32 total tackles and seven passes defensed in 17 games played over the last three seasons with the Frogs.

Other notable returners in the cornerback room are redshirt sophomore and former four-star recruit Keontae Jenkins as well as freshmen Kyron Chambers and Ronald Lewis, who each arrive as three-star prospects. Redshirt senior C.J. Ceasar II is back in the fold after compiling 25 total tackles and five passed defensed during the 2021 campaign. Redshirt freshman and former three-star Marvin Covington appeared in three games last year.