Sonny Dykes offers honest feelings on TCU's running back room in 2025

TCU bounced back from a disappointing 5-7 season in 2023 with a 9-4 record and a dominant 34-3 win over Louisiana in the New Mexico Bowl in 2024.

Although quarterback Josh Hoover elevated his game (and broke multiple single-season school records along the way), TCU‘s running back room was extremely disappointing. Last season, the Horned Frogs averaged just 113.9 rush yards per game, which ranked 113th among all Division I programs.

Head coach Sonny Dykes, who is entering his fourth season at the helm in Fort Worth, discussed his running back room for the upcoming season at this week’s Big 12 Media Days.

“I’m excited about that group,” Dykes said. “I think we did not run the football well last year and I think if you said what do you need to improve on, earlier in the year we were a turnover machine. We turned the ball over way too many times. We didn’t create enough turnovers defensively. We gotta be able to stop the run better defensively, but the big thing is we gotta be able to run the football on offense. Our offense works at a really, really high level when we can run the ball.”

TCU lost its two leading rushers from last season, but Dykes seems excited for some of the younger guys to step up this season.

Dykes is excited to see production from his running backs

“So we have some young running backs. I think Nate Palmer really asserted himself in the spring and got some carries in the bowl game last year. We’ve started to see some really good things from him. I’m very excited about him and I think he’s a young player that I think has a tremendous opportunity. Jeremy Payne is another very exciting young player who really was our most productive running back last season. Trent Battle is a veteran who’s been a journeyman for us who’s done a lot of different things for our program and helps us win. He’s coming back.”

“And Kevorian Barnes is a transfer that we’re very excited about. We’ve got to finish runs and play more physical than we did last year at that position. Those guys are capable of doing that. But we’ve got to play better up front and do a better job of being physical and having that mindset. And so a big part of our success this year will be determined by how well we run the football. Can we do it consistently and can we do it in critical situations.”

The threesome of Palmer, Payne and Battle totaled 450 rushing yards and five touchdowns last season. Barnes, who transferred from UTSA in the offseason, rushed for 221 yards and two scores in 2024.

TCU opens the 2025 season against Bill Belichick and North Carolina in Chapel Hill on September 1.