TCU rises in On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings

TCU is off to an 11-0 record in its first year under head coach Sonny Dykes. That success is paying dividends on the recruiting trail.

On Sunday night, the Horned Frogs landed a commitment from Garland (Texas) Naaman Forest four-star interior offensive lineman Markis Deal. He chose TCU over many programs, including Georgia, Texas and USC.

Deal’s pledge elevated the Horned Frogs’ 2023 recruiting class to No. 22 in the 2023 On3 Consensus Team Recruiting Rankings. TCU’s class, which also ranks No. 3 in the Big 12, rose four spots from No. 26.

Deal is the No. 104 overall prospect and No. 6 interior offensive lineman in the 2023 cycle, according to the On3 Consensus, a complete and equally weighted industry-generated average that utilizes all four major recruiting media companies. He is also the No. 20 player in Texas.

On3 rates Deal higher than other recruiting services, according to the Industry Comparison. Per the 2023 On300, he is the No. 68 overall prospect, No. 5 interior offensive lineman and No. 14 player in Texas.

TCU is finding success with in-state recruiting

A 6-foot-4, 280-pound prospect, Deal is the 21st recruit committed to the Horned Frogs. Five are four-stars, while 16 are three-stars.

One key reason for TCU’s success on the recruiting trail is its ability to keep Texas players home. 18 of the Horned Frogs’ commits are from the Lone Star State, including their top seven prospects.

That group includes Deal, Mesquite (Texas) North Mesquite four-star wide receiver Cordale Russell, Red Oak (Texas) four-star safety Warren Roberson, Amarillo (Texas) Tascosa four-star defensive lineman Avion Carter and Round Rock (Texas) Stony Point four-star running back Cameron Cook. All five players are ranked in the top 350 of the On3 Consensus.

Dykes has also landed pledges from talented three-stars, including Tyler (Texas) Chapel Hill EDGE Keviyan Huddleston and New Orleans (La.) Edna Karr linebacker Jonathan Bax. On3 rates Huddleston as a four-star recruit and ranks Bax higher than the rest of the industry as the No. 30 linebacker and No. 20 player in Louisiana.

At the moment, TCU is still in the mix for multiple blue-chip prospects. Two of them are Freeport (Texas) Brazosport four-star safety Randon Fontenette and Cypress (Texas) Cy Ranch four-star defensive lineman Ashton Porter. Fontenette decommitted from Utah on Nov. 3, while Porter backed off his pledge to Northwestern last month.