The 2025 season was TCU’s second under defensive coordinator Andy Avalos. The Horned Frogs fared well to stop the pass last season, but run defense was another issue. TCU allowed 160.5 rushing yards and
4.2 yards per carry, making the Horned Frogs one of the worst run defenses in the Big 12. Would that improve in 2025?
Returning most of its starting defensive linemen, including redshirt sophomore nose tackle Markis Deal, TCU made strides in the run game. The Horned Frogs held opponents to 133.1 rushing yards per game, which ranked fifth-best in the conference. TCU also limited foes to 3.7 yards per carry, which tied with BYU and Houston for fourth-best among Big 12 teams. The team allowed just 10 rushing touchdowns, second-fewest in the Big 12.
Although TCU fared well in the run game, generating pressure on the quarterback proved difficult. Fifth-year senior Devean Deal, who once again started at EDGE after transferring in from Tulane last offseason, finished with only 2.5 sacks, the most for any defensive lineman. Redshirt sophomore Ansel Din-Mbuh, a transfer from Washington State who registered six sacks in 2024, started 12 games this season, but compiled just two sacks. Redshirt sophomore Zach Chapman, a freshman all-american a year ago, logged only 1.5 sacks in nine starts.
The good news for the Horned Frogs is that for the second offseason in a row, nearly every major contributor on the defensive line is eligible to return in 2026. We’ll first take a look at EDGE, where Devean Deal earned All-Big 12 Second Team honors in his second season at TCU. The older brother of Markis Deal registered 53 total tackles, which led all EDGE rushers, while adding four pass breakups, one forced fumble and one fumble recovery.
With Deal graduating from the roster, TCU will look for redshirt junior Paul Oyewale and Zach Chapman to step in next season. Oyewale, who was rumored to be entering the transfer portal but has declared his return, totaled 31 total tackles, two sacks, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble. A four-year member of the Horned Frogs, Oyewale has played in 27 games over the course of his TCU career. Chapman, who’s played in 26 games at TCU, finished with 28 total tackles, one fumble recovery and one forced fumble in 2025.
The Horned Frogs will be losing some depth at the EDGE position, as junior Jonathan Bax entered the portal and has since committed to Florida Atlantic. Replacing him will be sophomore Travis Jackson and a group of talented freshmen like Chad Woodfork, Jared Martin and John Schobel. TCU has signed two four-star prospects, Carter Buck and Jesse Ford, as well as Western Kentucky EDGE Koron Hayward and Texas Tech EDGE Cheta Ofili.
Moving over to defensive tackle, Din-Mbuh and Markis Deal are both returning next season. Din-Mbuh logged 24 total tackles, while Deal posted 26 total tackles, one sack and two pass breakups. Deal will be one of the team’s more experienced interior players, having played in 28 games over three seasons. Top reserves coming back include redshirt freshman Tristan Johnson, a midseason all-american who had 17 total tackles and 1.5 sacks.
Freshmen Floyd Guidry III, Brody Whatley and Blake Robinett are all projected to return next season. Veteran names to watch include Connor Lingren, TCU’s No. 2 nose tackle who had eight tackles in 2025, as well as former JUCO recruits Kelten Mickell and Perry Cole Jr.
