Tens of thousands at the AlamoDome watched as TCU sophomore running back Jeremy Payne tiptoed the line and sprinted into the end zone for the game-winning touchdown during the team’s Alamo Bowl win over USC.
Payne’s overtime heroics capped off a comeback victory for the Horned Frogs, who knocked off the ranked Trojans 30-27 despite not having starting quarterback Josh Hoover. Payne was stellar for TCU, rushing for 73 yards and a touchdown on 13 carries while catching six passes for 50 yards and the game-winning
score.
A former four-star recruit who showed flashes as a freshman in 2024, Payne closed out his sophomore season in dominant fashion. Payne eclipsed the 100-yard mark twice in TCU’s last three games, rushing for 103 yards in a win over Houston before going for a career-high 174 yards and two touchdowns against Cincinnati.
Payne ended the season as TCU’s leading rusher, posting 623 yards and five touchdowns on 110 carries (5.7 yards per carry) along with 207 receiving yards and two touchdowns on 22 catches. Not only did Payne fill in admirably for starting running back Kevorian Barnes, who missed most of the second half of the season to injury, but it appears that Payne has finally broken out of his shell and will be the team’s RB1 going into the 2026 season.
But who will the Horned Frogs have to support him in the backfield? Barnes, who transferred in after four years at UTSA, rushed for 443 yards and six touchdowns on 97 carries (4.6 yards per carry). Unfortunately, Barnes was limited to seven games due to injuries and will not have eligibility remaining, meaning his time at TCU is over.
Further depleting the backfield will be the loss of fifth-year senior Trent Battle, a converted quarterback and a valuable reserve over the last few seasons. Battle, who’s out of eligibility, ran 64 times for 349 yards and six scores in 2025, ranking third on the team in carries and rushing yards. It was a career season for Battle, who played in 48 games over the last four years and proved useful as a receiver, catching 10 passes this year.
The Horned Frogs also lost redshirt freshman and former three-star prospect Nate Palmer to the transfer portal. Palmer, who had 30 carries for 139 yards this season, played in six games and rotated in with true freshman Jon Denman. Denman, also a former three-star player, had 50 carries for 178 yards and three touchdowns in 2025.
Denman projects to be the team’s No. 2 back behind Payne next season. TCU will welcome in a pair of highly recruited high-schoolers from the 2026 class in four-star prospect Amante Martin and three-star prospect G’Ivori Graham. Martin, whose older brother Kam was a running back at Auburn, signed with the Horned Frogs over Kentucky, Houston, California and more. Graham chose TCU over San Diego State and others.
Overall, the 2025 season wasn’t much better running the football for the Horned Frogs, whose best option last year was the Wildfrog formation with wide receiver Savion Williams. Williams, a third-round pick by the Green Bay Packers, led the team in yards per carry. Cam Cook, a former four-star recruit and TCU’s starting running back in 2024, struggled mightily with turnovers and low efficiency before transferring to Jacksonville State.
TCU finished with 1,708 rushing yards, an improvement from the 1,481 rushing yards in 2024. But the efficiency barely improved, as the Horned Frogs averaged 3.9 yards per carry in 2025 after averaging 3.7 yards per carry in 2024. With Sammis and a new offensive staff taking over, a greater emphasis will be placed on running the football. Jimmy Smith, TCU’s running backs coach in 2024 and 2025, is departing to work at Georgia Tech. He’ll be replaced by Antonio Wilcox, who worked alongside Sammis as the running backs coach at UConn.
It’s also worth noting that as of this article’s posting, the Horned Frogs haven’t signed any running backs through the transfer portal. Should TCU move forward with Payne, Denman, Martin and Graham, the Horned Frogs will have just one upperclassman with significant game experience on the 2026 roster. While the group projects to be young, there should be enough talent to develop and work with as the team continues to prepare for next season.
