TCU Football: Three Players Make Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Watch List

Taye Barber, Quentin Johnston, and Kendre Miller have been named to the watch list for this annual award presented to the best offensive player with Texas ties

© Ben Queen-USA TODAY Sports

Three more TCU Horned Frogs have been named to a preseason award watch list. This time, it was Taye Barber, Quentin Johnston, and Kendre Miller. All have been named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list.

The Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award has been given annually since 2013. It is presented by SPORTyler, Inc. in conjunction with the City of Tyler, Tyler Convention & Visitors Bureau, and the Tyler Area Chamber of commerce.

This award is given to the best offensive player in Division 1 football who also exhibits the enduring characteristics that define Earl Campbell: integrity, performance, teamwork, sportsmanship, drive, community, and tenacity. Additionally, the player must have Texas ties – either born in Texas, graduated from a Texas high school, or plays at a Texas college.

Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award 🌹 @_UniquelyGifted @Offical_dre11 @MrJohnston____

All on the preseason watch list for the top offensive player in college football. #GoFrogs #DFWBig12Team pic.twitter.com/m12Xta7X7R

— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) August 9, 2022

It is named after Earl Campbell, a running back from Tyler who went to the University of Texas (1974-1977). He won the Heisman Trophy in 1977 and was the No. 1 draft pick in the 1978 NFL Draft. He played eight years in the NFL with the Houston Oilers and New Orleans Saints.

TCU’s Trevone Boykin was the second recipient of the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award in 2014. Last year’s winner was Bailey Zappe, quarterback from Western Kentucky who grew up in Victoria, Texas.

Barber is a three-time All-Big 12 recipient. The Cypress, Texas, native has earned his TCU degree and is also a two-time Academic All-Big 12 recipient. His 122 career receptions top all current Horned Frogs. He placed third on TCU last season with 30 catches for 514 yards and two touchdowns. He totaled a season-best six receptions for 78 yards in the 30-28 win over Baylor and had a key 13-yard first-down catch late against Cal to help TCU run out the clock in its 34-32 victory.

Taye Barber :: Photo; Tony Beblowski/KillerFrogs

Johnston has been selected to multiple preseason All-America teams and is also on watch lists for the Maxwell Award, Biletnikoff Award, and Walter Camp Player of the Year. He was First-Team All-Big 12 last season.

A junior from Temple, Texas, Johnston ranks first in Big 12 history with a 20.4 yards per catch average for a player in his first two seasons. It is also eighth nationally since 1996 for the first two years of a career.

Playing in just nine games, Johnston led the Horned Frogs last season in receiving yards (634), yards per reception (19.2), and touchdown catches (six) while placing second in receptions (33). He topped 100 yards receiving on three occasions, all in his final five games. He had a career day at Oklahoma with seven receptions for 185 yards and three touchdowns, including the No. 2 Collegiate Play of the Year on ESPN's You Got Mossed. The 185 yards receiving were the most by a Horned Frog since Taj Williams had 210 versus Oklahoma in 2016. He was also the first Horned Frog with three touchdown catches in a game since KaVontae Turpin had four against Texas in 2015. Johnston had five catches for 142 yards and a touchdown in the 30-28 win over Baylor.

Quentin Johnston :: Photo: © BRYAN TERRY/THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK

A junior from Mount Enterprise, Texas, Miller ranks No. 1 nationally among active Power 5 conference players with his 7.4 career yards per carry average. He is on the Doak Walker Award watch list.

Miller placed second for TCU last season with 623 yards rushing while topping the team with seven touchdowns. His 7.5 yards per carry mark ranked fourth for a season at TCU, giving him two of the top-six averages in program history in his first two seasons. He ran for a career-high 185 yards and three touchdowns on 12 carries in a 52-31 win at Texas Tech. His scoring runs of 33, 75, and 45 yards made him the only player in the nation in 2021 with three touchdowns of at least 33 yards in the same game. He rushed for 112 yards on 12 attempts, including a 56-yard touchdown, in a victory over Kansas. He also ran for 102 yards at Kansas State while tying a career-high with four receptions. His first career receiving touchdown went for 53 yards at Oklahoma.

Kendre Miller / © Michael C. Johnson-USA TODAY Sports

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