TCU Football: Johnny Hodges Named Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week

The Horned Frogs linebacker had 11 tackles, including 1.5 for a loss, in the win over Texas on Saturday.

The TCU Horned Frogs (10-0, 7-0) went to Austin on Saturday and came away with the 17-10 victory over the Texas Longhorns (6-4, 4-3), in large part due to the defensive effort put forth by TCU.

Johnny Hodges, a junior linebacker, was recognized this week for his role in that defensive slugfest. He was named the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week. Hodges totaled a team-best and season-high 11 tackles, including 1.5 for loss, to more than double the next-closest Horned Frog. He combined on a fourth-down tackle for no gain on a 4th-and-1 Bijan Robinson rush on Texas' opening series to set the tone for the game. Hodges led a TCU defense that held Texas to three offensive points and 199 yards, its first time under 200 since 2015 at Notre Dame (163). It was also the Longhorns’ lowest total in a Big 12 home game.

TCU linebacker Johnny Hodges / TCU Athletics

TCU held an opponent scoreless in the first half for the first time since the 2021 season opener against Duquesne. The 199 yards allowed was TCU’s best defensive effort since holding Duquesne to 137 last year. The Longhorns had 28 yards rushing on 22 carries, with Robinson held to 29 yards on 12 attempts. Texas had the fewest rushing yards against TCU since Purdue was limited to 23 in a 34-13 Horned Frogs’ win in 2019. Texas averaged just 3.3 yards per play, was 1-of-13 on third-down conversions, and 1-of-4 on fourth down.

Hodges, who began his collegiate athletics career as a lacrosse player at Navy, tops TCU with 66 tackles on the season.

𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝟏𝟐 𝐃𝐞𝐟𝐞𝐧𝐬𝐢𝐯𝐞 𝐏𝐥𝐚𝐲𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐖𝐞𝐞𝐤 @Johnnyhodges44 had 11 total tackles, 5 solo and 1.5 tackles for loss to help the Horned Frogs secure the victory over the Longhorns. #GoFrogs #DFWBig12Team pic.twitter.com/gVP1lYuHUv

— TCU Football (@TCUFootball) November 14, 2022

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