There's no doubt joining the Big 12 made a difference in recruiting this year, TCU coach Gary Patterson said Wednesday.
But Patterson also warned that whatever bump TCU got won't matter if the Horned Frogs hit too many bumps in the Big 12 this fall.
"I thought it made a big impact, but the bottom line is you have to win," Patterson said in comments posted on GoFrogs.com. "If you want kids to come to your place, you can't just go to the Big 12. You've got to win."
Patterson said upgrading from the Mountain West to the Big 12 also affected his recruiting strategy. Of the 23 signings announced, nine were linemen or tight ends.
"One of the biggest things we felt like, changing conferences and by the amount of kids we lost, we felt like you had to be successful up front," Patterson said. "One of the pools we felt like was very big this year was defensive linemen, especially with an emphasis on defensive ends. We were able to bring in five of those with Joey Hunt being a defensive tackle."
Arlington Martin defensive end Devonte Fields might even be the star of the class. Fields, at 6-foot-4 and 240 pounds, features an elite combination of size, speed and strength that could make him a future star of TCU's defense.
The Horned Frogs also got a big – literally, big – addition in the form of 6-foot-6, 310-pound offensive tackle Aviante Collins of Houston Willowridge.
In a recruiting season noted for players switching commitments, Patterson said joining the Big 12 helped the Frogs hold on to the 14 or 15 early commitments they had when the move was announced last fall.
Being able to say they were a member of the Big 12 also helped the Frogs seal the deal at the end on some high-level recruits.
"Without being in the Big 12, we've always been in a group that as a general rule has always come in second in the last two weekends of January, and we didn't this year," Patterson said.
"I think that's the biggest change, being able to close, and kids understanding where we're trying to get to and what we're trying to do."
One of those high-profile recruits is already enrolled at TCU. Quarterback Tyler Matthews, a US Army All-American Bowl selection from Kansas, is off to an early start on his college career along with three other additions.
The move to the Big 12 has also had an effect on TCU's returning players.
"I even see it in our offseason programs right now, the sense of urgency of our kids, how they're working, how they're doing everything without us having to get after them," Patterson said. "Being a young football team, I think it's made a big change in how we do things."
Overall, Patterson said Big 12 membership has helped change some of the perceptions – and misperceptions – about TCU. That change applies whether it's recruiting players for the program or fans to fill the stadium.
"One of the things that's always been held against us is 'Well, they're not in the Big 12,'" Patterson said. "The way I look at this is, the Metroplex has never had a Big 12 school. We should become to the Dallas-Fort Worth area as the same thing as Texas A&M is to Houston, as [Texas] is to Austin."
Follow Keith Whitmire on Twitter: @Keith_Whitmire
