2024 TCU Football Season Recap: Wide Receivers

Jack Bech and Savion Williams led an outstanding group of pass catchers who helped carry the offense this season.

TCU football did a large chunk of its damage on offense through the air this season. The Horned Frogs exceeded 4,000 passing yards, with quarterback Josh Hoover setting a new single-season record in that category. Although the Horned Frogs struggled to run the football throughout the season, TCU’s experienced and talented wide receiver room shined, with multiple players contributing over the air and even on the ground. The most significant contributor was senior Jack Bech, who enjoyed a stellar season after missing most of the 2023 campaign with an injury. Bech became only the fifth TCU player to surpass 1,000 yards in a season, finishing with 1,034 receiving yards and nine touchdowns on 62 catches.

Bech was a dominant force for the Horned Frogs this season, hauling in more receiving yards and touchdowns than he had over his previous three seasons combined. The 6-foot-2, 215-pounder was an All-Big 12 Second Team honoree and a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award as one of the nation’s best receivers. Opposite Bech was fifth-year senior Savion Williams, who also turned in a career-best season in 2024. Williams totaled 60 catches for 611 yards and six touchdowns while adding 322 rushing yards and six touchdowns on the ground. Williams was unironically TCU’s best running back over the second half of the season, averaging 6.3 yards per carry out of the team’s Wildcat formation. Williams was an All-Big 12 Honorable Mention and both he and Bech will be on NFL radars this offseason.

TCU’s success at the wide receiver position didn’t stop with Bech and Williams. Newcomer Eric McAlister shined as a big-play weapon for the offense, recording 762 receiving yards and five touchdowns on 39 catches and averaging 19.5 yards per catch in his first season with the Horned Frogs. McAlister, who started his career at Boise State, finished his junior campaign with eight catches for 87 yards and a touchdown in TCU’s New Mexico Bowl win over Louisiana. The 6-foot-4 McAlister is a candidate to be the team’s No. 1 target in 2025.

The Horned Frogs also receiving meaningful contributions from senior wideout and former Oklahoma State transfer JP Richardson, who ended his 2024 campaign with five grabs for 53 yards and a touchdown against the Ragin’ Cajuns. Richardson, who spent two years with the Cowboys before transferring to TCU, compiled 733 receiving yards and two scores on 57 receptions during his second season with the Frogs. Richardson started all 13 games for the Horned Frogs and posted new career-highs in receptions, yards and yards per catch.

Like Bech and Williams, Richardson will also depart after this season, leaving the Horned Frogs with three starting positions to fill on the outsides and in the slot. McAlister will command one of those roles, but who else could step up for TCU next fall? One of those players could be former Idaho wide receiver Jordan Dwyer, who signed with the Horned Frogs earlier this month. Dwyer recorded 78 catches for 1,192 yards and 12 touchdowns while helping lead the Vandals to the FCS Quarterfinals. TCU also signed former Houston wide receiver Joseph Manjack IV, who collected 68 catches for 928 yards and nine scores over his last two seasons with the Cougars. Dwyer and Manjack IV should be immediate contributors for an offense that will see Josh Hoover enter his third year as the QB1.

Putting McAlister, Manjack IV and Dwyer aside, TCU also has a group of young receivers on the roster who could emerge in larger roles next season. Redshirt freshman Jordyn Bailey, younger brother of former TCU running back Emani Bailey, appeared in six games and totaled nine catches for 52 yards and two touchdowns. Former Notre Dame transfer and four-star recruit Braylon James also saw limited action as a redshirt freshman this season, appearing in nine games with three catches for 11 yards. True freshman Gekyle Baker is a four-star recruit and the top-rated recruit of the 2024 class for the Horned Frogs. Another true freshman, Dozie Ezukanma, saw action in three games during the 2024 campaign.

The Horned Frogs have also signed four wide receivers for the 2025 recruiting class, two of which are four-star prospects. Former Arizona commit and four-star standout Terry Shelton is the top-rated recruit of the class and could be an instant contributor for TCU next season. Four-star recruit Ed Small, as well as three-star prospects Dane Jones and Jacobe Hayes, are three more high school players who will ascend to the collegiate level next season.

2025 will likely see the return of redshirt sophomore Major Everhart, who was limited to only one game this season due to an injury. Everhart contributed on both offense and special teams during the 2023 campaign, totaling 20 catches for 197 yards. Fifth-year senior Blake Nowell, who caught a 20-yard touchdown catch in the New Mexico Bowl, started his career in 2020 and could use COVID eligibility to come back for one more season. The Horned Frogs will not have senior wide receivers JoJo Earle or Dylan Wright. Earle entered the transfer portal and signed with UNLV, while Wright reportedly departed from the program during the season and is now training for the upcoming NFL Draft.