Four TCU Football Players Among 17 Students Arrested In Drug Ring

TCU Horned Frogs head coach Gary Patterson finally broke his silence and talked to reporters after spring practice to discuss the drug issues that hit his team:

"The most disappointing thing for me is our whole team felt like, after watching for two days, that we all of a sudden went from good to everybody is bad, and that's not true," Patterson said before a dozen members of the media, including five television cameras. "We spend 90 percent of our time on 10 percent of our kids that are knuckleheads. We're not going to quit having knuckleheads. Nobody is. Not at any other school in the country."

Patterson confirmed that he tested his players for drug use Feb. 1 but would not comment on the results.

"You want an exact number and the world is not about exact numbers," he said. "I know what the exact number is. Somewhere between that five (as the Star-Telegram reported Feb. 16), and maybe it's five, maybe it's 82. The key is what we're trying to do about it. And we're going to keep fighting it. The reality is always somewhere in between. That's not going to change. There's not a school in the country that's drug free."

Of course Petersen is going to say that the drug use was not as bad as people are saying it was, he has to protect his team. Even though the number of players who failed the drug test will probably never be released, the way that TCU handled this as quickly as they did is commendable.

For more on TCU go visit Frogs O War.

It's been roughly a week since the details of a six-month investigation into drug rings in and around the TCU campus in Fort Worth became a national headline, snaring the Horned Frog football program with the involvement of four players arrested for the sale of illegal narcotics.

The Associated Press spoke to the National Center For Drug Free Sports, who called the use of marijuana among NCAA student athletes an "epidemic:"

"We can sit here and say marijuana is no big deal," he said. "But in (athletes') situations, it is a big deal. If they're willing to throw away $200,000 of their education because of a blunt or a bong, let's be honest, something's not right there."

The Austin American-Statesman lauded the actions of TCU officials in operating quickly and openly to cooperate with police:

I can't think of another school that would hold a news conference on the same day of a drug sting, take questions, and appear to have cooperated so fully with police. That kind of transparency goes a long way toward rebuilding trust within the community.

The Fort Worth Star-Telegram's Mac Engel doesn't fault the administration or coaches for the arrest of four players, but for pushing TCU as a "pristine" program in the first place:

Where TCU screwed up, and this starts with Gary Patterson, was in advertising and selling the program as clean and pristine -- that it did things "the right way."

When it comes to records, other than win/loss, keep quiet about your clean slate because you never know when that call is coming. Don't advertise that you know everything about every one of your kids, because you don't and because it's impossible.

Situations like this are part of the deal you make when you want to be big time. Stay at a place long enough and the 2 a.m. call always comes. It's math.

SB Nation blog Frogs O War looks at the incident from a football perspective, as some of the accused (such as linebacker Tanner Brock) were in line for key playing time in 2012:

We know the linebacking corps was thin before Tanner Brock dealt it a blow (double pun intended). Incoming freshman A.J. Hilliard had better be ready to play from day one. I'd say it's now very likely James MacFarland will play linebacker instead of defensive end. Might LaDarius Brown make a switch to the defense? At 6-4, 220 pounds, he's got the body for it, probably.

The intrigue for spring ball is suddenly heightened, as it will be our first chance to begin seeing the answers to these questions.

For more on the TCU scandal, visit Frogs O War, SB Nation Dallas and SB Nation's college football news hub.

According to a report by Houston's KHOU.com, the four people who made the most on drug transactions investigated in the TCU drug bust included two Horned Frogs football players: junior defensive tackle D.J. Yendrey and junior safety Devin Johnson.

A look at the warrants reveals that the largest deals include those allegedly made by football players David Yendry and Devin Johnson. Their alleged marijuana sales total less than $1,600. Suspect Bud Dillard is accused of selling 250 Xanax pills for $750, and suspect Matthew Davis faces charges for allegedly participating in three buys totaling $1,800.

Even though it sounds like a lot of money, Dallas County district attorney Toby Shook says that most of the deals are small time compared to what prosecutors see and that they are most small, hand-to-hand deliveries.

According to a FOX Sports report from The Wall Street Journal, most of the suspects arrested, including the TCU football players, will not be facing time behind bars but probation instead.

All potentially face felony charges with sentences from six months to 10 years, criminal-defense lawyers said. But most defendants have no prior drug records and if charged are likely to receive probation, their lawyers said.

Attorney Jim Shaw, who represents two of the students arrested in the TCU drug bust, went as far to say that he doesn't think anybody who was arrested will be going to prison.

For more on TCU, head to Frogs O' War.

The Forth Worth Star Telegram has spoken to many ex-TCU football players, and the consensus opinion in the Horned Frog community is that of rallying around Gary Patterson and the program.

Jeff Olson, a senior offensive lineman in the 2011 season, Tweeted a clarification of sorts regarding the drugs used and sold by the accused players on Wednesday, and followed up with comments on Thursday:

"My first thought was definitely shock and disbelief," said Jeff Olson, who finished his career in December as a starting offensive lineman. "It quickly went to concern for their families, because everyone here is so close and you meet parents, brothers, sisters."

Former players also defended Patterson, who so far has not officially made figures or names public regarding the team-wide drug test administered to players on February 1:

Patterson is "just not that type of person to come wave the numbers in your face and tell you you're wrong," said Blake Schlueter, who was a center from 2005 to 2008. "He's not worried what outsiders are saying, because he knows he has a handle on the program and he's doing what needs to be done, along with all the other coaches and other officials. They don't need to tell the public how many people failed. It's not their concern, I don't feel."

Former receiver Curtis Clay commented that his friends in the TCU community lauded the school's open policy in working with the police and media:

"They just let the chips fall where they may -- if it was a football player, fine, if it was a rich kid, fine," he said. "They're really disappointed in those kids. They had a warm feeling for the families of those kids and how disappointed they must be. But they think TCU handled it right, and getting rid of them will make us have a stronger program."

Over at Pre Snap Read, one of the most insightful college football sites on the internet, Paul Myenberg takes a look at how the TCU football team can recover from the loss of four expected contributors in the wake of the drug scandal that has rocked the campus:

Here's what the program has lost, boiled down to the pertinent facts: an all-American linebacker, a starting strong safety, an all-conference defensive tackle and a reserve offensive lineman. Just on paper, that's a fairly devastating set of losses. Digging deeper, however, reveals four departures that will hamper the Horned Frogs immensely as the team prepares for life in the Big 12. That's the offensively-potent Big 12, of course, which contained four of the nation's most prolific scoring teams in the country a season ago.

The biggest loss is that of Tanner Brock, who despite missing all but one game of last season due to an ankle injury was viewed as a team leader heading into September. When healthy as a sophomore, Brock led the Horned Frogs with 106 tackles - 26 more than his next-closest teammate - and was honored, in some circles, with all-American accolades.

But think of the big picture. With the losses occurring on the defensive side of the ball, it's clear that the T.C.U. offense will need to do even more of the heavy lifting than it did last fall, when Casey Pachall spearheaded an attack that helped offset a fairly disappointing showing on the defensive side of the ball. Best in the nation in total defense in 2010, the Horned Frogs slid down to 32nd a year ago, allowing about 1,300 more yards through the air - hence the concerns in the secondary.

Gary Patterson has developed a reputation for being able to plug-in defensive players in his time in Fort Worth, and he'll need to work his magic in a big way to keep the program's momentum going as they make the monumental jump from the Mountain West to the Big 12 in 2012.

In the affidavits for the TCU football players arrested in the campus-wide investigation of drug-dealing, the arrested players said that anywhere from 60-82 members of the football team would fail the surprise drug test the Horned Frogs coaching staff gave on National Signing Day.

However, if the latest reports out of Fort Worth are accurate, it appears their math may have been a little off:

BREAKING: 5 TCU players tested positive for marijuana after Feb.1 test, source says; 11 others had trace amounts: READ: bit.ly/zVmkUb

— Stefan Stevenson (@FollowtheFrogs) February 16, 2012

It's unclear whether any of the four players that were arrested -- Tanner Brock, D.J. Yendrey, Devin Johnson and Ty Horn -- tested positive, but Brock indicated he had failed his in a conversation with an undercover officer.

While as many as 16 players having at least trace amounts of marijuana in their system sounds bad, when put into the context of drug use on a university-wide level, it's not all that surprising:

A 2010 gov't study found that 21.5% of college students used marijuana. According to affidavit, about 3 in 4 TCU players were using drugs.

— Paul Myerberg (@PreSnapRead) February 15, 2012

If 16 out of 85 scholarship players were regularly using marijuana, that would still put the TCU football team at 18.8%, three points below the national average.

Jeff Olson, a now-graduated offensive lineman for TCU, said on Twitter Wednesday that the football players involved in the 17-person drug bust at TCU weren't involved with most of the drugs mentioned, implying that marijuana was the only drug being sold by the four players charged with dealing drugs:

Just hope people understand that the football players were not connected to all the coke/acid/LSD/etc that was busted at the same time

— Jeff Olson (@JOlson62) February 16, 2012

Olson's Tweet would imply that the four accused players -- Tanner Brock, Ty Horn, Devin Johnson and D.J. Yendrey-- were only involved in the sale of marijuana. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram has a timeline from various affidavits that Horn, Brock and Yendrey all sold marijuana to undercover police officers.

Stefan Stevenson wrote in the Star-Telegram:

The documents say that coach Gary Patterson sprung a surprise drug test on the football team on Feb. 1, National Signing Day, and that Brock later told an undercover officer that there "would be about 60 people being screwed" as a result of the test. Sources said Patterson ordered the drug test after a prize recruit told him that he would not attend TCU because of drug use by players.

During a drug buy, an undercover officer asked Johnson about the surprise drug test.

"What can they do? Eighty-two people failed it," Johnson said.

The news out of Fort Worth is only getting uglier for TCU's once pristine football program, as coach Gary Patterson recently ordered a surprise drug test on the entire team after a recruit warned him that drug use among the Horned Frogs was making the school less attractive for him:

Source: TCU's Gary Patterson ordered pop drug test of entire team recently after being told by recruit of drug use.

— Stefan Stevenson (@FollowtheFrogs) February 15, 2012

While no results have been leaked to the media, Ty Horn, one of the players implicated in the Wednesday morning drug sweep, did not think it would end well for the program:

Ty Horn is quoted in affidavit telling under cover cop that "only 20 people (players) [on roster] would pass the [drug] test."

— Stefan Stevenson (@FollowtheFrogs) February 15, 2012

Most troubling of all, the affadavit for the arrest of Tanner Brock alleges that Brock was selling to other members of the football team while the Fort Worth Police Department has said there may be many more arrests before this story is finished.

TCU football coach Gary Patterson released a statement Wednesday in response to the shocking arrest of four football players as part of the aftermath of a six-month long campus-wide investigation into drug dealing at the school:

"There are days people want to be a head football coach, but today is not one of those days. As I heard the news this morning, I was first shocked, then hurt and now I'm mad.

"Under my watch, drugs and drug use by TCU's student-athletes will not be tolerated by me or any member of my coaching staff. Period. Our program is respected nationally for its strong ethics and for that reason the players arrested today were separated from TCU by the University. I believe strongly that young people's lives are more important than wins or losses.

"This situation isn't unique to TCU-it is a global issue that we all have to address. This isn't just about bad decisions made by a small percentage of my team. It is about a bigger issue across this country and world.

"As a coach, I do the best I can to educate members of my team. We have programs in place that teach student-athletes about what they should and shouldn't do and how to be successful in life. I talk to them about how to be students and upstanding men that uphold the TCU name and its traditions.

"At the end of the day, though, sometimes young people make poor choices. The Horned Frogs are bigger and stronger than those involved."

With their invitation to the Big 12, TCU was set to join the world of big-time college football in 2012. After the first major scandal under Patterson, they're definitely part of the club now.

The names of four TCU football players implicated in a massive sweep of drug dealers on the TCU campus Wednesday were just released:

Devin Johnson, Ty Horn, Tanner Brock and D.J. Yendrey all arrested in TCU drug sweep.

— Stefan Stevenson (@FollowtheFrogs) February 15, 2012

Three of the players -- Yendrey, Brock and Johnson -- were all expected to make major contributions for the Horned Frogs next season.

Yendrey, a 6'4 275 junior defensive tackle, was an honorable mention All-Mountain West Conference selection the last two seasons, racking up 39 tackles, including 5.5 for loss and 3 sacks, last year.

Brock, a 6'3 250 junior linebacker, was a first-team All-Mountain West selection in 2010 after leading the Horned Frogs with 106 tackles and 2 fumble recoveries. However, he injured his ankle in TCU's loss to Baylor and went on to miss the rest of the season.

Johnson, a 5'10 190 junior safety, had 39 tackles and 3 sacks last year in his first significant bit of playing time.

Horn, a 6'5 320 sophomore offensive lineman, has been a reserve in his first few years in Fort Worth.

According to the Fort Wort Star-Telegram, all four players have been kicked off the football team and the school has indicated that any of the students found guilty would be expelled.

The name of the four TCU football players arrested as part of a drug bust on the TCU campus will be released later today, according to TCU police chief Steve McGee. The Fort Worth Star-Telegram is reporting that at least one of the four players is a starter for the Horned Frogs.

Officials from Texas Christian University as well as local law enforcement agencies held a press conference Wednesday morning to announce the arrest of 17 TCU students involved in a six-month investigation into the sale of illegal drugs on and near the TCU campus. Officials confirmed four TCU football players were among the 17 arrested early Wednesday. McGee said that all 17 students "were drug dealers."

According to a report by the Associated Press, the investigation began after multiple complaints from students and parents of students. Also, the AP is reporting that all 17 students involved in the case have been expelled, however, the Star Telegram quotes Chancellor Victor Boschini as saying the accused would be expelled if they were found guilty.

For more on TCU, visit Frogs O War and SB Nation's college football news hub.