Since Sonny Dykes’s arrival in Fort Worth, TCU has begun to build a reputation for putting wide receivers into the NFL.
In Dykes’ three seasons the Horned Frogs have produced four wide receiers as NFL draft picks with Quentin Johnston, Jack Bech, Savion Williams and Derius Davis. There’s also players like Taye Barber and JP Richardson who signed with NFL teams as undrafted free agents.
Eric McAlister could be the next TCU wide receiver to be drafted and making it to the next level is just one of the many goals he’s set for himself this season.
“The goal for me is 1,300 yards, a Big 12 championship, top five in Heisman voting and win the Biletnikoff Award,” McAlister said. recently. “Team wise a successful season is going undefeated against Texas teams and making the playoffs.”
These are certainly lofty goals for the former Boise State receiver, but McAlister showed he’s more than capable of big production after playing behind Williams, Bech and Richardson last year.
2024 was a breakout season
Despite being fourth in the rotation, McAlister still finished with 39 receptions, 762 yards and five touchdowns while averaging just under 20 yards per reception.
McAlister always dreamed of making the NFL and seeing how he was able to produce like Bech and Williams only increased his confidence in being able to make it to the league.
“I try not to look too far into the future, but I see myself as a first rounder,” McAlister said. “Knowing you have Jack Bech go in the second and Savion in the third, my mindset is if those guys got drafted and I was behind them I can be a first round pick. If two guys ahead of me go in the top three rounds then that’s where I need to be.”
McAlister could’ve entered the draft in April and likely be drafted, but the opportunity to return to TCU and be the undisputed No. 1 option was the best path to McAlister achieving his goals.
Head coach Sonny Dykes and Josh Hoover also both have lofty expectations for McAlister with Dykes being confident that McAlister will be a high draft pick next year.
“Well I think he’s definitely going to be the next (NFL) guy,” Dykes said at Big 12 Football Media Days ealier this month. “He’s got length, he’s faster than you think he is. He’s got a really big catch radius, he’s a natural ball catcher. He’s got elite ball control with somebody that’s as tall and long as he is.
“He’s a competitive guy, he understands how to play football. He does a really good job of creating space and knowing when to separate at the right time.”
Best of the group?
McAlister might be the best prototypical receiver that Dykes has coached at TCU so far. Williams, Johnston and Davis were elite athletes that thrived more in space than with their route running and technique.
Bech was a phenomenal route runner and had excellent hands. While his speed was underrated, Bech didn’t have the same physical presence as the 6-foot-4 Johnston or the 6-foot-5 Williams.
Standing at 6-3, 205 pounds McAlister is an ideal blend of both archetypes. He’s not quite the athlete that Williams was, who played wildcat quarterback last season, but he’s bigger than Bech and can still generate chunk plays like Johnston and Davis did in 2022.
It also helps that McAlister built a strong connection with Hoover last season.
“He’s big, he’s got the size to be a No. 1 wide receiver in the NFL,” Hoover said. “He understands how to get open, he understands when he’s open which is a bigger deal. It allows you to throw him open, he has tremendous feel and he understands what the quarterback is thinking.”
Despite his production, size and high football I.Q., McAlister didn’t feel like he had received the respect he earned on a national level.
“I see all those guys on those crazy lists, I try not to look too much into it, but I’m not on any of those lists,” McAlister said. “I’ve been doubted from the get go.”
His coaches and teammates at TCU know exactly what he’s capable of, as does the Big 12 football media which voted McAlister a preseason All-Big 12 selection along with safety Bud Clark.
While McAlister appreciated landing one of those lists as a top receiver, he’s not motivated by preseason awards, he wants the trophies handed and accolades that are handed out in December.
“It was nice, but everybody kept bringing up the same thing that it just was preseason,” McAlister said. “They were saying we need you to go get in the postseason. I try to take the small wins though, it’s different from being voted preseason All-Mountain West, the Big 12 is a bigger league.
“Everybody who said I couldn’t do it coming from the Mountain West, I proved that my game could translate to the Big 12. Being on that list, it’s something to be grateful for, but I gotta go get it in the postseason.”
With a chip on his shoulder and a quarterback that ranks among the best in the country, McAlister has everything he needs to achieve each of his goals while also helping TCU contend for a Big 12 title.