TCU Drug Bust Damages Everything Gary Patterson Has Built with Horned Frogs

Gary Patterson has coached the TCU Horned Frogs for 11 seasons. He has led the program to double-digit wins eight times and a share of five conference titles.

In the last three years alone, Patterson is 36-3 with three Mountain West Conference championships.

The Horned Frogs have been one of college football's most dominant powers in recent years, and they've finally earned their way into an automatic-qualifying conference in the Big 12.

Unfortunately, they enter college football's second-most difficult league with a weakened football team.

Nomaan Merchant of the Associated Press writes:

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Authorities arrested 17 students at Texas Christian University on Wednesday as part of a six-month drug sting, an especially embarrassing blow to the school because it included four members of the high-profile football team. Three prominent defensive players on the team were arrested: linebacker Tanner Brock, the leading tackler two seasons ago, defensive tackle D.J. Yendrey and cornerback Devin Johnson. The other player is offensive lineman Ty Horn.

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But more than that, the busted players put an even uglier stain on the program, accusing upwards of 60 players of failing surprise drug tests at some point this season:

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Brock allegedly told an undercover officer that he failed the surprise test "for sure," but that it wouldn't be a problem because there "would be about 60 people screwed."

Horn had looked through the football roster and "said there were only 20 people that would pass the test on the team," Brock said, according to the warrant.

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While these accusations cannot be proven considering the context in which they were recorded, the possibility of that being remotely true is damaging enough.

According to Stefan Stevenson of the Star-Telegram, however, those numbers were exaggerated:

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Five TCU football players tested positive for marijuana and failed a Feb. 1 drug test initiated by coach Gary Patterson, a source told the Star-Telegram. Another 11 had trace amounts within the margin of error, the source said.

Marijuana was the only drug detected. Eighty-six players were clear.

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Coach Patterson has stayed the course with his program from the very beginning, and everything he's worked for takes a damaging blow because of this.

What comes from the rest of this remains to be seen, but the damage has already been done as we prepare for this season and future seasons in Fort Worth.