FORT WORTH — Jalen Reagor’s first touchdown catch for TCU sticks in the mind.
It rises high above other memories, much like the wide receiver rose above five defenders to snag a Hail Mary pass at the end of the first half against SMU two years ago in Fort Worth.
The then-freshman got so high, he looked like the only one who jumped.
The TCU playmaker meets the Mustangs again Saturday at Amon G. Carter Stadium, this time not as a freshman with only three catches to his name, but as one of the best receivers in the Big 12 and an NFL draft prospect should he put his name in at the end of the year.
“He’s going somewhere in the early rounds,” said NFL draft analyst Dane Brugler of The Athletic.
The Sept. 16, 2017, game against SMU marked Reagor’s breakout. His stunning end-of-half play sparked a season with team highs in receiving yards and touchdowns (eight, which led the nation’s freshmen). His 93-yard touchdown reception in the Alamo Bowl at the end of the year set a school bowl record and stands as the fourth-longest play in team history.
Last season, the Waxahachie High School product set another TCU record with a touchdown catch in seven consecutive games, and his team highs in catches (72) and yards (1,061) were both the second-highest totals in the Horned Frogs’ books.
With eight catches for 100 yards and a touchdown to start 2019, the wideout is off to a quicker start than the previous two seasons. If it seems slow, it’s only because so many of his plays from the past two seasons stick in the mind.
“Last year we didn’t have anybody else,” coach Gary Patterson said. “We put him in position to do everything.”
Against Purdue last week, Reagor played 76 snaps, caught three passes and had a punt return for touchdown called back.
“And he blocked really well,” Patterson said. “We had the one vertical ball; he had the guy beat. We’ve got to keep finding ways to get the ball in his hands.”
That’s a good plan with a player of Reagor’s caliber. The Frogs won his services against the likes of Alabama, Notre Dame and Oregon. The four-star recruit had committed to Texas Tech, where his father played, and Oklahoma before signing with TCU.
In Fort Worth, the 5-foot-11, 195-pound pass-catcher has lived up to the billing. He enters Saturday’s game third on the TCU career list for touchdown receptions with 18, trailing only Josh Boyce’s 22 and Josh Doctson’s 29.
“It’ll be interesting to find out where he ends up going,” Brugler said of Reagor’s draft prospects. “There are a few challenges he faces. First is size. He’s 5-10 and change. Not every team is going to be looking for that. The positives are clear: He is outstanding at understanding route leverage. If it’s man coverage, when the wide receiver and corner are in a dance, he knows how to do that dance to create his own separation, whether it’s vertically or underneath. That’s a key point when you’re looking at the wide receiver position.”
TCU expects representatives from 13 NFL teams at Saturday’s game. Patterson said four to eight of his players have a chance to be drafted.
“We’ve had NFL guys in. We had over 20 guys in a couple of weeks ago on the Monday after we played Arkansas-Pine Bluff,” the coach said. “Then we had another six or eight guys the next day.”
Brugler cautions that the 2020 draft will be deep in receivers if as many juniors declare as expected, including Alabama’s Jerry Jeudy, Oklahoma’s CeeDee Lamb and Colorado’s Laviska Shenault.
With Reagor, an X-factor is competitiveness. Snap after snap, the intense athlete seeks any way to make a play, as evidenced last season by an 83-yard run for a touchdown on a handoff against Oklahoma State and an improvised 65-yard catch and run for a touchdown against Baylor.
More than 60 percent of his catches last season resulted in a first down or touchdown, fueled by his passion.
“Sometimes you need that to match up against some of the guys you’re going to go up against and fight the stigma that you’re a shorter wide receiver,” Brugler said. “That’s good. That’s certainly something that will help him.”
It already has. The Frogs saw it first-hand two years ago on their home field. They haven’t forgotten.
It sticks in the mind.