To say TCU has put together an impressive set of commitments for the 2009 class is an understatement. What Coach Patterson and staff have put together is quite possibly the best class on paper for TCU since the Jim Wacker days, and certainly the best in the Patterson era.

The Frogs added one of the top running backs in the state earlier this week when they landed Tyler Chapel Hill prospect Matthew Tucker giving them sixteen commitments. On Friday, the staff landed another big time player as Hebron defensive end Stansly Maponga made his decision to become part of the Frog family. With his commitment, the Frogs now have seventeen in the fold and have just a few more spots to fill to cap off this outstanding group of players.

Maponga, who chose TCU over offers from UTEP, Boise State, Iowa, Buffalo, Fresno State, Purdue, and La. Tech among others visited Ft. Worth on Thursday to catch the Frogs afternoon practice as they continue preparations for next Tuesday's Poinsettia Bowl against #9 Boise State. The 6-foot-2, 235-pounder says a number of reasons led to his commitment to TCU.

"Some of the reasons I chose TCU is because it's close to home, it's just a great school. The defense is real good, I like the coaches, they're real nice to the players. Plus, it just seems like a nice place to go to school at. They've been recruiting me for a while. They offered me yesterday, and I actually committed today on the phone when I was at school.

"The facilities, they've got a lot of new stuff in and I really liked it. I liked their weight room a lot."

Although the facilities certainly caught the defender's eye, he says the practice was something he hadn't quite seen before.

"Oh my gosh, practice was real good," he said. "Everything was fast, they got a fast defense, that's why I like them. It was intense."

Coach Sharp was Maponga's recruiter and he made an impression on the future defensive end throughout the process. Coach Patterson is another coach the defender spoke volumes about.

"Coach Sharp is real cool," he said. "He's a real cool dude, he's real with his players. He's just a nice guy and will be a nice guy to play for.

"Coach Patterson, he's a cool dude, he's a really nice guy that knows what he's doing. He wants to win and that's what I want to do to. He's a good coach, I like him a lot. He was telling me they had the top defense in the nation."

Maponga has watched TCU all season and plans to watch them Tuesday night when they battle the Broncos.

"I've watched them, I watched them play BYU and that was a good game. And I'm fixing to watch the game on Tuesday."

Now with a decision out of the way, does the three-star prospect plan on making anymore visits?

"I'm solid to TCU now," he said.

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