Ed Wesley leads TCU’s productive rushing attack

Ed Wesley knew about the tradition — and it frightened him a bit.

Coach Gary Patterson and his staff built Texas Christian into a Mountain West Conference power and perennial bowl participant by identifying athletes and plugging them into their system, often at positions they had never played.

The 5-foot-9 Wesley had been a standout running back at MacArthur High in Irving, Texas. He hoped to remain one after he signed with TCU in 2008.

“I was so scared,� Wesley, grinning broadly, said Thursday. “I didn’t want to play cornerback.�

Wesley needn’t have worried.

“He’s too short,� Patterson said.

Good thing for the Horned Frogs.

Wesley, a 200-pound third-year sophomore, has rushed for a team-best 1,065 yards and scored 11 touchdowns for a TCU offense that averages 43.3 points a game. He is expected to play a pivotal role Saturday when the third-ranked Horned Frogs play fifth-ranked Wisconsin in the Rose Bowl.

Most of the attention this week has been on TCU’s defense, which has a chance to finish the season as the top-ranked unit in college football for the third consecutive season.

That’s fine with Wesley.

“Running against them every day is what makes us better,� Wesley said. “When we get into games, it makes other teams seem slow.�

Wesley rushed for 134 yards against Oregon State, 165 against Baylor and 209 against Air Force. He suffered a foot injury against San Diego State but recovered with the aid of an open date and finished the season by averaging seven yards a carry in a rout of New Mexico.

Like Wisconsin, which features three productive running backs, TCU features a formidable rotation that includes Wesley, sophomore Matthew Tucker and freshman Waymon James. Tucker has rushed for 694 yards and seven touchdowns, James 489 yards and five touchdowns.

TCU averages 261.2 yards rushing a game, which ranks seventh nationally.

“They’re able to rotate three quality backs, so they can have fresh legs and play the whole game, just like our guys do,� Wisconsin linebacker Culmer St. Jean said. “They’re all good.�

Hall of Famers

USC’s Brad Budde, Iowa’s Hayden Fry and Purdue’s Leroy Keyes were inducted into the Rose Bowl Hall of Fame.

Budde, an offensive lineman who won the Lombardi Award in 1979, played on USC’s Rose Bowl-winning teams in 1977, 1979 and 1980.

Fry coached Iowa to Rose Bowl appearances in 1982, 1986 and 1991. Wisconsin Coach Bret Bielema played for the 1991 team that lost to Washington, 46-34.

Keyes, who played running back and defensive back, was a member of a Purdue team that defeated USC, 14-13, in the 1967 Rose Bowl.

[email protected]

twitter.com/latimesklein