TCU football kicked off fall camp this week and fans received good news about returning cornerbacks Avery Helm and Vernon Glover, who are back to practice after missing the entire 2024 season to injuries. Having Helm and Glover healthy gives a major boost to the Horned Frog secondary, which is replacing three starters from last season including top cornerbacks LaMareon James and JaTravis Broughton, who are both on NFL rosters. In our continuing TCU football preview series, we examine the cornerbacks on the 2025 roster.

TCU lost three cornerbacks from the 2024 roster, with James and Broughton going to the NFL while freshman and former three-star recruit Julian Knox transferred to North Texas, where he will play safety for the Mean Green. The Horned Frogs bolstered the cornerback room over the offseason, signing former Washington transfer Elijah Jackson to provide a veteran presence in the secondary. A five-year member of the Huskies, Jackson started all 15 games during the 2023 season and appeared in eight games last year. A key member of Washington’s national title team, Jackson figures to be in the mix for starting reps.

Jackson is one of four senior cornerbacks on the TCU roster this season. Avery Helm was a starter for the Horned Frogs in 2023, playing in 11 games after transferring in from Florida. Helm, who tied for second on the team with five pass breakups in 2023, sufferred an injury in fall camp and missed the entire 2024 campaign. Now healthy, Helm will also be a contender for starting reps this season. Channing Canada, who returns for his third season with the Horned Frogs in 2025, played in all 13 games and made five starts last season, posting 31 total tackles and three pass breakups. A former four-star JUCO recruit, Canada has been a regular contributor over the last two years and will be a player to watch for.

Jevon McIver Jr. made the most of his first season at TCU, tying for third on the team with five pass breakups in 2024. McIver Jr. played in 10 games last season, primarily as a backup cornerback, but the former Austin Peay transfer made big plays near the end of the season, recording all five of his pass breakups over the final five games. Vernon Glover, one of two sophomores on the 2025 roster, returns from a season-ending injury in 2024 and will look for a potential breakout campaign after totaling 10 tackles and an interception as a true freshman. Devondre McGee, a former three-star recruit and TCU’s other sophomore, played in seven games last year and will look to carve out a bigger role with the team this fall.

TCU’s cornerback room features a mix of both youth and experience. The Horned Frogs welcome in four freshmen and one JUCO recruit in Jonah Martinez, who was an All-Conference player at Long Beach City College in 2024. Among the incoming freshmen is four-star recruit Micah Strickland, one of the top prospects of the 2025 class. Three-star recruits Cam Jamerson, Gil Jackson and Deon Mays round out the cornerback room for the Horned Frogs, who currently roster 11 total cornerbacks. The TCU secondary, which will be in its second season under defensive coordinator Andy Avalos, was one of the top pass defenses in the Big 12 last season, ranking fourth in completion percentage (57.6), third in passing yards allowed per game (185.2) and second in passing touchdowns allowed (14).