TCU football enters 2026 with a massive linebacker rebuild, putting Max Carroll and Michael Short under pressure to replace two NFL Draft departures in a hurry.
TCU football has a linebacker problem, and there’s no way to hide it before the 2026 season.
The Horned Frogs must replace Kaleb Elarms-Orr and Namdi Obiazor after Obiazor recorded 302 career tackles and Elarms-Orr delivered a 130-tackle season in 2025.
Unless Max Carroll, Michael Short and a largely untested group grow up quickly, this could become the weakness opponents attack every Saturday.
Obiazor was more than a productive defender. The former safety became one of TCU’s most dependable players, finishing his four-year run with 17 tackles for loss, 8.5 sacks and nine pass breakups across 53 games.
New England valued that versatility enough to select him in the sixth round of the 2026 NFL Draft.
Elarms-Orr’s departure may sting even more immediately. He added 11 tackles for loss and four sacks during an All-Big 12 First Team campaign, then went to Buffalo in the fourth round.
That’s a lot of violence, range and leadership walking out the door at once.
Carroll now has the clearest path to becoming the face of the room. The redshirt junior has appeared in 30 games, recording 55 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and three pass breakups.
He knows the system and has already handled rotational snaps, but being a reliable backup is different from directing a defense when the game tightens.
Short is the wild card. The Virginia Tech transfer registered 22 tackles in only four games last season after beginning his career at North Carolina.
His experience matters, but TCU needs more than another veteran body.
It needs a linebacker capable of diagnosing plays, finishing tackles and surviving in coverage against Big 12 offenses designed to create mismatches.
Michael Teason offers another experienced option after appearing in all 12 regular-season games and making 10 tackles in 2025. Beyond him, the Horned Frogs are betting heavily on development.
Anthony Williams saw action in four games, while Keylan Abrams, Dillon Arkansas, Sam Haley and true freshman Noriel Dominguez represent the next wave.
There’s talent here. There just isn’t much proof.
TCU’s defensive front and secondary can cover mistakes early, but they can’t babysit the middle of the field forever. Carroll and Short don’t have to become Elarms-Orr and Obiazor overnight.
They do, however, have to keep linebacker from becoming the position that breaks TCU’s defense.
