2026 TCU Countdown to Kickoff: 8 Days Until Horned Frog Football

TCU football is moving closer to its 2026 season opener against North Carolina in Dublin, Ireland on Aug. 29. As the Countdown to Kickoff continues, we’ll highlight a former Horned Frog whose jersey number coincided with the number of days remaining until the opener. At No. 8 is former TCU quarterback Davey O’Brien!

The only Heisman Trophy winner in program history, O’Brien received the honor in 1938. The Horned Frogs, behind O’Brien and under Dutch Meyer, went 11-0 and claimed the title of national champions that season. O’Brien, whose No. 8 is retired, received All-Southwest Conference First Team honors twice (1937, 1938) and unanimous All-American honors (1938). He threw for 1,509 yards during the 1938 season, setting an SWC record that stood for 10 years. He threw for 19 touchdowns on just four interceptions and added three rushing scores.

The Philadelphia Eagles picked O’Brien with the No. 4 selection in the first round of the 1939 NFL Draft. As a professional quarterback, O’Brien led the league in passing yards (1,324) his rookie season, breaking the previous record set by another former TCU player, Sammy Baugh. He was named an NFL All-Star and a First-Team All-Pro in 1939. O’Brien played two NFL seasons before retiring and taking a job with the FBI, where he worked for 10 years. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1955 and the Texas Sports Hall of Fame in 1956.

O’Brien, a Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award winner at TCU, was inducted into the school’s Athletic Hall of Fame in 1967.