By ISU Sports Information
NORMAL – The Illinois State football team added depth at the linebacker position, as head coach Brock Spack announced the addition of former junior college All-American and former TCU linebacker Tyree Horton to the 2017 roster.
Horton spent last fall at TCU, but did not see game action for the Horned Frogs. The 6-foot-1, 225-pound outside linebacker will be eligible to play immediately for the Redbirds and will have two years of eligibility remaining at ISU. He will help fill the void left by Alejandro Rivera, Brent Spack and B.J. Bello, who all graduated following the 2016 season for the Redbirds.
“Tyree is a great athlete and solid football player,” Spack said. “He has all the tools we look for at the outside linebacker position and we will see what he can do when we get him on the field this spring. We needed to improve our depth at the linebacker position, after losing three quality players to graduation, and we think he could be a good option for us moving forward.”
Named a National Junior College Athletic Association First-Team All-America selection in 2015, Horton was tabbed as the Co-Defensive Player of the Year in the Jayhawk Conference after finishing with 88 total tackles, 19.5 tackles-for-loss and 9.5 sacks as a sophomore for the Scotties. He finished his career ranked third in school history in total tackles and second in sacks with 19 overall.
Those numbers earned him a four-star ranking and he was tabbed as the nation’s No. 1 junior college inside linebacker and No. 8 overall junior college player by 247sports.com. He chose to head to TCU over Alabama, Oklahoma, Florida State and Florida.
During his prep career at South Dade High School in Homestead, Florida, Horton was named a First-Team All-Dade County selection and was the defensive player of the year in the county following his senior season. He led the county in sacks with 16 as a senior, while leading the team with 110 tackles, and helped the team to the state championship while earning third-team all-state honors from the Associated Press.
