FORT WORTH, Texas — TCU standout defensive end Tommy Blake was back on campus Monday for the first day of classes after missing five practices and an intrasquad scrimmage last week for personal reasons.
Coach Gary Patterson said Blake was expected to be on the field when the No. 22 Horned Frogs resume practice Tuesday.
Blake, a two-time All-Mountain West Conference pick and top NFL prospect, left campus for personal reasons last week and went home to Aransas Pass, about 370 miles from Fort Worth on the Texas Gulf Coast. Patterson visited Blake over the weekend.
While it's still unclear exactly why Blake left, the 22-year-old senior appears to be adjusting to a level of attention and expectations he hasn't faced before.
"Maybe it was a little bit of the pressure of everything," Patterson said last week. "A lot of things go through a kid's mind. We will give him time to do what he needs to do. We know what he can do on the field."
Patterson has said Blake got rid of his cell phone because of frequent calls and messages from friends and would-be agents since the spring. NFL scouts are constantly at practice watching Blake and other TCU players.
The 6-foot-3, 252-pound Blake led the Mountain West with seven sacks and 16 1/2 tackles for losses last season. He was the defensive MVP in the Poinsettia Bowl, when he had two sacks in the Frogs' 37-7 victory over Northern Illinois.
The Horned Frogs, who didn't practice Sunday or Monday, play their season opener Sept. 1 at home against Baylor.
CARROLL DISMISSES HOLLAND: Jamere Holland, one of USC's fastest players, has been dismissed from the team by coach Pete Carroll.
Holland, a 6-foot-1, 190-pound wide receiver from Pacoima, Calif., was listed as a third-stringer on the depth chart entering fall camp.
Holland is the second player to leave the Trojans in recent days, joining tailback Emmanuel Moody, the team's second-leading rusher as a freshman last season. Moody, one of several tailbacks competing for playing time this fall, decided to transfer.
KELLER WINS 'HUSKER QB JOB: Sam Keller will start at quarterback for Nebraska in the season opener against Nevada on Sept. 1.
Keller, who transferred from Arizona State last year, had been competing with two-year backup Joe Ganz. Coach Bill Callahan announced the decision to go with Keller on Monday.
2 WVU players arrested: Two West Virginia University football players were arrested over the weekend and charged with transferring and receiving stolen property. James Thomas, 18, of Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and Ellis Lankster, 21, of Whistler, Ala., were arrested Sunday, Morgantown Police said in a news release.