[bigboydan]

In case anyone doesn't know just how valube Tommy Blake is. He led the Mountain West with seven sacks last season.

Blake returns to TCU after missing four days of practice

TCU Horned Frogs standout defensive end Tommy Blake will return to campus for the start of classes on Monday and return to practice on Tuesday, team spokesman Mark Cohen said.

Tommy Blake (97)


Blake, a two-time All-Mountain West Conference pick and top NFL prospect, left the team after the first of two practices Tuesday to attend to a "personal matter."

At least a half-dozen NFL scouts watched the 22-year-old senior practice in the days before his departure.

"Maybe it was a little bit of the pressure of everything," Coach Gary Patterson said on Friday. "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 said he has been in contact with Blake's grandmother, who raised the defensive end.

Patterson said Blake got rid of his cell phone because of frequent calls and messages from friends and would-be agents since the spring.

Blake's absence was first reported Friday by the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has missed five practices.

After the intrasquad scrimmage Saturday, the Horned Frogs don't have another practice scheduled until Tuesday, a day after classes begin at TCU.

Patterson said Blake was having "great practices" before he left. In an intrasquad game last week, the coach said Blake played 23 snaps and made 10 plays in that stretch -- including sacks, tackles and a forced fumble on a sideline option going to the opposite side from where he lined up.

"He came [to camp] in great shape, ready to go," Patterson said.

The 6-foot-3, 252-pound Blake led the Mountain West with seven sacks and 16½ 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.

As a sophomore in 2005, Blake had seven sacks -- second in the MWC behind teammate Chase Ortiz -- and his 13½ tackles for losses trailed only Ortiz for the conference lead.

Blake and Ortiz, also a two-time all-MWC player, are among nine returning starters on a defense that ranked in the top three nationally last season in rushing defense, total defense and scoring defense while TCU won 11 games for the third time in four seasons.