TCU wide receiver Ty Slanina began his football career at the age of seven under the guidance of his grandfather, Texas High School Coaches Association Hall of Honor inductee George Harris.

But while Slanina was always around the football, he didn’t receive any playing time. That’s because his position was different from the rest of the players on the team.

“I was a ball boy for my grandfather,” Slanina said. “There were older ball boys, but I thought I was so official. I would show up to the games, and I would just follow them around.”

From that point forward, Slanina would continue taking his love for football to the next level. He said he began playing flag football soon after becoming a ball boy, and that he often played with his dad at his home in East Bernard, Texas.

“Every single day when I came home from school, I’d drag my dad outside and make him play catch with me,” Slanina said. “We’d always do drills and stuff like that. When my parents were gone, I’d set my sister up in front of the couch and tell her to look outside and I’d tackle her onto the couch to practice my tackling.”

Slanina said he initially wanted to play tackle football, but his grandfather wouldn’t let him. He played flag football until middle school, where he would finally be allowed to play tackle.

But football wasn’t the only sport he participated in growing up. In both middle school and high school, he said he ran track and field and played baseball and basketball.

As a track and field athlete, Slanina set the East Bernard High School record in the 100-meter dash (11.02 seconds), 200-meter dash (22.12 seconds) and long jump (25-9 1/4). He was also the Class 2A state long jump champion in 2011 and 2012 and was a state qualifier in the 100-meter dash, according to the TCU football website and 247Sports.

However, his achievements on the football field rivaled those on the track. He was a first-team selection on defense to the MaxPreps Small Schools All-America Team and an honorable-mention Associated Press Class 2A all-state selection, according to the TCU football website.

Additionally, he said he played four positions throughout his high school football career: quarterback, running back, wide receiver and defensive back. He led East Bernard to the 2A Division II state title as a senior, throwing four touchdown passes and earning Offensive Most Valuable Player honors in the championship game, per the TCU football website.

Nevertheless, Slanina said both baseball and track and field challenged football for his primary sporting interest, making his college athletics decision a difficult one.

“It was pretty even,” Slanina said. “I knew I wanted to play college sports, but I didn’t know which one… I had [scholarship] offers in all three.”

It wasn’t until his senior year of high school when he said he narrowed down the choice to two sports, baseball and football. Moreover, he said he committed to Texas A&M right after his sophomore year, but his scholarship was lost after a change in coaching staffs.

So while he decided which sport he would choose to play, he also needed to pick which school he would play for. Baylor, Arizona and Stanford were three of the nine schools that offered him a scholarship, according to ESPN.

Slanina said he wanted to stay in Texas, but after Texas A&M pulled his scholarship, he said he wanted to broaden his horizons. He also said there was some pressure from his family to stay in his home state.

“It really opened up right after that,” Slanina said. “I still wanted to stay in Texas, but I wanted to look elsewhere as well just to see the other opportunities.”

“My family, they wanted me to stay in Texas. They would say ‘pick wherever you want to go’ but my mom would always throw in a ‘it sure would be nice to be able to drive to your games every weekend.’”

Slanina said he took a visit to Stanford, but after receiving an offer and then visiting one school in particular, his mind had been made up.

“[My family and I] came to the TCU visit, and after I left… I told my parents that this is the place for me,” Slanina said. “This is home… A week later, I ended up calling coach [Chad] Glasgow and telling him I wanted to be a Horned Frog.”

In addition to having his family in mind, Slanina said the football program was also instrumental in his decision.

“The way that the upperclassmen treat the younger guys and the way that it is in that locker room, you’re never going to find another locker room with the type of close-knit family that’s there,” Slanina said. “I just felt like I fit in, and I felt like my family fit in with all the other families around here.”

Prior to Slanina’s freshman season, the TCU football team went 7-6 in its first Big 12 season, losing to Michigan State 17-16 in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl.

But the Horned Frogs regressed in year two of Big 12 action, finishing 4-8 and failing to make a bowl game for the first time since 2004.

A major reason for the Frogs’ struggles in 2013 was their offense, which ranked 75th in the nation in yards per game, 89th in points per game, 108th in total yards and 109th in first downs, according to ESPN.

However, Slanina emerged as a bright spot on an otherwise underwhelming offensive unit. The true freshman ranked sixth on the team in receiving, making 19 receptions for 184 yards and one touchdown. His best game, where he had three catches for 63 yards and a score, came in a 48-17 victory over rival SMU.

He also said the team’s poor performance during his freshman season inspired both himself and his teammates to work harder and improve in 2014.

“We went 4-8, but those games that we lost, they were all extremely close,” Slanina said. “We knew that we had it in us, it was just finding it. I think we were all inspired and ready to get to spring and summer and work hard.”

Slanina’s role would increase entering his sophomore season after former wide receivers LaDarius Brown and Brandon Carter were kicked off the team.

Brown was arrested in February 2014 on suspicion of marijuana possession, while Carter was arrested two months later on the same charge. The charge against Carter was dropped just over a month after his arrest, but poor academics led to his removal from the team roster.

Also, head coach Gary Patterson brought in former Oklahoma State assistant and Houston offensive coordinator Doug Meacham and former Texas Tech assistant Sonny Cumbie in the offseason to help overhaul an offense that was one of the nation’s worst in 2013.

Within one season, TCU went from being one of the worst offensive teams in the country to one of the best. The Frogs finished second in the nation in points per game (46.5) and scored at least 30 points in every single game in 2014, according to ESPN.

The Frogs also ranked sixth in total yards (6,929), fifth in yards per game (533) and 13th in first downs (331).

In his first season as a starter and his second as a Horned Frog, Slanina nearly doubled the number of receptions he made in 2013 and recorded almost twice as many receiving yards. He finished 2014 with 32 catches for 383 yards and two touchdowns. His best performance came in the Frogs’ 34-30 win at Kansas, making six grabs for 95 yards and a touchdown.

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TCU entered the last weekend of the season ranked third in the nation. However, after a 55-3 thrashing of Iowa State, the Frogs fell out of the College Football Playoff.

Patterson recently made comments about the selection committee’s decision to leave the Frogs out of the playoff bracket. Slanina said it was disappointing the team didn’t make the cut, but the selection committee’s decision didn’t have any effect on the team’s long-term goals.

“We knew that we had to move on and that everything happens for a reason,” Slanina said. “I think we took it as a positive instead of a negative and we were mature about it.”

Although TCU wasn’t able to compete for the national championship, the Frogs dominated Ole Miss 42-3 in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day, sending a message to the nation that TCU isn’t going away anytime soon.

In fact, Slanina said he has high hopes for the Frogs in 2015.

“I think our expectations are to win the national championship, go undefeated and nothing less,” Slanina said.

Slanina will likely begin the 2015 season as a starter alongside seniors Josh Doctson, Kolby Listenbee and Deante’ Gray. The offense will also be commanded once again by senior quarterback Trevone Boykin.

FOX Sports has TCU ranked No. 2 in its preseason top 25. Bleacher Report also has the Frogs ranked second.

Now an upperclassman within the football program, Slanina said he wants to be a role model for some of the team’s younger players. He also said the most important advice he’s received that he will attempt to pass down is to play every down like it’s the last.

“When you’re out there, it could be your last play,” Slanina said. “You don’t want to regret something… Any play could be your last. You got to take every single day like it’s your only chance.”

Additionally, Slanina said it’s important for young players to be confident.

“Don’t come in scared,” Slanina said. “These upperclassmen are going to be there for them no matter what. We’re going to help them through everything. If they need help, they can come ask any question.”

Slanina said he’s majoring in communication studies with a minor in history. He also said he would like to go to the NFL after college, but plans on pursuing a career and eventually starting a family if he is unable to play football professionally.

And as he continues his college football career, he said his family continues to be a source of inspiration and support.

“I really like spending time with my family… I’m a really big family guy… I try to hang out with family as much as I can,” Slanina said.

“I talk to them multiple times a day every single day. They’re always there for me, and whenever I have a problem or a question, they expect a call.”