College Football has it’s stages during the summer offseason and how fanbases feel. June is mostly for recruiting for the next class or just in anticipation for incoming Freshman/Transfers. July is considered to be the hardest for fans as there is a dead period and the Media creates buzz with Media Day.
August has camp beginning and of course the beginning of the season. So for the fanbases, they are expected headlines heading into the season with expectations. Today, we are going to take a look at 3 headlines for each Big 12 and information behind it.
Baylor:
Can Rhule Make the jump in Year 3?
Inheriting a program in shambles, Rhule has made a merely similar rebuild of Baylor as he did with Temple. After a 2-10 season, Rhule led Temple to bowl eligibility the next season and then back to back 10 win seasons. Rhule went from 1-11 to 7-6 in one season and expects another jump for the Bears.
With a favorable schedule and a lot of returning production, it’s not hard to believe that Baylor could finish as the 3rd best team in the conference and a solid Bowl game
Charlie Brewer becoming a Top 2 QB?
According to PPR, Charlie Brewer was the #1 rated QB in the entire country. PPR uses a different system than most, but the praise for Brewer isn’t crazy. Baylor had the worst O-Line last year when it came to pass protection as they gave 39 sacks last year. Baylor returns 5 of their top 7 lineman from last year, so that should give Brewer more protection.
For Brewer as a player to make the jump, he needs to throw the ball more downfield. Brewer only had one passing touchdown that eclipsed 50 yards and that was a curl route going 52 yards for Marques Jones in the high flying Texas Bowl against Vanderbilt. For Brewer to be elite, he needs to connect on more deep passes.
Where is the Pass Rush coming from?
Although Baylor brings back All-Big 12 DT/DE James Lynch, questions of production comes from everyone else. Promising Sophomore BJ Thompson got kicked off the team and the team lost Ira Lewis and Greg Roberts from last season.
Texas A&M Transfer James Lockhart has been getting some buzzed and is considered to be one of the other threats along the D-Line. Baylor has depth, but players need to standout in order for this unit to be an above average group in the Big 12.
Iowa State:
Matt Campbell is turning into an elite coach.
Campbell isn’t necessarily an elite recruiter, but is fantastic at developing talent. First Teamers like HB David Montgomery, DE Jaquan Bailey, and WR Deshaunte Foster were all considered middle of the road 3 stars. Even Hakeem Butler was a 2 star from Fort Bend Travis.
And with the duo of Jirehl Brock and Breece Hall coming (2 4 star RB’s), he’s got a chance to continue the tradition of scary RB’s.
Can Brock Purdy repeat his phenomenal Freshman campaign?
Purdy broke away last year as the clear starter and had standout games against Oklahoma State, Kansas State, and was extremely efficient against Baylor. The only thing I’d worry is being a more consistent deep ball thrower and who will become the #1 Wide Receiver. With Hakeem Butler gone, it’ll be interesting to see who emerges as Purdy’s go to target.
With the Big 12 having a ton of really good returning QB’s from last year, it’s really tough to put up a for sure list of who the top 5 is. Purdy has landed as low as #5 and even as high as #2. I’d say he is currently 4th, but in most conferences, he could be a Top 2 QB. His ceiling is extremely high, but we’ll see if he gets to that point.
Why the defense can be the best in the conference.
This defense was vastly underrated last season and lead the conference in run defense. TCU’s secondary was among the best in the nation and Iowa State finished just behind them in giving up 234 yards per game.
All-Big 12’s like Jaquan Bailey, Marcel Spears Jr, Greg Eisworth, among others all return as this defense is feared among many in the Big 12. ISU is a dark horse to make the Big 12 title and the defense could be the anchor behind a date in Arlington in December.
Kansas:
Les Miles going crazy or onto something?
Les Miles was one of the biggest and puzzling moves during the off-season as he makes his return back to the Big 12. He said in a press conference that Kansas (paraphrasing) had Big 12 talent all over the team to compete against just about anybody. Although I don’t believe that right now, in a few years, that might be a different story. Outside of RB and DB’s, Kansas is pretty weak everywhere.
Kansas does currently have the #3 ranked recruiting class in the Big 12 with 4 star LB Brennon Scott and high 3 star CB JaCobee Bryant leading the charge. But that also includes the fact they have 25 commits and have no room for anybody else.
Pooka Williams Sophomore slump?
Pooka Williams woke up the entire college football world last year with his electricity and the way he tore up some Big 12 defenses. He passed the 100 yard mark 4 times and over 150 twice (including a 252 yard, 3 touchdown performance against Big 12 Champs, Oklahoma).
It’s hard to replicate 7 yards a carry and with more game film, Pooka might take a step back in year 2, especially with a new coaching staff.
Joe Dineen’s replacement and the secondary being really good?
Joe Dineen was by far the best front 7 player for that Kansas team and replacing him will be the toughest thing to do during the off-season. Luckily, Kansas has two upperclassmen in Dru Prox and Denzel Feaster being the linebackers. Unfortunately, they haven’t played a ton.
Kansas was among the best in the nation in creating takeaways and the secondary was the reason behind it. Impact players like Mike Lee and Bryce Tornedon return for one more season. Sophomore Corione Harris is getting some preseason hype and could be a impact player next season after playing quite a bit last year.
Kansas State:
What happens this time after Snyder retires?
Kansas State may be getting a bit of Deja Vu with their being a new man in charge in Manhattan. Ron Prince didn’t quite live up to the hype they were expecting. But he also didn’t have the background that Chris Klieman has.
Klieman has dominated the FCS and won 4 of the last 5 national championships. In the past 5 seasons, he’s lost less games in that time than Kansas State did all of just last season. Whether it takes time or not, all signs point toward that Klieman can make K-State a legit threat every season in the Big 12.
Alex Barnes’s replacement has HUGE shoes to fill.
Alex Barnes may not have been the best RB in the Big 12 last season, but he may have been the most physically imposing RB around. Rushing for over 1,200 yards and 13 Touchdowns.
Kansas State loses ALL of the rushing production last season and leaving a clean slate to work with. Senior James Gilbert is the expected starter, but questions are swirling about the backfield
How many games will the D-Line dominate?
Something that Klieman can cling to is a dominate front 7 that is captioned by All-Big 12 Reggie Walker, that is expected to be a disruptive force during his senior campaign. It doesn’t hurt to have Honorable Mentions covering the rest of the unit with Trey Dishon, Wyatt Hubert, and Kyle Ball.
There isn’t a O-Line unit that is truly elite, so winning the game in the trenches could be the reason why they finish the season 7-5 instead of 5-7 or even 4-8.
Oklahoma:
My oh my, that secondary?
Where to begin with this one. Oklahoma has basically ran the Big 12 over the past 4-5 seasons, but this season could be the end of that run. Oklahoma was historically awful at stopping the pass last year as they gave up 4,116 yards through the air (500 more yards than the next team). Granite, they did play an extra game, but they were also among the worst in stopping the run as well.
To top on all of that, projected starting CB Tre Norwood is out for the season and was the best DB on the team. This could be a legitimate problem for the Sooners and Hurts isn’t the same as Kyler Murray. It could cost the Sooners a game, maybe even 2.
A rose is quietly blossoming. No one outside of Norman knows it though.
While OU has basically became TranferU at the QB position, that should be over after 2019. While Jalen Hurts has been the starter, lurking in the shadows is #1 Pro Passing QB in the 2019 class in Spencer Rattler.
OU is already building for the future on offense with incoming freshman wideouts that are among the best in the nation and the QB with the keys to the Ferrari that is a Lincoln Riley offense. The kid from Pinnacle in Phoenix, Arizona should be the signal caller in 2020 and will give you a sneak preview in 2019 of what he is capable of.
WRU is wearing Crimson and Cream?
Although Hurts is new to Oklahoma, he will no shortage of options to look to whenever dropping back in the pocket. Oklahoma is absolutely loaded at the WR spot, even with the departure of Hollywood Brown to the NFL. CeeDee Lamb (1,158 yards, 11 Touchdowns), Grant Calcaterra (396 yards, 6 Touchdowns), and Lee Morris (457 yards, 8 Touchdowns) all return.
Oklahoma also brought in the Big 3 of 5 star WR Jadon Haslewood, Theo Wease, and high 4 star Trejan Bridges. Big 12 receivers put up video game like numbers, but this core could be the best group at the position since Baylor back in 2014-2015.
Oklahoma State:
Mike Gundy starting to regress?
This is very crazy to say from the outside looking in considering he has had 3 straight 10 win seasons prior to going 7-6 season last season. Tylan Wallace returns as a top 3 receiver, but not a ton of big name talent is on this squad outside of him.
The QB battle continues and the Cowboys will have to replace Justice Hill in the backfield. The defense should be decent, but nothing trendsetting and should be at best middle of the road
Struggles of the D-Line.
With the losses of Jordan Brailford and Jarrell Owens, experience will be the issue up front. Freshman Tyler Lacy will be called upon. That part of the defense will be an issue unless there is a player that can stand out and
Who’s going to take snaps?
QB controversy is always fun, but you can’t win football games with 2 QB’s. Spencer Sanders and Dru Brown are the two and neither really are pulling away at this point. Sanders may be more talented, but Brown has much more experienced and was beat by Cole McDonald.
TCU:
How many Horned Frogs will take a snap during Game 1?
Out of all of the QB competitions, this one is by far the weirdest. TCU had 2 incoming transfers in Alex Delton (Kansas State) and Matthew Baldwin (Ohio State). Baldwin is now out of the race as he will not eligible for the 2019 season.
The depth chart consists of Michael Collins, Alex Delton, Max Duggan, and Justin Rogers. And to this point, none of the four have separated from the pack. Collins was inconsistent, Rogers is still plagued from an ACL injury, Duggan is a true freshman and Delton wasn’t a pass heavy QB at Kansas State. The offense was pretty bad towards the end of the year (some had to do with injuries), but if they can’t find their QB, it could be a down year for the Horned Frogs.
Can TCU find another explosive player without the last name Reagor?
If your name wasn’t Jalen Reagor towards the last 4 games of the season, you weren’t doing a ton on offense. Reagor was a big time threat towards the back half of the season going for 177 at Kansas, 150 at West Virginia followed by 86 and 91 yard games against Baylor and Oklahoma State.
Taye Barber had a solid freshman season, totaling 303 yards, but needs a big jump in production. TCU has a good running game with the senior duo of Darius Anderson and Sewo Olonilua, but if they can’t get guys on the outside that can help them out, they might become predictable on offense.
How elite can that defense be?
Something that has never been an issue from a Gary Patterson squad is solid defense. TCU has the best 1-2 duo at corner with Jeff Gladney and Innis Gaines.
Unfortunately, rising Sophomore Noah Daniels suffered an injury during camp, but TCU should still be good in the back end. Ben Banogu and Ty Summers were huge losses up front, but TCU is prepared to be reloaded.
Texas
Does Sam Ehlinger become the next great Texas QB?
After a promising Freshman season, Ehlinger exploded onto the scene in 2018 passing for 3,292 yards and 25 touchdowns. The leadership he showed in certain games and the way he was able to lead Texas to wins over marquee programs like Oklahoma and Georgia is of QB’s we’ve seen in the past.
Texas hasn’t had a truly impactful QB since Colt McCoy. McCoy put up similar stats to Ehlinger during his sophomore season with 3,303 yards and 22 touchdowns. Ehlinger has the talent around him to have a similar career to Colt. And after his first full season starting, it’s hard to believe that he would have any kind of drop off, of course, barring injury.
How can they replace all the talent in the front 7?
All 3 linebackers from last year have graduated and moved on. Another key part from last year’s team in DL Charles Omenihu has also graduated. After being a highly touted recruit out of High School, Jeffrey McCulloch is the most experienced player returning from that group and has played in a reserve role throughout his first 3 years with the program.
They have other talent at the position in Joseph Ossai and Freshman Ayodele Adeoye, but they are both pretty young. It’s a veteran heavy group with the D-Line, headlined by former LB Malcolm Roach (90 career tackles, 13.5 sacks). But outside of him, it’s guys in the system, but not a ton of playing time.
Can this Wide Receiving core become the best in the conference?
The one-two duo of Johnson and DuVernay would be the best in a couple of conferences, but unfortunately, OU is in the same conference as Texas. DuVernay didn’t drop a pass last season and Johnson is a huge red zone target and can run pretty well.
Guys like Joshua Moore and D’Shawn Jamison can bolster the group and make it become elite. A freshman to watch out for that could potentially play is Jake Smith. There has been a lot of buzz circling around him.
Texas Tech:
How will the new era look in Lubbock?
Matt Wells is trying to implement not just a new program, but a new culture to the program. The high flying offense to Texas Tech might not be quite as extreme. But the focus should be on defense as this unit should actually be pretty good.
With returning talent left and right, there is some reason for optimism. Wells is hoping to play the cards differently. Wells is a very good offensive minded coach as he was very successful at Utah State and had a consistent Top 30 offense. But the defense could be the reason why Texas Tech has a lot more potential than most people think.
Best Secondary Tech has had?
The main reason for optimism is the secondary. All of the buzz is around Adrian Frye and how he has All-Big 12 written all over him.
Desmond Smith and Quincy Addison both return and there’s a reason that Texas Tech was ranked as the #4 DB unit in the Big 12 last week during the DB unit preview.
Can Bowman stay healthy?
Bowman is a gun slinger that showed flashes of greatness in a few games. He had a 600 yard game against Houston and 408 yards against Kansas. But against good defenses, he struggled with 123 yard performance against West Virginia and 3 INT’s against Iowa State.
In Bowman’s defense, he was dealing with 2 different injuries and was still a true freshman. If he is able to perform well against the good defenses in the Big 12, there isn’t an reason why he’s not a Top 3 QB. He was the most efficient QB in the entire nation with nearly 70% completion percentage until he was shut down for the rest of the season.
West Virginia:
Does Neal Brown need a Mulligan Year?
Outside of the four new coaches, Neal Brown has the most potential to turn his program into a legit threat again. The problem is, it shouldn’t be this season. West Virginia by far lost the most talent of any team in the Big 12.
Just about their entire secondary is gone from transferring, Will Grier is in the NFL and their top 2 pass catchers are there as well in David Sills and Gary Jennings. Matt Rhule got a mulligan after having a program with just 60 scholarship players, if WV ends up near the bottom of the conference, Brown deserves a Mulligan.
Who is going to make plays in the secondary?
With 4 current DB’s in the Transfer Portal alone, there are legit concerns at a spot that WV normally is pretty good at. Josh Norwood and Jovanni Stewart are the two projected starters in the back end that are still on campus.
Other guys like Junior Jake Long and Sean Mahone are upperclassmen, but have little to no experience. Considering how good they were last year, this is the group to expose as an offensive coordinator.
How good is Austin Kendall?
All we know of Kendall is that he “pushed” Kyler Murray last year for the starting job. The good thing for Kendall is that he has sit behind and learned from Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray. The problem is, we haven’t seen enough of Kendall at the CFB level to know how good he exactly is.
Outside of TJ Simmons, it’s unproven talent at the WR spot. That certainly won’t help and with a O-Line that is veteran heavy, you hope they are able to give him enough protection to make some plays.
Photo Credit: https://sportsday.dallasnews.com/college-sports/baylorbears/2018/10/29/baylor-quarterback-charlie-brewer-concussion-protocol
