HOW BIG 12 SHAPES UP AFTER SPRING
Sooners, Cowboys aim to spring into playoff hunt.
No question Big 12 football was down last fall, considering the league had no contenders make the national playoffs. But that is going to change. Oklahoma and Oklahoma State should be considered immediate contenders. Kansas State will threaten. West Virginia has a hotshot quarterback. Texas and Baylor have high-energy new head coaches. TCU is hoping last year’s record was an aberration. Texas Tech’s Kliff Kingsbury will coach as if it might be his final season. And Iowa State and Kansas are trying to reverse negative trends.
The spring practice season is complete, so let’s recap where the league sits as summer approaches.
Baylor
2016: 7-6, 3-6 Big 12; beat Boise State in the Cactus Bowl
New coach Matt Rhule is in full control. He already has a dozen commitments for next year’s recruiting class, and he spent the spring trying to instill more physical toughness into the Bears. He spent last week in Philadelphia celebrating with three of his former Temple players who went in the NFL draft.
The offense still should be up-tempo, and the defense will start from a 4-3 base. But other than that, we don’t know a ton more about what Baylor will look like in September.
Rhule said he’ll announce a starting quarterback in August. It’ll prob-
ably be Zach Smith or Anu Solomon, who transferred from Arizona.
Iowa State
2016: 3-9, 2-7; no bowl Matt Campbell is in his second season in Ames, and you can see some of his changes. Jacob Park is entrenched as the starting quarterback after he split time with Joel Lanning last season. As for Lanning, he’s moved to middle linebacker. Park was 7 of 12 for 97 yards in the Cyclones’ spring game. And Lanning had an interception of Park and returned it 37 yards for a touchdown.
Allen Lazard, an underrated receiver in the Big 12, got to rest in the spring, as did starting tailback David Montgomery. Mike Warren, who had a standout freshman season but faltered some in 2016, had 28 yards on four carries in the spring game.
Kansas
2016: 2-10, 1-8; no bowl Kansas has a new offensive coordinator in Doug Meacham, who shocked the league when he jumped from TCU to Kansas. Three quarterbacks transferred in during the offseason. The starter will be either Carter Stanley or Peyton Bender, formerly of Washington State. Bender transferred to the Jayhawks from Itawamba Community College.
The star of the spring game was defensive end Josh Ehambe. He had four sacks and should be a nice bookend to Dorance Armstrong. Another nice addition is receiver Daylon Charlot, an Alabama transfer.
Kansas State
2016: 9-4, 6-3; beat Texas A&M in the Texas Bowl
First, 77-year-old coach Bill Snyder is back at work after undergoing treatments for throat cancer. He was on the sideline for the first half of the spring game, then watched the final half from the press box.
Starting quarterback Jesse Ertz missed all of spring practice because of surgery for an undisclosed medical issue (Snyder never tells). He should be fine by August. Alex Delton played in his place and was 21 of 33 for 249 yards in the spring game. He also rushed for 78 yards.
Including Ertz and standout receiver Byron Pringle, 13 players missed the spring game because of injuries.
Five offensive linemen who started Big 12 games last year return.
Oklahoma
2016: 11-2, 9-0; beat Auburn in the Sugar Bowl
Quarterback Baker Mayfield is a returning Heisman finalist, and he’ll have a tremendous offensive line to protect him. Folks in Norman are saying the line might be one of coach Bob Stoops’ finest.
But the rest of the offense still is a question mark.
Receiver Dede Westbrook, a Heisman finalist, is gone. The Sooners’ best options to replace him might be two newcomers — Kentucky transfer Jeff Badet and junior college transfer Marquise Brown. Badet averaged more than 21 yards a catch last season. Brown, however, might not be big enough to get through a Big 12 season. He arrived in Norman weighing 144 pounds.
The star of the spring game was quarterback Kyler Murray, an A&M transfer who will be eligible this fall. Murray was 9 of 13 for 144 yards, with a 70-yard TD throw over the top of a defense that’s moving back to a 4-3 base.
Rodney Anderson is in line to replace all-star tailbacks Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon. But keep an eye on junior college transfer Marcelias Sutton.
Oklahoma State
2016: 10-3, 7-2; beat Colorado in the Alamo Bowl
Mason Rudolph could be the best quarterback in the league. He threw for 4,091 yards last season with 28 touchdowns and only four interceptions. He played the first half of the spring game, completing 13 of 17 passes for 204 yards and a touchdown.
Receiver James Washington, who has had consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, is back as well. Rudolph and Washington considered going pro but came back to lead a team that returns 14 starters, eight of them on offense.
Tailback Justice Hill, last year’s conference freshman of the year, missed spring practice because of shoulder surgery but is expected to be ready to play by August.
TCU
2016: 6-7, 4-5; lost to Georgia in the Liberty Bowl
The good news? Kenny Hill is back as the starting quarterback and is healthy. Dynamic receivers KaVontae Turpin and Shaun Nixon also are fine after struggling with injuries. But the offense wasn’t very effective in the spring game; the defense forced five interceptions, which probably pleased defensive-minded head coach Gary Patterson.
The Horned Frogs lost co-coordinator Meacham in the offseason, so the offense is directed by Sonny Cumbie with some help from former Cal head coach Sonny Dykes, who is on staff as an offensive consultant.
Texas
2016: 5-7, 3-6; no bowl Charlie Strong is out and Tom Herman is in as head coach. Shane Buechele seems to have the inside track as the starting quarterback. He had an effective spring game, completing 23 of 39 passes for 369 yards. Receiver Collin Johnson is a star in the making. He had nearly 100 yards by halftime of the spring game, scoring two touchdowns.
Tailback depth still is a question as Texas looks to replace D’Onta Foreman, last year’s Doak Walker winner. Chris Warren III is the likely candidate, but he missed the final part of spring drills because of a hamstring strain.
Texas Tech
2016: 5-7, 3-6; no bowl Kingsbury, ever the marketer, had his Red Raiders play their spring game in Frisco at the Star, the lush practice home of the Dallas Cowboys. He even rolled out a red carpet to entertain the numerous recruits on hand for the scrimmage.
However, because of last season’s performance, Kingsbury has removed all Tech logos from uniforms as motivation. He’s focusing on the defense while Eric Morris is the coach in charge of the offense. The guy to replace quarterback Pat Mahomes II, the 10th pick in last month’s NFL draft, is senior Nic Shimonek, who was 26 for 33 for 273 yards and three scores in the scrimmage.
West Virginia
2016: 10-3, 7-2; lost to Miami in the Russell Athletic Bowl
The Mountaineers lost quarterback Skyler Howard, but they should be fine. Will Grier, who transferred from Florida, is taking over. Grier tested positive for an overthe-counter banned substance and was suspended by the NCAA for half the season. There is a question as to whether he’ll be eligible for the season opener.
Grier, who hasn’t played since October 2015, was 12 of 18 for 202 yards in the spring game. David Sills, who is shifting from slot to split end, caught two long touchdown passes. Tailback Justin Crawford had a 51-yard TD run on the opening drive.
West Virginia also welcomed back offensive coordinator Jake Spavital, who left Dana Holgorsen’s staff in 2013 and was an offensive coordinator at Texas A&M and California.