Where have all the star QBs gone in the Big 12?
Who's the best quarterback in the Big 12? Some years, that's an easy question, because there's an epic player in our midst. Kyler Murray. Robert Griffin III. Vince Young. Jason White.
Some years, that's a hard question, because there are multiple stars from which to pick. Baker Mayfield or Patrick Mahomes? Trevone Boykin or Bryce Petty? Colt McCoy or Sam Bradford?
And some years, that's a hard question, because there are no stars from which to pick. Like 2020.
Savvy Texas veteran Sam Ehlinger is playing about the same as he always has. Solid. Iowa State's Brock Purdy has receded from his performance of the previous two years. OSU's Spencer Sanders continues a turnover problem. Kansas State's Skylar Thompson is injured. Baylor's Charlie Brewer hasn't improved. West Virginia's Jarrett Doege isn't as good as his brother, Seth, who
quarterbacked Texas Tech in 2011-12 and was a middleof-the-road Big 12 QB.
OU's Spencer Rattler, a redshirt freshman, probably is the answer, and he might soon be a worthy heir to the Mayfield/Murray/ Jalen Hurts dynasty. But he's only recently gotten past the turnover bug.
So there's no doubt, Big 12 quarterbacking is down from its lofty heights, and Big 12 offenses have fallen, too.
Just look at the finals in some games matching Big 12 contenders: 27-13, 14-14 after regulation, 21-14, 27-16. Fewer basketball scores than in the old days. Some decent defense is being played across many Big 12 gridirons.
“You've had a lot of great quarterbacks over the last couple of years, and I think you're kind of on that young trend now rebuilding,” said Iowa State coach Matt Campbell. “Obviously, there's some really good elder statesmen that have had tremendous success that are still in our league … it's as cyclical as anything is.”
The Big 12's quarterback pedigree is unmatched. Get this. The conference has had a quarterback in the top four of the Heisman Trophy voting 16 of the last 20 years, including two of the top four in 2018 and three of the top four in 2008. This is a two-decade trend.
And that doesn't even account for the likes of Texas Tech's Mahomes, who never got national acclaim until he became a Kansas City Chief but was feared and revered in Big 12 country.
Mike Gundy referred to recent stars Mahomes, Murray and Mayfield — all now NFL starters, with Mahomes on a Pro Football Hall of Fame path and the other two Heisman winners and overall No. 1 draft picks — and said, “it's almost a little unfair to compare to those guys, just based on the level of play that those guys have.
“Those three guys are at a whole different level. I told you guys when we played
Pat Mahomes, he's arguably the best quarterback I've ever seen play. That's held true, even in the NFL.”
But that's the point. The Big 12 once had quarterbacks like that. And now the conference doesn't.
Big 12 quarterbacking once was so deep, the likes of Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill, an eight-year NFL starter, was never a major player on the conference landscape. OSU's Zac Robinson in 2008 completed 65 percent of his passes, with 25 touchdowns and more than 3,000 yards, with 562 rushing yards, and was no better than the fifth-best quarterback in the league.
Tannehill or Robinson in 2020 would be the Big 12's best.
TCU coach Gary Patterson said that while quarterbacking might be down, defensive strategy is up. The threeman front, pioneered by Iowa State, has spread through the conference, and quarterbacks can't be so prolific.
“Probably reality's somewhere in between,” Patterson said.
This Big 12 quarterbacking season is akin to 2006, when Nebraska's Zac Taylor (now the Cincinnati Bengals head coach) was the Big 12 offensive player of the year. Texas' McCoy, Tech's Graham Harrell, Missouri's Chase Daniel and OSU's Bobby Reid all were salty young players, but none had developed into differencemakers. That soon changed.
Maybe the same change is coming, though the current young crop beyond Rattler is limited to Sanders, TCU's Max Duggan, Kansas State's Will Howard and Kansas' Jalon Daniels.
For now, the conference muddles on with average quarterbacking, which is normal to the rest of the world but quite strange here in Big 12 territory.
Berry Tramel: Berry can be reached at 405-760-8080 or at btramel@oklahoman.com. He can be heard Monday through Friday from 4:40-5:20 p.m. on The Sports Animal radio network, including FM-98.1. You can also view his personality page at oklahoman.com/berrytramel.