When college football returns, Big 12 should be loaded at quarterback
In a normal year, spring football practice in the Big 12 would being winding down this week. Spring games for nine schools would have happened by Saturday, with Texas finishing a week later.
Instead, no program got to complete its workouts and the Longhorns never even got started, leaving questions about position battles and the depth chart unanswered from Ames to Waco, and everywhere in between.
What were those questions and battles? Let’s check out what spring practice might have told us about where things stand in the Big 12 with some key storylines as the battle against the COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic continues:.
The QB conference returns
Oklahoma doesn’t have a ready-made Heisman Trophy candidate at quarterback. Spencer Rattler, a redshirt freshman who is the favorite to start, may become that player. But this is probably the first time in at least four seasons the league’s top Heisman contender isn’t a Sooner.
Here’s the run of Heisman voting finishes for OU quarterbacks since 2015: fourth, third and first by Baker Mayfield; first by Kyler Murray; and second by Jalen Hurts.
Nevertheless, the Big 12 returns a strong group of quarterbacks:
- Texas’ Sam Ehlinger has won a CFP bowl game and played in a Big 12 championship game. He’s one of six players from a Power Five conference in the last 20 years to pass for 25 touchdowns and rush for 15 in a season (2018). The other five won a Heisman.
- Iowa State’s Brock Purdy set a slew of school records in 2019 and should leave as the program’s top player in passing yards and touchdowns.
- With another big season, Baylor’s Charlie Brewer will bear down on some of Robert Griffin III’s school marks.
- Oklahoma State’s Spencer Sanders is good on his own but has the league’s top skills-position supporting cast in running back Chuba Hubbard and wide receiver Tylan Wallace.
- Kansas State’s Skylar Thompson looks for a strong finish to his career.
- Texas Tech’s Alan Bowman was on his way to putting up huge numbers when an injury shut him down after the Red Raiders’ third game.
- West Virginia’s Jarrett Doege took over late last season and led the Mountaineers to a pair of victories in three games.
- And TCU’s Max Duggan took over the starting role in the second game last season and didn’t look back.
Six Big 12 quarterbacks have won the Heisman Trophy since 2001, and although none will go into next season as a favorite, plenty of candidates can make up ground during the season.
Biggest coaching news is on the staffs
Four newcomers in the Big 12 made 2019 the year of coaching turnover. This year, there’s one newbie. Dave Aranda is coming off a national championship season as LSU’s defensive coordinator to take over at Baylor for Matt Rhule, who’s now with the Carolina Panthers.
But the assistant-coaching ranks include plenty of new faces, and some familiar faces in new places. Start at Texas, where six new staff members signal a win-now moment for head coach Tom Herman. Former Rutgers head coach Chris Ash is the defensive coordinator and Mike Yurcich, an Oklahoma State coordinator for six years, comes from Ohio State to head the Horns’ offense.
Kasey Dunn figured to be on his way from Oklahoma State to UNLV to become offensive coordinator. Instead, Mike Gundy offered Dunn that position on the Cowboys’ staff, and he stayed. New to the Pokes’ staff is Tim Rattay, the former NFL quarterback who will coach that position in Stillwater.
Five assistants left the Kansas staff after Les Miles’ first season. A former Jayhawks co-offensive coordinator, Doug Meacham, has returned to his previous school, TCU after a stop with the St. Louis Battle Hawks of the XFL.
Scottie Hazelton switched schools as defensive coordinator, jumping from Kansas State to Michigan State. Also gone from the Wildcats’ staff, after 26 seasons, is Sean Snyder, now special teams coordinator at Southern California.
Former North Carolina head coach Larry Fedora is Baylor’s new offensive coordinator.
Key roster additions
One of the nation’s most interesting transfers occurred within the conference. Offensive lineman Josh Sills, a former second all-conference selection at West Virginia, made a graduate transfer to Oklahoma State, helping to solidify one of the conference’s best offenses.
Oklahoma landed one of the nation’s highest-rated junior-college transfers in defensive lineman Perrion Winfrey, who played at Iowa Western last season.
The top freshman entering the Big 12? It could be Bijan Robinson, a five-star running back from Tucson, Ariz., who logged 73 rushing touchdowns over the past two seasons.
So when will these guys get the opportunity to play at their new schools? Hard to say.
All campuses are closed for activities and the Big 12 has suspended organized workouts of any type in any location. No virtual or online supervised workouts are allowed. Could the season begin on time but in empty stadiums? Oklahoma coach Lincoln Riley supplied an anytime, anywhere answer during an interview on Sirius XM last week.
“We’ll play in a parking lot of that’s where they want us to play,” Riley said.
This story was originally published April 14, 2020 at 5:00 AM.