Sunday, May 03, 2009
If you were glued to the NFL draft like millions of football fans, you might have noticed that Big 12 players were going like Rembrandts at a high-dollar auction.
Six Big 12 players were taken among the top 20 picks last weekend, which might lead you to believe that the league could be headed for a down year.
Don’t buy that. The Big 12 could be better than ever this fall, especially the South, where several of the top players bypassed the NFL draft and returned to school.
Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Sam Bradford decided to come back to Oklahoma even though he might have been the first pick in the draft. You must really love your school if you’re turning down $70 or $80 million.
Sooners tight end Jermaine Gresham is another guy who could have had instant NFL millions if he had left school early. And how about Texas quarterback Colt McCoy? He returned for his fifth year for the burnt orange instead of heading to an NFL training camp.
It all means that the Big 12 South is going to be the toughest division in college football once again.
“I think there will be four South teams in the top 20 and three in the top 10,” Texas Tech coach Mike Leach said in a recent Big 12 coaches call. “This league is going to continue to be very difficult. You better be ready to play every week in this division.”
Oklahoma in title picture
Don’t be surprised if Oklahoma and Texas challenge Tim Tebow-led Florida for the national championship. With a dynamic group of players returning, Oklahoma State looks like a top 10 team that could get in the national championship picture with a little luck.
Led by quarterback Robert Griffin and defensive stalwarts Joe Pawelek and Jordan Lake, Baylor is a team on the rise. Texas A&M has too much talent and tradition to stay at the bottom for long.
The only South team that might not stack up to last year is Texas Tech, which has to replace record-setting quarterback Graham Harrell and All-America receiver Michael Crabtree. But 6-5 junior quarterback Taylor Potts should be ready to go after serving as Harrell’s understudy for the last three years, and Leach always has an impressive stable of receivers.
“We’ll miss Graham’s intangibles, but Taylor had a real good spring,” Leach said. “Some of our younger guys will have to get used to responding to him and know what to expect. We’ve got some guys who need to step up at receiver. (True freshman) Eric Ward is a tough, physical guy and Jacoby Franks just needs to keep doing what he’s been doing.”
Just how good will Oklahoma and Texas be?
Not only will Bradford be back after passing for 4,720 yards and 50 touchdowns last season, the Sooners return 1,000-yard rushers DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown. Oklahoma lost Juaquin Iglesias and Manuel Johnson to the NFL, but Dejuan Miller and Jameel Owens appear ready to step in.
With All-America defensive tackle Gerald McCoy and heralded defensive end Auston English coming back, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops expects his defense to be much improved over last season. The Sooners should be highly motivated after losing to Florida in the national championship game.
“Sam (Bradford) is a real team guy and a leader,” Stoops said. “We’ve got a chance to have one of our better defenses if our guys have a good summer and we come into fall camp prepared. We’ve got more experience coming back at linebacker and cornerback.”
UT could chase crown
Though the Longhorns lost key players like defensive linemen Brian Orakpo and Roy Miller and receiver Quan Cosby, they’ve got enough guys returning to make a serious national title run. Sergio Kindle and freshman Alex Okafor should be pass-rushing machines for a veteran defense while former quarterback John Chiles could be a threat at receiver.
“We lost some great team leaders last year like Cosby, Orakpo and Miller,” Texas coach Mack Brown said. “We’ve still got question marks with youth at a couple of places. Until you get behind in a ballgame in the fourth quarter, you really don’t know who your team is.”
But with veteran quarterback Colt McCoy running the show, Brown shouldn’t lose too much sleep before September.
jwerner@wacotrib.com
757-5716
Comments
By James
May 5, 2009 12:23 AM | Link to this
Brad, no one cares what an aggy thinks.
Hook'em
By Brad
May 3, 2009 11:22 PM | Link to this
So, Leach thinks the South will have 4 top 20 teams. I guess that means Tech will be that 4th South team because t.u., OU, and OSU all return their qb's. I predict 5 losses for Tech this year, and they will be nowhere near that top 20.
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