The upcoming college football season will be different from previous ones in many ways, but one thing that won’t be different is that the Big 12 will remain a conference in which quarterbacks will have fun, offenses will score a ton of points, and defenses will desperately scramble to try to catch up. Maybe the Big 12 will be different in 2018 or 2019, but it does not seem ready to change this upcoming season. As a result, it shouldn’t be a surprise that most of the important freshmen in the league are likely to come on the defensive side of the ball, and to not come at the skill positions, where teams are already loaded.
Kansas State Linebacker Daniel Green
The Wildcats have to find a way to slow down Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, and Texas Tech next season, while managing to contain other opposing offenses enough to stay in games and fight for a spot in the upper echelon of the Big 12. In a pass-happy conference such as the Big 12, linebackers are nerve centers as much as the safeties are. Caught in between the need to support the run or drop back in pass coverage, linebackers have to make accurate reads of formations and tendencies early in snaps. For freshmen linebackers, life in the Big 12 can easily be overwhelming, but if Daniel Green is as good as the Wildcats think he is, KSU could gain ground in the Big 12 and challenge for the league championship.
Creed Humphrey, Center
Oklahoma Sooners
The Sooners certainly need help on defense – they played a 66-59 game against Texas Tech last year – but they have the best offense in the Big 12. Therefore, they need to make sure that before anything else, they can squeeze every last bit of potential out of their offense. If Oklahoma’s offense plays at its best, no other Big 12 offense is likely to top the Sooners. Therefore, OU needs its offensive line to be strong. The Sooners got roughed up in their two September losses last year to the Houston Cougars and the Ohio State Buckeyes. The offensive line solidified in Big 12 play, and the Sooners never lost after September 17 as a result. Humphrey will likely need to play well to keep OU’s offensive line at a high level. If he plays well, quarterback Baker Mayfield should have another great season.
Jalen Reagor, Wide Receiver
TCU Horned Frogs
When most of the Big 12 thrived on offense last season, TCU’s offense sputtered. The Horned Frogs did not get special performances from wide receivers, so they are one of the few schools in the conference which needs to improve more on offense than it does on defense. Reagor needs to become an elite performer, in order to remove pressure from beleaguered quarterback Kenny Hill, who labored through a miserable 2016.
Kyron Johnson, Linebacker
Kansas Jayhawks
The Jayhawks probably don’t have enough firepower to win games by scores of 41-38 or 38-35. They probably need to hold opponents under 30 points if they are going to win. Few positions on the roster are more important than the linebacker slot where Kyron Johnson could play. The freshman needs to surpass expectations in order for KU to do well – many other Jayhawks have to do the same thing.
Derrek Pitts, Jr., Safety
West Virginia Mountaineers
The Mountaineers very nearly won the Big 12 last year because their defense improved by leaps and bounds from 2015. We know that head coach Dana Holgorsen can coach up and offense but one of the reasons his teams at West Virginia have struggled has been because of the defense. That changed in 2016 as they actually had a competent unit.
If the 2017 defense is to pick up where the 2016 defense left off, Pitts has to be able to diagnose plays and contain Big 12 aerial attacks this fall. West Virginia can’t just expect quarterback Will Grier to carry the workload. The defense has to retain high standards. The Big 12 is full of strong offensive teams but it looks like – at least on paper – the Mountaineers could have one of the better defensive squads.
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