With the countdown to the 2016 college football season underway, there isn’t many areas we won’t cover as we preview this coming year. Our latest project was figuring out who the most vocal leaders are in the locker rooms in the Big 12. After all, every team in the country is going to go through their fair share of adversity. However, only a handful of them will be able to weather the storms at halftime, bounce back and get the win.
We assembled a list for who provides the inspiration at some of the top programs from the Big 12. Here is a look at who gives the halftime speeches to the top Big 12 teams.
Oklahoma: Baker Mayfield
Quarterback
Mayfield is coming off a season in which he threw for 3,700 yards and 36 touchdowns while leading the Sooners to a Big 12 championship and a place in the College Football Playoff. It only makes sense that when he has something to say his teammates will listen.
The leader of the Oklahoma offense is also the leader in the Sooners’ locker room as their most vocal player. Everyone saw what kind of leader he could be last year when he brought the team back in the second half against Tennessee. Trailing 17-13 at halftime against Tennessee – and facing an even wider gap entering the fourth quarter – Mayfield rallied the troops in the locker room with a promise that they could win the game. He then delivered on the field when he led a thrilling double-overtime comeback. That is the stuff that Oklahoma football legends are made of and there is no doubt the Sooners are fortunate to have him back in this mix as their star quarterback for 2016.
Oklahoma State: Jordan Sterns
Safety
The senior safety returns to Oklahoma State as the unquestioned leader of the defense and the most vocal player in their locker room as well. Sterns is a three-year starter that brings plenty of passion and experience to the table and the work he does as a vocal halftime leader has been talked about as an example of how important he is to the team both on and off the football field. Don’t be surprised if Mason Rudolph gets up and has a key speech for this team as well but Sterns is our pick for the key, emotional halftime speech.
TCU: Kyle Hicks
Running Back
The Horned Frogs were hit hard by sanctions that left them with only seven scholarship seniors. That makes Hicks even more important to the team as a leader in the locker room. The junior running back is a well-spoken veteran whose work ethic and voice in the locker room is talked about a lot by the TCU players and coaches. Normally it’s the quarterback who is the leader on the team but remember that Trevone Boykin has graduated to the NFL now and the unproven Kenny Hill is taking over. That means The Horned Frogs will need guys like Hicks to rally. He will once again be leaned on as a leader for the Horned Frogs in 2016.
Baylor: Seth Russell
Quarterback
Seth Russell missed the majority of last year due to injury. While the Bears didn’t miss a beat in terms of their level of play at the position thanks to Jarrett Stidham, but they were lacking somewhat from a leadership perspective. That won’t be the case in 2016 with Russell back at full strength and poised to be the No. 1 quarterback at Baylor this season. Stidham in line to push for that role as the backup. Russell’s voice will be important not just in the locker room but in the huddle where he has a master command of the Bears’ offense. Remember that this program has lost a lot of leadership in the offseason with head coach Art Briles being fired/being forced to step down. The team is built to content but the change in coaching staff could alter their course.
At a time where so much is unclear both on and off the field, Baylor needs its star quarterback to stand tall in a leadership role this coming season more than ever before.
