Big 12 Rankings: 2021 Pre-Spring
6. Kansas State Wildcats
Why To Be Happy: The quarterback situation is strong with Skylar Thompson returning from the injury that knocked him out early in the season and with Will Howard now a veteran who can step in if needed. All five starters are expected to be back on the O line, leading rusher Deuce Vaughn is back, and there’s a chance for ten of the 11 starters to return with only TE Briley Moore taking off.
What To Work On: DE Wyatt Hubert, LBs Justin Hughes and Elijah Sullivan, and DB AJ Parker are all gone. Safety Jahron McPherson returns, but overall the defense needs to be far, far stronger after falling off a cliff over the second half of the year.
Bottom Line: After losing five straight to close out 2020, the Wildcats have to pull up out of the nosedive right away – the talent is there to do it. At the very least, the offense should be sharper, but the D needs a reboot.
7. West Virginia Mountaineers
Why To Be Happy: It got lost throughout last year – this was a REALLY young team in a few areas. The offensive side was loses with underclassmen, but QB Jarret Doege is a veteran working with an experience receiving corps that should be stronger. However …
What To Work On: Getting back CB Sean Mahomes is big, Alonzo Addae returning to the secondary is a huge help, and DE Jeffery Pooler is back, but the D will take some work. Dante and Darius Stills are gone off the line to the NFL, LB Tony Fields is taking off, and Dylan Tonkery is done from one of the linebacker gigs.
Bottom Line: Can the offense start to do more? The experience is there, but the playmakers have to emerge on the defensive side to replace a whole lot of strong parts to last year’s solid group.
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8. Texas Tech Red Raiders
Why To Be Happy: Can Henry Colombi and Maverick McIvor get the job done? They’re back at quarterback with Alan Bowman in the grad transfer portal. All five offensive lineman are back, and almost all of the skill parts are back. WR TJ Vasher is gone, but the receiving corps is fine. Getting back LBs Colin Schooler and Riko Jeffers for another year is a huge plus,
What To Work On: The secondary loses a ton of parts it can’t afford to lose. A few transfers are coming in, but the depth is taking a huge hit with a whole lot of players leaving like CB Alex Hogan to Houston and with CB Zech McPherson and S Thomas Leggett moving on.
Bottom Line: It’s a critical Year Three under Matt Wells, and there aren’t any excuses. The offense has more than enough experienced talent to be better, and the defensive side should, at the very least, have one of the stronger front sevens the program has had in a long while.
9. Baylor Bears
Why To Be Happy: Dave Aranda got through the rebuild year. It was a rough spot for the first year head coach with a whole lot of work to do, but that should start to pay off with a whole lot of experience returning on both sides of the ball. Raleigh Texada is coming back to for a secondary that should return everyone, and the D should be stronger, but …
What To Work On: QB Charlie Brewer is off to Utah. 2019 leading rusher John Lovett leaving for Penn State isn’t great, but there are plenty of backs to be okay. Losing a veteran passer like Brewer stings, and now it’ll likely be a fight between Gerry Bohanon or Jacob Zeno for the gig if a transfer doesn’t step in.
Bottom Line: The defense was great – that’s what Aranda does – but the offense didn’t get the job done. The D will be even better, but a good starting quarterback has to emerge as soon as possible considering the shuffling being down to the offensive coaching staff
10. Kansas Jayhawks
Why To Be Happy: Hope spring eternal. The Jayhawks went through another brutal season, but there’s a whole lot of young parts who took their lumps and should be far better and far more consistent this time around. Start with a quarterback situation with plenty of options, a decent group of running backs, and enough former freshmen on the defensive side now a year older.
What To Work On: There are a whole lot of Jayhawks in the transfer portal, but not a whole lot of new part coming in … yet. Not every receiver is leaving, but it seems like it. Andrew Parchment is off to Florida State, and six other targets are also in the portal.
Bottom Line: The expectations will be a rock-bottom going into the season for a team and program that did a whole lot of nothing last year. On the plus side, this is one of the first times in a long while that Kansas is developing instead of going into a quick fix – to a point. It’s still going to require patience.
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