Oklahoma State Cowboys player Kendall Hunter named to national watch list

Oklahoma State Cowboys roster member, Kendall Hunter was named to the Doak Walker Watch List. The Doak Walker award is given annually to the best college running back in the nation. Kendall Hunter is a junior at OSU and was a 2008 first team All-American selection by the Football Writers Association of America.

Last season, Kendall Hunter ran for 1,555 yards and 16 touchdowns. In his total college career he has accumulated 2,251 rushing yards and is only one of 8 Big 12 Conference members to be on the prestigious list for the Doak Walker Award.
This years award will be announced on ESPN at the Home Depot College Football Awards on December 10th. The Doak Walker Award presentation will be in Texas on February 19th. Good Luck Kendall Hunter!!

Nebraska Cornhuskers quarterback Zac Lee will have to prove he has what it takes

In the Big 12 Conference, the Nebraska Cornhuskers have a reputation for being big and talented… and BIG. Part of the reason that size and talent are associated with the Nebraska Cornhuskers roster is that typically the Nebraska Cornhuskers starters are strictly juniors and seniors. However, this season Nebraska Cornhuskers head coach Bo Pelini is trusting his gut and going against tradition, starting an inexperienced 2nd year transfer at quarterback.

This season, Cornhuskers fans can look forward to seeing Zac Lee on the Nebraska roster as starting quarterback even though he only has 2 career passes since his arrival in Lincoln. Zac Lee started at a community college but took a red-shirt year and only played one season of small scale football before transferring to the University of Nebraska. He saw very little game time last season but did manage to make 2 passes. In the Red and White spring game, Zac Lee showed that he had some real potential making 15 of 18 passes for 214 yards and 3 touchdowns. Coach Pelini doesn’t seem to be bothered by Lee’s lack of NCAA Division-I experience and is confident that Lee will take the Cornhuskers into the postseason.

I guess we will have to wait for the Cornhuskers to start their season September 5th against Florida Atlantic before we will know if Bo can see something the rest of us can’t.

Missouri Tigers despite set backs selected for 3rd place in Northern Division preseason polls

The Missouri Tigers were named third in the NCAA Division-I preseason polls and earned 3 first place finish votes, an honor for any team… and definitely an ego boost for a team that will face tough competition while they claw their way to the top in the upcoming season.

The Missouri Tigers roster has taken some hits recently, losing 3 big players from the defensive line (all for various reasons, most of which center around eligibility). However, the losses won’t be really felt for a few season because all 3 players were a part of the 2009 recruiting class and had yet to fully mature into their Mizzou jerseys. Some critics say that with the senior leadership the Tigers have currently, the underclassman will learn enough to carry the team and keep the Missouri Tigers in the top 3 of the Big 12 Northern Division for quite some time.

In this season, the Missouri Tigers will have to come out ready to win if they are going to hold onto the 3rd place slot. The Tigers start their season September 5th against Illinois and open the season at home September 12 against Bowling Green. Watch this season as the Missouri Tigers prove that they deserve to be on the top of the Northern Division.

Kansas State Jeron Mastrud named to the watch list for 2 national awards

Kansas State Wildcats player Jeron Mastrud was named to the watch-list for two major national awards this summer. Football analysts and Big 12 media are speculating that Jeron Masturd is a viable candidate for both the John Mackey Award and the All-State/American Football Coaches Association Good Works Team. Jeron is one of the stand-out players on the Kansas State Wildcats roster and fans should watch him this season as he shows that he has what it takes to get national attention.

Mackey Award winners often go to the NFL as high draft picks and being named to this prestigious group would definitely allow Jeron Mastrud to see more football field time after his college graduation. Though, if he didn’t want to pursue the pigskin anymore… the Good Works Award is given to athletes who show strong volunteerism and civic responsibility and is highly respected in the philanthropic world.

No matter what Jeron Mastrud decides to do after he is done playing football for K-State, it is clear that he has a strong football season ahead of him and fans should look forward to Wildcats jersey number 85 taking the field this season!

Colorado Buffaloes roster positions still up in the air

The Colorado Buffaloes went into the preseason last week without a firm decision as to who the starting quarterback for this season will be. At the end of the 2008 season and throughout the spring practices, Head Coach Dan Hawkin’s son Cody and Tyler Hansen were duking it out on the field to see who would be listed as starting quarterback on the Colorado Buffaloes roster.

Tyler Hansen sustained an injury to his thumb during the spring game and had surgery shortly after. Many thought that the injury would be the deciding factor. However, the Colorado Buffaloes player battled back and went into the preseason summer practices ready to play. Coach Hawkins said that he has not set a deadline for deciding who will play but would like to start making decisions soon so that his team can practice more effectively for the Colorado Buffaloes season opener against Colorado State on September 6th.

Both players will likely see game time, with one starting most of the games and the other as a relief quarterback so that whomever is named as the starter can stay healthy and strong well into the season. My suggestions are get to as many Colorado Buffaloes games as possible, because one thing is for sure no matter who is named starting quarterback the other player is sure to make a fight for the spot!

Oklahoma Sooners Sam Bradford named Athlete of the Year

Oklahoma Sooners player Sam Bradford was named the Big 12 Conference 2008-2009 Male Athlete of the Year. The announcement was made official in late July after all of the 2009-2009 academic year sport seasons were over. Sam Bradford, the starting quarterback on the Oklahoma Sooners roster, was also awarded with the 2008 Heisman Trophy, the most prestigious award in college football.

Nominees for the Big 12 Male Athlete are submitted by each member of the Big 12 conference based on athletic ability, academic standing, and citizenship. A media panel then makes the final decision, this year however a fan poll was taken into consideration after a large number of fans cast votes online.

What makes it all even better is that Sam Bradford still has NCAA eligibility left, leaving many football critics and myself to wonder, how will he top all of this? It is clear that after he turned down offers to go to the NFL, he would be suiting up in his OU Sooners jersey for another season and should expect lots of playing time… but if he already won the highest honor in both his conference and the league, what is left?
I’m one Big 12 fan that would love to see this guy win again, he definitely deserves it!

Kansas Jayhawks recruit a Nebraska Cornhuskers potential

The Kansas Jayhawks have had lots of success with recruiting in the past few years, and the class of 2010 is no different. With all of the Big 12 schools be fairly similar in terms of size, academics and location (each school has something different to offer of course, but none of them are head and shoulders above the rest) it is no wonder that the Big 12 Conference football programs duke it out for recruits… this class has been no exception.

One of the most recent recruiting upsets came when Keeston Terry, who had be informally committed to the Nebraska Cornhuskers was a strong verbal commitment to the Kansas Jayhawks for the recruiting class of 2010. Keeston Terry is the son of Doug Terry a former KU player. Terry also had offers from Stanford, Nebraska, Wisconsin, Illinois, K-State and Mizzou. Terry said that he ultimately decided to be a part of the Kansas Jayhawks roster because Lawrence, Kansas was the best fit for him. Terry has lots of skill in finding running routes and has great speed.

Keeston Terry is not the only potential Nebraska Cornhuskers recruit who committed to the Kansas Jayhawks, leading me to believe that the Jayhawks-Cornhuskers rivalry game will be even more heated this year than it usually is! My guess is tickets to this game and the rest of the Jayhawks tickets will be a hot commodity.. By them early!

Oklahoma Sooners roster retains 4 key players

The Oklahoma Sooners are getting excited to start this season. After losing last year’s BCS Championship to the Florida Gators, rumor mills went into overtime speculating that Sam Bradford, the Heisman winning quarterback, Jermiane Gresham, Trent Williams and Gerald McCoy would be leaving the Oklahoma Sooners roster.

OU Sooners fans can rest easy… all four former starters will be returning and are eager to make another run at the BCS Championship game. Although preseason polls put the Texas Longhorns at the top, many sports critics and fans are confident that the Sooners will be tough competition and will not give up the top without a fight.

Jermaine Gresham told reporters, “I was happy everyone came back because everyone felt the same way I did. We all want to get back to that [BCS championship] game and try to win it.” The sentiment seems to be echoed by the other 3 players as well. Oklahoma Sooners head coach Mike Stoops is excited to have all four players back, noting that with their collective talent and determination any NFL team would have been lucky to have them.

The Oklahoma Sooners schedule definitely won’t be an easy one and Coach Stoops has made it clear that Bradford, Gresham, Williams and McCoy will be a vital part of the Sooners success this season!

Big 12 Preseason Poll is announced

Late last month, members of the sports media who follow the Big 12 Conference, announced the pre-season standings for the members of the Big Twelve Conference. I can say that I would have to agree with the poll for the most part although I would like to see the Iowa State Cyclones ranked a little higher.




For the Big 12 Northern Division, the rankings were:
1) Nebraska Cornhuskers
2) Kansas Jayhawaks
3) Missouri Tigers
4) Colorado Buffaloes
5) Kansas State Wildcats
6) Iowa State Cyclones


And in the Big 12 Southern Division:
1) Texas Longhorns
2) Oklahoma Sooners
3) Oklahoma State Cowboys
4) Texas Tech Red Raiders
5) Baylor Bears
6) Texas A&M Aggies




Even though this blog is dedicated to the entire Big 12, I have to say that I really wish the Nebraska Cornhuskers were not the favorite to win the Big 12 Northern Division. I think that both the Iowa State Cyclones and the Texas A&M Aggies are under-rated and Big 12 Conference fans should look forward to these teams moving up in the polls once the season starts. All I can say is that if it were up to me the Cornhuskers wouldn’t play in the Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship Game in December, but for now only time will tell.

Texas A&M Aggies may be following the advice of a 9-year old this season

It seems like everyone, myself included, is a coach from the couch… Anyone who watches football on TV regularly has yelled at the box in hopes that those fools on the sidelines will head your advice and get it together.

After a disappointing end to last season for the Texas A&M Aggies, after losing to the Texas Longhorns in November. Aggies Head Coach Mike Sherman sat in his office thinking about changes that could be made to his team and the Texas A&M Aggies roster. As he sat shaking his head, it is reported that his 9-year old daughter Selena walked in and uttered the one line phrase that has become the mantra for the 2009 Aggies football program, “Get Over It”. Sherman’s daughter gave the advice that no one else had the heart to say. While last season was not a good one for the Aggies, this is a new season and without a new attitude it will end just like last season did.

With the new Get Over It philosophy, Mike Sherman and the rest of the Texas Aggies are looking forward to coming out of the gates strong and not letting up. The Big 12 is a conference full of fierce competitors and the Aggies are determined to be one of them this season. The only question I have is, “Will Selena be on the sidelines handing out advice all season?”

Iowa State Cyclones is looking at a tough road to the postseason

ESPN’s Tim Griffen, a staff writer and Big 12 enthusiast recently released an interesting set of predictions for the Iowa State Cyclones. The first was that although ISU recently hired a new head coach, Paul Rhodes, the change in leadership will not be enough to pull the Iowa State Cyclones out of the bottom of the rankings. Mr. Griffen feels that within the Big 12 Conference there will be little room for anything less of perfection and that there will have to be some big changes if the Cyclones want to see a postseason bowl game.

Among his other predictions, although Jerome Tiller was given lots of praise at the camps and preseason practices, returning quarterback Austen Arnaud will continue to be the starting quarterback on the Iowa State Cyclones roster. Mr. Griffen did predict that Tiller will see some playing time giving Arnaud the break he did not see last season. Griffen also predicted that the fate of the Cyclones season will rest in their first conference game, which is against the Kansas State Wildcats on October 3rd. Griffen feels that if the Cyclones can pull out a victory in Arrowhead Stadium, they may be able to keep themselves off of the bottom of the Big 12 conference polls.

Like all other pre-season predictions, no one can really say what will come for the Iowa State Cyclones this season. It is clear that their ISU football schedule is a rough one and they are going to have to come out swinging early on if they want to see postseason play. Check back for more updates about the Cyclones and their new head coach Paul Rhodes.

Big 12 Conference Games to air on several channels

The Big 12 Conference is not only the best conference in the NCAA, it is also one of the most highly watched conferences. So it is no surprise that several TV networks and cable channels will be carrying games from the Big 12 football schedule this fall.

Fans will be able to watch all of the Big Twelve members face off on either ABC, FSN, ESPN, or Versus as well as smaller local access and cable ready channels. For a full listing of Big 12 football games to be televised, go to the official Big 12 site.

Highlights from the list include:
Colorado vs. Colorado State, Aug 31, 6:30 p.m., FSN
Washington State @ Baylor, Sept 13, 11:30 a.m., ABC
Kansas @ Iowa State, Oct 4, 11:30 a.m., Versus
Texas Tech @ Texas A&M, Oct 18, 11:00 a.m., FSN
Nebraska @ Iowa State, Oct 18, 11:30 a.m., Versus
Oklahoma @ Texas A&M, Nov 8, 2:30 p.m., ABC
Oklahoma @ Oklahoma State, Nov 29, 2:30 or 7 p.m., ABC
The Dr. Pepper Big 12 Championship, Dec 6, 7:00 p.m., ABC
* Times are Central Standard

With so many great games it will be hard to pick which ones to watch, looks like my TiVo is going to get a work out this fall. Go Big 12!