Big 12 Football Star Watch: Brandon Weeden

Woah I did not look this up until I read this today but Brandon Weeden is 28 years old! He pitched in the Yankee farm system for five years and then went to Oklahoma State. This guys got a wife and kids, he's a grown man! This makes it kind of unfair to compare him to 19 year olds, but he is still a very good quarterback.

I was wondering why he wasn't get more NFL buzz, nonetheless this guy is a S-T-U-D

As a junior he threw 34 touchdowns to 13 interceptions. He also completed 67% of his passes. Got the prototypical arm strength and touch. He's 6-5 225, he's got perfect size for the position too.

Age doesn't really matter in the Big 12 like it will for his NFL prospects. He's going to put up huge numbers this year and build off his junior year campaign. Justin Blackmon is back in the fold and I can safely say that that is the most dynamic quarterback-wide receiver combination. Weeden should be able to throw at least 30 touchdowns this year.

Big 12 Football Star Watch: Taylor Martinez

Nebraska's Taylor Martinez got off to a scorching hot start to last year's football season. People thought he was a Heisman candidate, but when the Huskers began to face stiffer competition, he really began to play poorly. So poorly in fact, that he got an earful from his Coach Bo Pelini and was also benched in favor of Zach Lee. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CdqUD5PBWnE. Martinez did finish the season as the starting quarterback, but failed to regain his mojo from the beginning of the year. I think this has a lot to do with him having to carry so much of the load early on in the season.

Martinez, or T- Magic, is unbelievably quick. He had some games where he was rushing for well over 200 yards and the Huskers looked like the team to beat in the Big 12. If he can become an accurate quarterback and be reliable in the pocket, the Husker offense will be unstoppable. He's just too much of a threat to run the ball. Look for T-Magic to recover and have a really, really good season.

Star Watch: Landry Jones

Landry Jones is the starting quarterback for the Oklahoma Sooners. Jones is a 6-foot-4 220 lb beast of a quarterback. Jones went to Artesia High School in New Mexico. Jones was left as the backup quarterback in 2009 after the other back ups transferred. He was just a red shirt freshman when Sam Bradford separated his shoulder during the first game of the season. Jones went on to play most of the rest of the 2009 season. While replacing Bradford, he played admirably. In his first start, he completed three touchdown passes in a 64-0 win over Idaho State. During his junior year he led the Sooners to a Big 12 Championship and a Fiesta Bowl win over Connecticut.

For Jones' junior year, expectations are through the roof. Many expect the Sooners to be the best team in the country, as they rated first in many preseason polls. The pressure will all by on Jones who has the experience necessary to lead this team to a National Title game and contend for the heisman. He is a highly touted prospect for the NFL as many expect him to hear his name called during the first 10 picks of the 2012 draft. He's got a rocket arm and is very accurate.

Justin Blackmon

I've decided to start a little star watch section for the next couple of weeks for Big 12. The first star I've decided to profile is Oklahoma State Wide Receiver Justin Blackmon. Justin Blackmon was an absolute monster last season. Blackmon averaged 10.8 yards on receptions made at or behind the line of scrimmage. He also caught 63.6 percent of passes that targeted him 15 yards or more downfield. The ability to turn any throw into a big gain helped Blackmon lead FBS last season in receiving yards per game. Most notably, he dominated his matchup against Prince Akumara of Nebraska in their head to head.

What to expect for this next season? Expect more of the same from Blackmon. The Cowboys are returning their starting quarterback from last year, Bobby Weeden, who he has great chemistry with. Blackmon could potentially contentd for the Heisman and is surely a first round pick in the next years draft, barring injury.

Big 12 Percentage of Returning Lettermen

In a world where the Big Ten has 12 teams and the Big 12 has ten, sometimes things are not as they seem. I thought, in preparation for this upcoming football year, we could take a look at the ten teams in the Big 12 in terms of their percentage of returning lettermen. The number following their percentage is where that team is ranked on the national scene.

1. Texas A&M -- 80.26% (5th)
2. Missouri -- 79.37% (8th)
3. Oklahoma -- 75% (25th)
4. Texas Tech -- 71.23% (52nd)
5. Texas -- 71.01% (54th)
6. Baylor -- 70.27% (62nd)
7. Oklahoma State -- 69.81% (64th)
8. Kansas State -- 68.18% (78th)
9. Iowa State -- 64.91% (102nd)
10. Kansas -- 63.08% (109th)

You may be as shocked as I am, especially in terms of Kansas.

Iowa State Cyclones Look to Make Waves

With Nebraska jumping ship to the Big Ten and Colorado abandoning the Big 12 for the Pac-10, Iowa State will now play in a Big 12 that should really be named the Big Ten, but that name was taken and Big Ten II isn't pithy. Iowa looks at better odds to be on top this year.

While on tour through the state that has been bracing all spring for heavy floods, a little football talk was more than welcome. Head coach Paul Rhoads was a main attraction, signing autographs and chatting with fans.