Editor’s Note: Tune into the “AT&T ESPN All America Team Show” on Saturday (ABC, 1:30 p.m. ET) to see who ESPN’s writers and experts selected. It’s been a fun season across the Big 12, with a few big names who didn’t play as well as we thought, and lots of unknowns who became household names by the end of the season. I’ll offer my comments below, but here’s our All-Big 12 team for 2011. OFFENSE QB: Robert Griffin III, Baylor All-purpose: Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State RB: Terrance Ganaway, Baylor RB: Henry Josey, Missouri FB: Trey Millard, Oklahoma WR: Kendall Wright, Baylor WR: Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State WR: Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma TE: Michael Egnew, Missouri C: Grant Garner, Oklahoma State OL: Kelechi Osemele, Iowa State OL: Levy Adcock, Oklahoma State OL: Gabe Ikard, Oklahoma OL: Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M DEFENSE DE: Frank Alexander, Oklahoma DT: Dominique Hamilton, Missouri DE: Alex Okafor, Texas DE: Jamie Blatnick, Oklahoma State LB: Sean Porter, Texas A&M LB: Jake Knott, Iowa State LB: Emmanuel Acho, Texas NB: Tony Jefferson, Oklahoma CB: Nigel Malone, Kansas State CB: Carrington Byndom, Texas S: Kenny Vaccaro, Texas S: Markelle Martin, Oklahoma State SPECIALISTS P: Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State PK: Randy Bullock, Texas A&M PR: Dustin Harris, Texas A&M KR: Tyler Lockett, Kansas State Finally, a few notes and explanations: I loved the media’s idea to craft an all-purpose spot to accomodate Collin Klein.
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ESPN.com’s 2011 All-Big 12 Team
Filed under Football by on Dec 9th, 2011. Comment. 
It’s time for a new midseason project here on the Big 12 blog. We’ve ranked the Big 12’s best players before the season . We’ve done it after the season . Time for a midseason checkup. This list looks vastly different than the one we made before the season, with guys moving way up, way down and off the list. There will be some surprises, but I feel pretty good about it. As usual, the list is locked away in a vault in an undisclosed location, but before we begin, a quick rundown of the criteria: FIRST RULE: This list is based solely on what players have done over the past six games. I didn’t factor in any other part of any player’s career. Six games to rule them all. My preseason lists factor in a player’s entire career. This list, and postseason lists, do not. NFL Draft potential is not factored into the list. The way I go about this list is as if I were drafting the best overall talents in the league. Each player’s personal role or meaning to his team is irrelevant. This is not a “most valuable” list. It’s the Big 12’s best players. Sometimes stats tell the whole story. Other times, they don’t. Player X may have had more tackles or more yards or interceptions than Player Y, but that doesn’t necessarily mean he’ll be higher than him on the list. All that said, let’s get started. No. 21: Tony Jerod-Eddie, DL, Texas A&M: Jerod-Eddie has been a disruption up front all season, and is fourth in the Big 12 with four sacks. He has 4.5 tackles for loss and has broken up a pass and forced a fumble. The Aggies lead the nation with 26 sacks, and though TJE hasn’t gotten a ton of them in the stat sheet, his play is a big reason why his teammates have. No. 22: Emmanuel Acho, LB, Texas: Acho leads the Horns with 47 tackles, and ranks fifth in the Big 12 in stops. He has two sacks, six tackles for loss with a pass breakup. No. 23: Collin Klein , QB, Kansas State: Klein has been a constant for Kansas State’s offense. He’s doing it ugly, but he’s making the plays necessary to keep Kansas State undefeated. He leads the Big 12 with 10 rushing touchdowns and his 138 carries are 25 more than anyone else in the Big 12. He’s turned them into 578 yards rushing, and has thrown for 739 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions. No
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Re-ranking the Big 12’s top 25 players
Filed under Football by on Oct 17th, 2011. Comment.
Every year, good players become great. Here are a few fresh faces to keep an eye on in 2011. Mike Davis , WR, Texas: Davis emerged as one of the Longhorns top targets as a true freshman, catching 47 passes for 478 yards and a team-leading two touchdowns. That was in a struggling offense. Texas, one would figure with a renewed purpose and new coordinator, could only improve on offense in 2011. That, combined with Davis’ experience from last year and the offseason, could mean a huge year. Josh Gordon , WR, Baylor: Gordon, for now, remains suspended indefinitely, but there’s no denying his potential once that suspension ends. Gordon, a 6-foot-4, 220-pounder is built exactly like Texas A&M’s Jeff Fuller , and could be due for a similar jump after catching 42 passes for 714 yards and seven touchdowns, leading the Big 12 with an average of 17 yards per catch. Luke Joeckel, LT, Texas A&M: Joeckel struggled at times early in the season, but was one of the catalysts leading the way for Ryan Tannehill and Cyrus Gray ’s rise late in the season as a young Texas A&M line jelled. The Aggies return four starters from last year’s line that improved late in the year, but Joeckel has the highest ceiling among the five starters. Ronnell Lewis, DE, Oklahoma: Lewis has unbelievable raw physical skills, but he has yet to turn that potential into hard production, in part because he had an All-American ahead of him on the depth chart. For now, his eligibility for 2010 is still in question, but his 37 tackles and 3.5 sacks will surely grow with more time on the field — if he gets it. Shaun Lewis, LB, Oklahoma State: Lewis was borderline great in 2010, but he may blossom into a full-blown star in 2011, possibly on a national level. Oklahoma State’s defense has a chance to be much better in 2011 than in 2010, and if that happens, he’ll join safety Markelle Martin as the two biggest reasons why. Eric Stephens , RB, Texas Tech: Stephens will step into a starting role and with a new quarterback and new receivers, Stephens could benefit from an emphasis on the running game and an offensive line that returns all five starters. Stephens rushed for 668 yards and a team-leading six scores on just 127 carries last year. With Baron Batch’s 177 carries headed to the NFL, could Stephens be the Red Raiders first 1,000-yard rusher in a long while?
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Big 12 players heading from good to great
Filed under Football by on Aug 12th, 2011. Comment.
STILLWATER, Okla. — Twice, Oklahoma State fans’ hopes were dwindling. Texas A&M had given up 28 consecutive points to fall behind 35-21, but somehow rebounded to tie the game and had the ball one more time. The Aggies’ Jerrod Johnson, looking to get into field-goal range, took a snap near midfield with just under 30 seconds to play and launched a pass downfield to Uzoma Nwachukwu. It sailed too far. Waiting to cradle it? Freshman linebacker Shaun Lewis, who returned it 27 yards back into Texas A&M territory, setting up a game-winning field goal and helping Oklahoma State win a share of the Big 12 South. “He’s very unique in him being a freshman and able to make so many huge plays during the season,” said coach Mike Gundy. “He’s got great savvy and a knack for being in the right area where the ball is, so you like having a young player that can make that many big plays.” That was the fourth game of Lewis’ college career, playing the linebacker spot the defensive coordinator Bill Young calls “Star.” “He came from a high school program that’s very well-coached and played at a high level in Texas, and he’d been in big games in those situations,” Gundy said of the Fort Bend Hightower alum from Missouri City, Texas. “He’s unique, and every once in awhile, you’ll run across a young guy who can play like a veteran would with not much experience. You don’t see it a lot, but he obviously had the ability to do that, and as the season progressed, he got better and better. He wasn’t done. In the regular-season finale against Oklahoma, the Sooners looked ready to blow out Oklahoma State in a game that would decide the division. Oklahoma grabbed a 14-3 lead and had the ball, inching toward total control. Quarterback Landry Jones, rushed slightly, stepped up in the pocket and fired a pass underneath to Ryan Broyles, who finished with 131 receptions. Lewis’ orange blur, though, slipped in front of the pass and raced 52 yards for a momentum-shifting score that got Oklahoma State back in the game. He added another interception later in the game on the back half of one of the greatest plays in recent college football history. “I got to thinking, ‘This guy, he always is in the right place at the right time, you know?’” Gundy said. “In the middle of the season, I started to see that.” Oklahoma State’s defense this fall loses a pair of leaders in defensive end Ugo Chinasa and linebacker Orie Lemon, but for a largely inexperienced defense, especially at linebacker, the next step for Lewis, is joining safety Markelle Martin as a player the rest of the defense can look to for guidance. “He has and to step up,” Gundy said. “He’s now a veteran because he’s made those plays in key situations.”
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Cowboys have budding star in Shaun Lewis
Filed under Football by on Apr 12th, 2011. Comment.
Markelle Martin sees a lot of good from 2009. So do his coaches. His career day to close the season, a nine-tackle, one pass break-up crescendo from an impressive sophomore campaign, tops the list. But Martin sees a lot of missed opportunity in his 11 pass break-ups on the year. Oklahoma State obviously never led in its 27-0 Bedlam loss to Oklahoma, but Martin thinks they should have. Trailing 3-0 in the second quarter, quarterback Landry Jones ‘ pass to the flats was tipped and Martin stepped in. But what should have been seven points and a 7-3 Cowboys lead in Norman resulted in just a wasted down. Martin went on to finish the season without an interception. “That could have changed the game — the momentum from that play,” Martin said. Instead, Oklahoma finished that drive with a touchdown to take a 10-0 lead. This year, he wants to turn those pass break-ups into turnovers, make those plays and snatch that momentum. “I focused a lot over the summer on ball drills and my hand-eye coordination,” Martin said. “We do a lot of ball drills now with [safeties] coach [Joe] DeForest, just attacking the ball.” Having a more complete knowledge of the Cowboys defense is helping Martin chase the coveted tag of “ballhawk.” He has defensive coordinator Bill Young to thank for that. Young, an Oklahoma State alum, brought his feared defense to Stillwater before the 2009 season. In 2007, Young helped Kansas win the Orange Bowl and the Jayhawks finished the year with the fourth best defense in the country. “I’ve made a lot of strides with coach Young. You have to be patient and you have to actually learn the defense from the outside in,” Martin said. “I know the responsibilities of the corners, the linebackers, the D-line. It made mature a lot more and make me more responsible for the players around me.” The Cowboys jumped from eighth to fourth in total defense under Young in Year 1. Martin was one of the reasons why. They’ll try to climb higher, past top defenses from Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma in Year 2. If they do, Martin should once again earn plenty of credit. “We think he’s going to be a really special player,” Young said. “We’ve got two or three guys like him, and in the secondary, he’s really the ringleader of that group.” Martin’s already one of the team’s hardest hitters. He’ll try to become one of its biggest playmakers in his second time around as starter. “We’ve only had one scrimmage, but certainly in the time we’ve seen him this fall, he looks like an improved player,” Young said. “He looks bigger, he looks stronger, he looks faster, and certainly more experienced.”
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Missed chances motivate Markelle Martin
Filed under Football by on Aug 18th, 2010. Comment.
You heard about Oklahoma’s Landry Jones and his backup earlier this morning, but here are the most irreplaceable players for the rest of the conference. Robert Griffin III , QB, Baylor : This one’s pretty simple. Griffin means more to his team than any player in the conference. The 2008 Big 12 Newcomer of the Year helped the Bears win their 2009 season opener at Wake Forest before a season-ending knee injury in the third game. He’ll come back for 2010 still a sophomore. But his injury last season now means his backup, Nick Florence , is surprisingly experienced. Alexander Robinson , RB, Iowa State: Robinson rushed for 1,195 yards in 2009 and is by far the Cyclones’ best player. His yards per carry average is almost 1.5 yards higher than his backup last season. This year, the battle for No. 2 is ongoing, with Beau Blankenship and freshmen James White and Jeff Woody trying to earn any spare carries not soaked up by Robinson. Nate Solder, OT, Colorado: This season will be Solder’s third as starting left tackle, the key position on the offensive line. He’s proven to be one of college football’s premier linemen, but his durability and experience have meant very little playing time for backup Ryan Dannewitz, a redshirt freshman. Jake Laptad, DE, Kansas: Laptad is a force in the backfield and racked up 6.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss last season. His backup is junior college transfer Quintin Woods, but with just four career tackles, there’s a clear dropoff in both production and talent. Blaine Gabbert , QB, Missouri: In just his second year as starter, Gabbert could be poised for a big jump like his predecessor, Chase Daniel. The Tigers earned a North title in Daniel’s second season and No. 1 ranking after the regular season. But Gabbert needs to stay healthy. His backup is former walk-on Jimmy Costello , who’s never played a meaningful snap, but behind him are a group of untested freshmen with potential in Ashton Glaser , James Franklin and Gabbert’s younger brother, Tyler Gabbert . Eric Hagg, S/LB, Nebraska: The central figure of the Huskers’ Peso defensive scheme (Hey! Remember that ?) gives the Husker defense the teeth that helped them nearly upset Texas and blow out Arizona. His backup is Austin Cassidy, who has plenty of on-field experience after appearing in all 13 games last season. Like Hagg, Cassidy has the ideal size for the position at 6-foot-1 and 210 pounds, and notched nine tackles as a sophomore in 2009. Markelle Martin, S, Oklahoma State: Martin’s sophomore season was overshadowed by big-hitting senior Lucien Antoine, but he’ll be one of the team’s leaders as a junior in 2010. He’s the team’s leading returning tackler, and should join Orie Lemon and Ugo Chinasa as the anchors of a defense replacing its four leading tacklers from 2009. His backup, Mathies Long, played in the last six games of 2009, but has just three career tackles. Sam Acho DE, Texas: The better known of Texas’ Acho brothers, he played in 24 games before taking over as starter last season. He notched 63 tackles and four fumble recoveries, tied for most in college football. He was also a semifinalist for the Lott Trophy. But at Texas, there’s always a pretty narrow gap between starter and backup. Acho’s backup should be either Russell Carter or Alex Okafor, who will also play behind opposite defensive end Eddie Jones. Carter played in nine games last season and notched five tackles. Okafor played in all 14 games last season and tallied 22 tackles. Jerrod Johnson , QB, Texas A&M: No backup will be able to reproduce Johnson’s impressive numbers from 2009 (38 touchdowns, 4,085 total yards). But Johnson’s backup Ryan Tannehill does have plenty of experience–at a different position. He got plenty of reps this spring with Johnson sidelined from live action after minor shoulder surgery, but he’s the team’s active leader in receiving, with 1,418 career yards. He’s thrown just nine passes in two seasons with the Aggies. Colby Whitlock, DT, Texas: Should assume the role of nose tackle in Tech’s new 3-4 scheme under coach Tommy Tuberville and defensive coordinator James Willis. Though it’s a new position, Whitlock’s experience will be tough to replace. Of his 46 tackles in 2009, 8.5 came behind the line of scrimmage. His backup is a mountain of a man, Myles Wade. The 6-foot-2, 340-pound junior college transfer made just two tackles in limited action last season, but he still has two years of eligibility left, and could plug plenty of holes in the middle of the defense after Whitlock graduates.
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Big 12’s most irreplaceable players and their backups
Filed under Football by on Jun 9th, 2010. Comment.
