The football season is officially over for the Big 12, and the conference can thank TCU for saving them from an offseason of ridicule. TCU’s incredible comeback helped the Big 12 finish 3-4 during the bowl season, with Oklahoma and Oklahoma State suffering crushing New Years losses. Now that the gridiron battles are over, its now time for the recruiting battles to kick into high gear. Here is the Big 12’s recruiting status report heading into the offseason.
Big 12 Recruiting Status Report
Sitting Pretty
Baylor
Art Briles and his staff had to resort to duct tape and bubble gum to hold the Baylor Bear’s roster together despite countless injuries, and they finished off the season with an impressive demolition of North Carolina in the Citrus Bowl to finish the year with 10 wins. Things have gone much more smoothly on the recruiting trail, as the Bears have acquired 20 commitments heading into the final month of recruiting. Brandon Bowen, Devin Duvernay, and Patrick Hudson are the headliners, three of the best recruits in the state of Texas and players Baylor wouldn’t dream of getting five years ago. Baylor has dominated the state of Texas this year, acquiring 8 of their 20 commitments from the state. While most of Baylor’s class is almost full, Baylor is still looking for one more trophy in the form of safety Brandon Jones, the top safety recruit in the country.
Star of the Class: WR Devin Duvernay
Sleeper: DE Michael Johnson
Dream Recruit: FS Brandon Jones
Texas Tech
Kliff Kingsbury relied heavily on star quarterback Patrick Mahomes to lead the Red Raiders to 7 wins in a resurgent season. Mahomes will need a bit more help in the future, as LSU exposed the lack of talent around him in their blowout victory over Texas Tech in the Texas Bowl. Kingsbury and his staff have already acquired 26 commitments to their class with two already being enrolled in Lubbock. The stars of the class are wide receivers Derrick Willies and T.J. Washer, both giving the Red Raiders athletes with NFL caliber speed and size. The Red Raiders also may have found a steal in the undersized but dynamic Jett Duffey, a dual threat quarterback out of Mansfield, Texas. At 26 commits, the Texas Tech class is nearly filled, though the Red Raiders are still in the market for one more member in their secondary.
Star of the Class: WR Derrick Willies
Sleeper: QB Jett Duffey
Dream Recruit: CB/WR Zach Hall
West Virginia
West Virginia finished their 4th season in the Big 12 far different from what they had been in the past, as the Mountaineers allowed a stout defense and reliable rushing attack to win their games. This strategy carried the Mountaineers to 8 victories and likely kept Dana Holgerson off the hot seat for at least one more year. West Virginia has also had success on the recruiting trail, tapping into the Northeast United States, an area where they do not have to compete with their Big 12 foes. Wide receiver Steven Smothers is the star of the group, as the undersized but lightning quick receiver chose West Virginia over offers from Alabama and Florida State. West Virginia only has three remaining openings in their class, and they will attempt to fill them with linebacker Brendan Ferns, defensive end Jordan Woods, and linebacker Kapri Doucet. All three will be visiting West Virginia this January.
Star of the Class: WR Steven Smothers
Sleeper: ILB Dylan Tonkery
Dream Recruit: ILB Brendan Ferns
Doing Pretty Good
TCU
Gary Patterson and his Horned Frogs narrowly avoided a disastrous ending to their 2015 season, coming back from a 31 point deficit to shock Oregon in the Alamo Bowl. Now Patterson can look forward to a brighter 2016, but they will need to do some work on the recruiting trail. Of the 17 commitments thus far in the TCU class, the star of the class is early enrollee Taj Williams, the top Junior College wide receiver in the country. TCU also continued to mine Louisiana in search of another Keovante Turpin, as the Horned Frogs took three commitments out of the Bayou, with the headliner being dynamic receiver Isaiah Graham. TCU still has several openings in their class, most notably at defensive tackle and linebacker, and are battling it out with SEC heavyweights for most of their remaining targets.
Star of the class: WR Taj Williams
Sleeper: OT Austin Myers
Dream Recruit: LB Travez Moore
Oklahoma
Oklahoma shocked many when they rode the arm of Baker Mayfield to an 11-2 record and a berth in the College Football Playoff, where they lost 37-17 to #1 Clemson. While the on-field production has been stellar, Bob Stoops and company have some work to do to fill out their class, as they have just 15 commitments with one month left until Signing Day. Their most impressive recruiting victory thus far is likely cornerback Parrish Cobb, a talented athlete that Oklahoma swiped out of Waco, Texas, the home of the Baylor Bears. Oklahoma is still in the hunt for several top prospects, none better than Fresno, California linebacker Caleb Kelly, who is reportedly choosing between Oklahoma, UCLA, and Oregon.
Star of the class: CB Parrish Cobb
Sleeper: FS Chanse Sylvie
Dream Recruit: OLB Caleb Kelly
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State rode the arm of Mason Rudolph and an opportunistic defense on its way to a 10-0 start before stumbling to an 0-3 finish, culminating in an ugly loss to Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. It once again showed that Oklahoma State still doesn’t have the high level athleticism to hang with the big boys. Mike Gundy and his staff are attempting to change that with this year’s recruiting class. Thus far, the Cowboys have acquired 18 commits in their class with several members being either offensive linemen or defensive backs. The best of the bunch is wide receiver Tyrell Alexander, who chose the Cowboys despite heavy interest from Tennessee and Texas Tech. Okie State still has at least 5 open slots in their class, and the Cowboys will look to fill some of those spots on January 15th. On that weekend, the Cowboys will host wide receiver Quartney Davis, offensive tackle Shane Richards, and highly coveted defensive tackle Marcell Southall.
Star of the Class: WR Tyrell Alexander
Sleeper: OT Teven Jenkins
Dream Recruit: DT Marcell Southall
Iowa State
The Paul Rhoads era is officially over in Ames, Iowa. Rhoads did some good things as the head coach of the Cyclones, and he made Ames a very difficult place to play at, but he could never get Iowa State over the hump mainly due to lack of recruiting success. New coach Matt Campbell is looking to change that, and the 35 year old has gotten off to a pretty darn good start. Iowa State currently has 18 commits with six of them already being enrolled in school, and he has scheduled 9 visits for the month of January for prospects. The best of his class at the moment is D’Andre Payne, an undersized but talented cornerback from Arizona Western C.C. These next three weeks will be fun to watch as Iowa State is set to host talented prospects such as offensive tackle Sean Foster, wide receiver Harry Ballard III, and running back Adrian Killins.
Star of the Class: CB D’Andre Payne
Sleeper: QB Zeb Noland
Dream Recruit: RB Adrian Killins
Has Some Work To Do
Texas
Charlie Strong knew he was walking into a tough situation when he took over for Mack Brown two seasons ago, but I don’t think anyone could have expected this. Strong’s Longhorns were better behaved off the field but regressed on it, finishing the season 5-7 and missing a bowl game for the first time since 2010. Countless rumors about Strong’s dismissal combined with the poor on-field showing are two of the main reasons why Texas sits at just 13 recruits with a month till signing day. The best of the bunch is offensive tackle Jean Delance, a Mesquite, Texas native that the Longhorns kept in state despite hard pushes from Michigan and LSU. Another headliner in the Longhorns class is quarterback Shane Buechele, an Arlington native who exploded onto the scene during the Elite 11 quarterback camps. Despite the slow start, Texas will have 14 recruits visiting their campus in January, none more important than the safety tandem of Brandon Jones and Deontay Anderson.
Star of the Class: OT Jean DeLance
Sleeper: CB Obi Eboh
Dream Recruits: Safeties Brandon Jones and Deontay Anderson
Kansas State
Injuries and inconsistent quarterback play tarnished what may have been Bill Snyder’s final season at Kansas State, as the Wildcats suffered a 6 game losing streak and were pounded by Arkansas in the Liberty Bowl. Those hoping for a quick turnaround through recruiting should lower the expectations, as that’s not how K-State does things. Thus far the Wildcats have acquired 13 commitments with four players already being enrolled. The best of the bunch is Skylar Thompson, a promising dual threat quarterback from Missouri that has drawn comparisons to former starter Jake Waters. Kansas State will likely scour the JUCO’s for overlooked gems to fill out the remainder of their class because once again, that’s just the way K-State does things.
Star of the Class: QB Skylar Thompson
Sleeper: TE Nick Lenners
Dream Recruit: DE Isaiah Loudermilk
Kansas
Oh poor Kansas. New coach Dave Beatty inherited a steaming mess of a program from Charlie “never let him coach college again” Weiss, and it showed during a miserable 0-12 season. Things aren’t much brighter on the recruiting front either, as Kansas holds just 10 commitments with a month until signing day. The best of the bunch is probably cornerback Kyle Mayberry, a Tulsa, Oklahoma native that Kansas plucked out from under Kansas State’s nose. Kansas will struggle to fill out this class, but the Jayhawks have scheduled visits with promising prospects such as running back Jawon Hamilton and cornerback Mike Daniels.
Star of the Class: CB Kyle Mayberry
Sleeper: OT Antione Frazier
Dream Recruit: DE Amani Bledsoe
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