Big 12 Media Day Coverage 2012

Source: Twitter

We are still a few days away from Big 12 Media Day, but once it gets going, check back here for updates on the Jayhawks and the rest of the league. I always consider this the "hump", and once we got over this, it is downhill from here until kickoff. August 1st, the players report, then Kansas has its own Media Day, then classes start, and then it is only a matter of days. But for the time being, check out the new addition to the KU Football uniform. Updates after the jump.


A few days ago, the Big 12 released its Pre-Season Poll:

1. Oklahoma
2. West Virginia
3. Texas
4. Oklahoma State
5. TCU
6. Kansas State
7. Baylor
8. Iowa State
9. Texas Tech
10. Kansas

It sure isn't fun saying this, but the number 10 Pre-Season ranking should come as no surprise to KU fans this year. More of a product of Turner Gill than anything, Kansas will have to earn the respect of the league on the field, and until then, they might enjoy playing the underdog.

If I were to have any say in the matter, I would make a few changes to the poll:

1. Oklahoma
2. West Virginia
3. Kansas State
4. TCU
5. Texas
6. Oklahoma State
7. Texas Tech
8. Iowa State
9. Baylor
10. Kansas

As I will reveal in the coming weeks, I think that Kansas State and Texas Tech, and I might even go as far to say TCU, are all grossly underrated. They all return the nucleus of their respective teams, and they all have quarterbacks.

Then, the Big 12 released its 2012 Pre-Season All Big 12 Team:

Offensive Player of the Year:	Geno Smith, West Virginia (QB, 6-3, 214, Sr/3L)
Defensive Player of the Year:	Alex Okafor, Texas (DE, 6-4, 260, Sr/3L)
Newcomer of the Year:	Trey Metoyer, Oklahoma (WR, 6-1, 190)

OFFENSE
Pos	Name	School	Ht	Wt	Cl/Exp
WR	Kenny Stills #	Oklahoma	6-1	189	Jr/2L
TE	Jordan Najvar	Baylor	6-6	260	Jr/1L
OL	Gabe Ikard *	Oklahoma	6-4	295	Jr/2L
OL	Cyril Richardson	Baylor	6-5	335	Jr/2L
C	Ben Habern^	Oklahoma	6-4	292	Sr/3L
OL	LaAdrian Waddle #	Texas Tech	6-6	318	Sr/3L
OL	Lane Taylor	Oklahoma State	6-3	328	Sr/3L
WR	Tavon Austin	West Virginia	5-9	174	Sr/3L
QB	Geno Smith	West Virginia	6-3	214	Sr/3L
RB	Joseph Randle #	Oklahoma State	6-1	200	Jr/2L
RB	Malcolm Brown	Texas	6-0	213	So/1L
PK	Quinn Sharp *	Oklahoma State	6-1	205	Sr/3L
KR	Tyler Lockett #	Kansas State	5-11	175	So/1L
DEFENSE
Pos	Name	School	Ht	Wt	Cl/Exp
DL	Jackson Jeffcoat #	Texas	6-5	250	Jr/2L
DL	Stansly Maponga	TCU	6-2	265	Jr/2L
DL	Alex Okafor *	Texas	6-4	260	Sr/3L
DL	Jamarkus McFarland	Oklahoma	6-2	296	Sr/3L
LB	Arthur Brown *	Kansas State	6-1	228	Sr/3L
LB	A.J. Klein *	Iowa State	6-2	244	Sr/3L
LB	Jake Knott ^#	Iowa State	6-3	239	Sr/3L
DB	Brodrick Brown *	Oklahoma State	5-8	185	Sr/3L
DB	Kenny Vaccaro *	Texas	6-1	215	Sr/3L
DB	Tony Jefferson	Oklahoma	5-10	199	Jr/2L
DB	Nigel Malone *	Kansas State	5-10	185	Sr/3L
P	Quinn Sharp ^*	Oklahoma State	6-1	205	Sr/3L
PR	Tavon Austin	West Virginia	5-9	174	Sr/3L

^ 2011 Preseason Team
* 2011 All-Big 12 First Team selection 

# 2011 All-Big 12 Second Team selection  


Being a Kansas blog and all, it is hard not to notice that Kansas was unrepresented in the All Big 12 Team. Although it is disappointing, it really isn't something to get worked up about. I don't think Kansas was snubbed, I don't think the league was looking down its nose at the Jayhawks while it picked the team, I just think that Kansas frankly doesn't have a player that would start over everybody on every team in the Big 12.

Source: Washington Post

UPDATE (7/24/12):
Yesterday, commissioner Bob Bowlsby was the first to take the podium, or chair (since it is kind of an informal setting), and after a few light-hearted jokes, he jumped right in on the prospects of the conference. He is obviously very high on the new additions, TCU and West Virginia, and he thinks the schools blend well and share some of the "best qualities" of intercollegiate athletics.


He mentioned that the league had not finished its television package, a 13-year grant of rights, but it is in the making. Also, the league has the Champions Bowl with the SEC to fall back on. So once this gets finalized, the Big 12 is going to be more than steady. So steady, that Bowlsby was against adding any more teams to the conference.


So the league is stable, and it should be for a long time, but one problem that has arisen of late, is the cancellations of big non-conference games in September. Kansas State's Bill Snyder will schedule 3 wins. Paul Rhoades should schedule 3 wins. Charlie Weis must schedule 3 wins.


Bowlsby was still adamant about playing big games in September. It really shows who has got it, and who doesn't. That is why if you are Kansas, you avoid these types of games like your life depended on it.


UPDATE (7/25/12):
Okay, so maybe I bit off a little more than I could chew, in covering all of the coaches and players’ press conferences, and quite honestly, they weren’t too terribly noteworthy. Not that that is a bad thing, it is just what it is.

So, the focus will be on what Kansas did during its time in the limelight. But before we get to that, I want to clear up a pretty common misunderstanding.

Charlie Weis, as evidenced by the way he walks, for starters, isn’t in the best shape. He had his knee replaced just a few months ago, and his best days certainly look behind him. But this may come as a surprise to most, he is actually one of the younger, older coaches in the Big 12.

Below is the list of coaches in the Big 12 with their respective ages:

1. West Virginia- Dana Holgersen- 41
2. Oklahoma State- Mike Gundy- 44
3. Iowa State- Paul Rhoads- 45
4. Oklahoma- Bob Stoops- 51
5. TCU- Gary Patterson- 52
6. Kansas- Charlie Weis- 56
7. Baylor- Art Briles- 56
8. Texas Tech- Tommy Tuberville- 57
9. Texas- Mack Brown- 60
10. Kansas State- Bill Snyder- 72

The average age of a head coach in the Big 12 is 53.4. With the northern outlier, Bill Snyder, ignored, that average drops to 51.3. So, based on averages, Weis falls in that middle to upper quartile.

There certainly is something to be said about someone’s “real age” versus their “date of birth”, but still, Weis is not as old and dilapidated as people often conjecture.

UPDATE (7/26/12):

Here is a Cliff Notes breakdown of KU’s Big 12 media day with a little analysis interspersed:

Toben Opurum has not been approached by Weis about the idea yet, but Weis surely hinted at the possibility of him (Opurum) coming in and playing some offense as a short yardage back. Weis, if you can remember, did recruit Opurum to Notre Dame as a fullback, so it wouldn’t be all too surprising if he schemes some short yardage situations for him.

Now I like this idea for multiple reasons, but the two main reasons are that for 1) Toben was an animal when carrying the football in 2009, leading the team in rushing (554 yards), touchdowns (9), and yards per carry (4.2), and for 2) like in basketball, success on offense could directly translate into success on defense. A player makes a layup, or a jump shot, on the offensive end of the floor, and suddenly, magically, said player becomes extremely motivated on defense with more pep in his step than normal. Or in baseball, for example, so many times do you see a guy make a sensational play on defense, lead off the next frame, and hit a homerun 6 rows deep. I’m not saying Opurum doesn’t give max effort, but let’s say that Opurum scores from 2 yards out to tie or give Kansas the lead; that might give him a little more juice on the other side of the ball. Or, he makes a defensive stop, the team drives the ball down the field, and he plunges in from a few yards out. Maybe I am reaching. Maybe I am not. Ultimately, I think it is a nice, little symbiotic relationship.

Duane Zlatnik’s name was brought up when asked if any player would help out the depleted defensive line. Zlatnik could, theoretically, come in on a 3^rd/4^th and short on defense, help make a stop, catch his breath during the punt/T.V. timeout, and then head back out on the field for the offensive possession. Zlatnik is as strong as an ox, so he could give Kansas a much needed push for a down or two over the course of the game.

Tevin Shaw is moving to the safety position to start the season (and I am patting myself on the back). This doesn’t happen often, so I am going to flaunt it for the world to see.

Shaw has potential on the offensive side, but in the near future he is figured to be low on the running back depth chart, but high on the safety depth chart.

Randall Dent was moved to the offensive line earlier in the summer/spring. Weis noted that Dent had your prototypical “offensive lineman body”, and it frightens me to think what Gill and staff saw in him?

Now outside of Shaw and Dent, these are not “position changes”, per se. These are instances where players would be playing both ways because of limited numbers and talent. Ultimately, this is all about getting the very best players on the field. Mark Mangino had Aqib Talib and Charles Gordon play both ways, and he was known for playing position players on special teams too. When you are Kansas, you can ill-afford to give up big punt returns, or have a field goal blocked. BCS caliber talent is at a premium, so you have to maximize their abilities.  

‘Blockheads’ Anthony McDonald and Mike Ragone, and quarterback Dayne Crist are all here for one reason, apparently: to get to the NFL. While Weis is doing them a favor in giving them one more year of eligibility, I think they are a little more than just using KU to catapult their draft status. Call them what you’d like: temporary fixes, stopgap measures, fingers in the dike, what have you, but they are going to help stop the bleeding for the time being. And this is a program that has been hemorrhaging for the past two seasons.

Sure it was in a losing effort, but Kansas loses its top passer, Jordan Webb, its top tackler, Steven Johnson, and its best tight end, Tim Biere. It will be a short, one year stint for these young men, but it will help bridge the gap, providing patchwork while the future learns the system.