Firstly some notes about each team.
Nebraska: The theme of the Nebraska press conference was the continued rebuilding project under head coach Bo Pelini. What surprised me the most was his lack of optimism. For a team expected to compete for the weak Big 12 North title, with a beast in Defensive Tackle Ndamukong Suh (who looks like he could crush people with his bare hands by the way), and a usually solid offense (one of the few run oriented offenses in the Big 12), I was a little surprised that the man at the helm wasn’t ready to roll and start the Huskers road to redemption.
Husker head coach Bo Pelini; photo by Jon Eilts
Oklahoma State: I have to admit I was hoping to see a Mike Gundy rant first hand but I suppose thatafter the whole “I’m a man, I’m 40″ thing he has toned it down. OK State is looking like a competitor for the Big 12 South title, the only road blocks in the way are Texas and Oklahoma. While Gundy wouldn’t say it, you could see a flash of fire in his eyes and I wouldn’t be surprised if Oklahoma State made a big push this year. OK State plays Texas well generally and gets them in Stillwater which is quickly becoming a tough place to play. The only road block is Oklahoma, in Norman. I should also note that OK State gets Georgia at home in arguably the game of the week for the first week of the football season. If OK State wins the games it should (which it has a very favorable schedule, the hardest road game outside of Oklahoma being A&M in College Station), and takes 1 of the 3 big games (Texas, Oklahoma, and Georgia), they could compete for a BCS bowl berth. Also their players, QB Zac Robinson, lineman Russell Okung, and line backer Andre Sexton were arguably the nicest and most personable guys on the first day. They came early, ate lunch with the reporters, and stayed very late doing radio and TV reports. To see such dedication and personability from athletes says alot about the mindset of ones program.
Cowboys head coach Mike Gundy; photo by Jon Eilts
Texas A&M:Essentially the press conference with coach Sherman was an extended session of damage control. Almost every question revolved around the Fran era, the poor record, being picked last in the Big 12 South, and talent gaps on many area such as the offensive line. Regardless I came away impressed. There were no excuses and Sherman had an understanding of what needed to be done and what he could do to fix it. What impressed me the most were the players themselves. Trent Hunter was extremely intelligent and knowing that he is leading the defense going into 2009 makes me comfortable and believe that the defensive woes of the past are finally on the mend. What also stuck out in my mind was that he spoke a mile a minute to the point where I couldn’t write fast enough to keep up. I would imagine the ability to think and articulate well faster than the speed of sound can come in quite handy when facing such fast and potent offenses as the ones he sees in the Big 12 day in and day out.
In addition we also found one excuse for the team woes last year. Simply put every agreed that some of the players left over from the Fran era never truly bought in to Coach Sherman’s plans and schemes. From what was said yesterday, everyone on this team is on the same page and chemistry is exponentially better. Also the fact that Jerrod Johnson came on his 21st birthday and was as articulate and personable as he was when many would rather be in either College Station or their hometown stuck out to me. It was never a question that Stephen McGee was a good leader, and it looks like the torch was passed well.
Its hard to say where A&M will go next year. I do know that in an era where every season seems more crucial to the program’s future than the next, this one is no different, if not the most important season A&M has had in some time. The schedule would say that A&M will struggle to make a bowl game, but there are three very winnable games right off the bat which should help. The Aggies almost had a major upset of Texas Tech last year, so to say a major upset won’t happen is to be foolish of both history and the vast improvement the team should show on the field. I believe that A&M’s performance on the field will be greatly improved, the defense should look better than it has in ages and the passing game should continue to make strides. Randy Bullock proved to be a solid kicker which was a problem in the past. If the offensive line gets better and the other positions which showed promise last year continue to improve (and stay healthy) then A&M should make a bowl game and set itself up for a good future. Don’t except miracles this season, but do expect improvement and the laying of a solid foundation.
Aggie head coach Mike Sherman; photo by Jon Eilts
Iowa State:It seems that Iowa State’s woes began earlier than the season this year. In addition to having highly touted defensive coordinator turned coach Gene Cizik defect to Auburn in exchange for Auburn coordinator Paul Rhoads, the weather in Dallas on day one didn’t even allow for their plan to land until late, forcing them to go last and 20 minutes after the fact. After spending years in futility even in the Big 12 north, it is hard not to see ISU at the bottom of the charts.
Cyclones head coach Paul Rhoads; photo by Jon Eilts
Missouri:It is looking like a harsh snap back to reality year in store for Missouri. Perennial Heisman candidate Chase Daniel is pursuing an NFL career along with many former Mizzou skill players. I don’t see Missouri competing for the Big 12 title as they have become accustomed to in recent years. They still have enough experience and talent on the team to be a factor and possibly get some upsets if things fall into place. I do have a hard time seeing them in the Big 12 title game.
Kansas:Sounds like Kansas’ defense is going to be suspect. They have a veteran QB and one of the better offenses in the Big 12 and I would be surprised if they did not win the Big 12 north. Todd Reesing should continue to establish himself as one of the top Big 12 QB’s. For lack of a better word, I simply wasn’t as impressed with Kansas as I thought I was going to be. Coach Mangino is nice and knowledgeable as is Reesing but they seemed to lack the “wow” factor one needs to truly compete with Texas and Oklahoma for big boy status in the league. Best case scenario; Kansas makes the Big 12 title game and catches the south champion sleeping similar to Kansas State against then No. 1 Oklahoma in 2004 thus making sneaking into a BCS bowl. Worst case scenario; Kansas takes some bad losses in addition to those games it should lose. The defense remains suspect and easily scored upon
The most interesting point from the Kansas interviews came when coach Mangino spoke out on the controversy of coaches delegating their polls and awards picks to Sports directors and other administrators that are not themselves. This controversy arose when the SEC preseason team did not list Tim Tebow as a unanimous 1st team All-SEC player and it turned out that South Carolina coach Steve Spurrier had delegated his picks to an administrator. While preseason All-conference picks don’t mean much, the Coaches top 25 poll week in and week out help determine the rankings and eventually the national champion. In Mangino’s own words he would rather spend that hour on a Sunday working with his players to make his team better than worry about ranking teams from conferences he doesn’t get much of an opportunity to watch. This of course led to the inevitable BCS talk in which, Mangino did and didn’t support the current system.
“When somebody comes up with something that is better,” Mangino said. ”Then I will be willing to listen. Right now I think that we have the best situation possible. For the Plus one format there are goods and bads with it, but the season is already long enough. When we are in finals at KU, our kids are focused on it. During midterms some of our practices are not as focused.We don’t practice during finals since we would be practicing in futility. People say an extra week doesn’t matter, but it does.”
Jayhawks head coach Mark Mangino; photo by Jon Eilts
Baylor:Art Briles always scared me as a coach in the Big 12 simply because of his ability to turn the train wreck in Houston around. In addition to being a good coach on the field, he has arguably been the best and most personable coach with the media at Media Days. Every other answer has a joke and every answer was well articulated and thought out. Unlike other coaches who can tend to give the same mindless “one sentence fits all” answers, his answers actually had some substance. The Baylor program though is most certainly one on the rise. If they failed to make a bowl game this year it would be a major shocker in my book. Can Briles ever get Baylor to be a major player in the Big 12 with the handicaps of being considered a smaller football school and playing in such a tough division? I have my doubts but then again I said above that Mike Gundy might have made OK State into a BCS contender, and in a conference as young and dynamic as the Big 12 I wouldn’t put it in the realm of impossibility.
Bears head coach Art Briles; Photo by Jon Eilts
Oklahoma is coming up next, but I have a lot of text and want to get it posted before my computer explodes or something bad happens.
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