Alright let’s go ahead and begin:
6). Texas A&M
QB: 3
Jerrod Johnson is one of the better things going for A&M right now. He’s a solid passer and fairly mobile in the pocket. This will also be his 2nd year as a starter in the system with a returning group of receivers to hit. Typically the 2nd year is when a player makes the biggest leap.
Skill players: 3.5
So far, looking good at Texas A&M. They have 2 very talented receivers in backup QB Ryan Tannehil and Jeff Tuller. Cyrus Gray is a well regarded talent at RB and top Texas running back recruit Christine Michael. There’s talent now and a chance to be really good in the next few years.
Offensive line: 2
This is where everything begins to crumble for Texas A&M. Last season injuries devastated what was already a nearly bare cupboard for Coach Sherman. They had guards moving to tackle and people playing out of position. This season they’ve moved a defensive tackle to the offensive line and he’s been entrusted the left tackle position. There are no returning starters. 2 points might be a generous rating.
Defensive backs: 3
Jordan Pugh has been a solid player at A&M for a few years now and he leeds the group from free safety and is joined by a returning starter at strong safety. Another starting corner makes this a fairly passable secondary.
Defensive line/linebackers: 2
1 point comes from having Von Miller, a pass-rushing specialist who will play the Kindle-role of blitzing as a linebacker or from the weakside as a defensive end. He’s an explosive rusher but is currently listed at 6-3 215 pounds. At that size, going up against a 300+ pound left tackle is very tiresome. These are the weights of the rest of their line: 256, 265, 253. The aggies are going to get pushed around like the Jonas brothers at a Slipknot concert. The linebackers are all new and fast. They’re the right kind of players only with no experience.
Coach: 2.5
It’s hard to give Sherman much credit as a coach yet even though he was handed the baby in 2008. He had very little to work with and he produced as much. They had no coherent scheme (supposedly a West-Coast offense guy) and horrendous play all over the field. As an NFL offensive-line coach maybe when he has talent there he’ll start producing. In the meantime they’re getting stomped by Tech and left in the dust by Baylor.
Overall: 16
This is probably the worst team in the conference. After 2 obnoxious victories over Texas in 06 and 07 I will have no hesitation in enjoying all of their losses this season. That might be as many as 9.
Texas Tech:
QB: 3.5
I could go find a 20 year old throwing the ball at a nearby park, hand him over to Coach Leach, and eventually the kid would be throwing for 4,000 yards in this offense. As it is, they have another young talent in Taylor Potts who is supposed to have a stronger, better arm and was more highly considered as a recruit than previous Tech quarterbacks. I remember hearing the same thing about Graham Harrell though and he was only marginally better than any other Tech quarterback.
Skill players: 3.5
Detron Lewis is a legitimate receiver and you know the rest of them will flash some skill developed over endless practice repetitions. Baron Batch is a very good running back who might go for 1,000 yards as Leach starts to emphasize the running game more. This is a solid collection with some dangerous speed that might be deeper than last year’s group, but there isn’t any kind of game breaker like Crabtree.
Offensive line: 3.5
Uber-obnoxious Brandon Carter is back at left guard. Leach wanted to move him to left tackle but this didn’t turn out so well. Leach is beginning to find more talent at OL instead of huge, tall kids whom he can coach into an elite holding unit. Right Tackle Marlon Winn is the other returning starter while the rest are new. Carter and Winn should provide a strong run-blocking foundation with which to build on last season’s success. The rest will undoubtedly reach the normal Tech standards. They churn out respectable system players like a factory in Lubbock.
yeah, this guy is back...
Defensive backs 2.5
Last year Daniel Charbonnet and Darcel McBath contributed 12 interceptions from the safety spots. In comparison, last season Texas had 16 turnovers as an entire defense, including only 6 interceptions. Both of them are gone. Starting corner John Wall is back and a very solid coverage guy. The rest of the secondary is new and will be playing zone most of the season.
Defensive line/linebackers: 3
Brandon Williams and McKinner Dixon combined for 22 sacks. In order to play Defensive Coordinator Ruffin McNeil’s cover-2 Tech needs defensive ends who can quickly get to the quarterback. Not looking great on that front. The outside linebackers are both back and both slow. The middle is a great strength. Nosetackle Colby Whitlock would make this year’s Texas team impregnable while Brian Duncan is one of the better middle linebackers in the conference. In a pass-happy league, tech will be strongest against the run.
Coach: 4
McNeil did a good job last year taking what seemed to be a miscast selection of 2nd choices and forming them into a decent defensive unit. Mike Leach cranks out top producing offenses in his sleep. Until they have elite talent on either side of the ball it’s hard to know what Tech is capable of but last year was probably close to the ceiling with this staff, which is pretty high for a West Texas school in the middle of nowhere.
Overall: 20
This would be another typical 8-4 or 9-3 year for Tech if not for the rise of a few other programs in the south.
Baylor:
Yeah, I think they’re better than Tech this year.
QB: 4.5
Robert Griffin is a phenomenal athlete and an underrated passer. If he played for Urban Meyer’s Florida team instead of Tebow they would be building a temple to him across the SEC either in praise or in hopes of abating his wrath. In most other conferences he would be contending to be the best quarterback.
Skill: 3
Not quite the same amount of talent here but Coach Art Briles is quickly bringing in some speedy players to create havoc in the open field. As it is they have returning running back Jay Finley, and 3 returning starters at receiver including the dangerous Kendall Wright. These guys paired with Griffin can score some points in this league.
Offensive Line: 3
They lose no. 2 pick Jason Smith who is the only player last year to actually make Sergio Kindle look like a former linebacker with no prior experience on the defensive line. He did train his replacement, Danny Watkins, before he left. Watkins is a national-caliber athlete with very little football experience. His job will be simple, keep X away from Griffin. They do return a very good center in JD Walton and starting right guard James Barnard. Odds are good that this cast can play well enough to give Griffin time to lay waste.
Defensive backs: 3
Well regarded safety Jordan Lake is back. He’s a throwback to safeties of the past who needed to light up guys over the middle and make plays against the run. In the spread era he’s still excellent but not the type of prospect teams would be looking for first at free safety. He’s joined by a returning starter in Jeremy Williams so that gives the Bears a big advantage. Both corners are first year starters and keep the unit from reaching the conference elite.
Defensive line/linebackers: 3.5
Joe Pawelek is exactly the type of middle linebacker to have in the modern Big 12 and had 6 interceptions last year with 128 tackles. Both of his henchman in the linebacker corp are returning starters. The defensive line added mega-prospect 355 pound Phil Taylor who is somehow not classified as a nosetackle. Along with their returning nosetackle starter Try Bryant and backed up by Pawelek and Lake the interior of the Bears defensive is very strong. It’ll have to be hoped for, however, that so much strength in the middle frees up the ends because Baylor needs to pick up the pressure (21 sacks last season) to see this team be able to compete with OU or Texas.
Coach: 3.5
One thing we know Art Briles excels at is finding talent where other coaches don’t look. The previous head coach at Baylor told Robert Griffin he could “walk on”. Up until late in the process Griffin had very few scholarship offers. He’s shown a lot of skill in building offenses around his team’s strengths at Baylor and at Houston. We’ll see if they can coordinate a good defense with this group.
Overall: 20.5
A lot of people are predicting Baylor to be bowl eligible this year. I’ll go one higher, I think this team can win 7 or 8 games with a brutal schedule and defeat one of the better non-Texas or OU teams. A victory over A&M is just about assured. I guarantee A&M’s tiny line and green linebackers won’t be able to handle Griffin.
Oklahoma St.
Quarterback: 4
Zac Robinson is another guy that could be an absolute star at Florida. In fact, he’s a star at Oklahoma St, which also runs a very strong and balanced spread offense. He’s become very dangerous in their passing game and is a threat on the ground as well, which really clamps down on what a defense can do to stop them.
Skill players: 4
They lost perhaps the best tight end in the conference in Brandon Pettigrew and the receivers not named Dez Bryant are lesser players. However, they still have Kendall Hunter and Dez Bryant and each are perhaps the best in the conference at their respective positions (RB and WR) or close behind the leader. Dez Bryant demands a lot of attention and Hunter hit Texas for 8 yards per carry last season. Hunter’s backup Totson is another strong runner.
Offensive line: 4
This is a really good offense, and it’s paced by an excellent line. LT Russel Okung might be a top 10 draft pick next season and they return both their center and their Right tackle, so the foundation of the line is built on experienced guys who are also great players. The 2 new guards are inexperienced but talented.
Defensive backs: 2.5
Perrish Cox is the lone returning starter in the secondary (unless you count LB/SS hybrid Andre Sexton). Terrance Anderson is a senior with some experience but the rest of the new starters will be solid young guys learning the ropes.
Defensive line/linebackers: 3
Andre Sexton is the right man at the right time for OSU. He’s a fantastic LB/SS hybrid rover of the variety that you need in today’s big 12 to be successful. The rest of this bunch is more of a mystery. There is a chance for strength from ends Ugo Chinasa and Jeremiah Price and defensive tackle Derek Burton is a senior returning starter. All the linebackers are returning starters and solid players. The pass rush, however, was nonexistent last year and has a long way to reach adequacy.
Coach: 3.5
I saw a list that rated Mike Gundy as either last or 2nd to last amongst Big 12 coaches. We’ll put that as exhibit z in why many in the sports media don’t know anything about football. This staff covered a huge gap in talent and drew within 4 points of Texas in Austin 2 weeks after demolishing NFL-loaded Missouri as being a credible national team.
Overall: 21
As I wrote earlier, I don’t think this team is beating Texas or causing another crazy 3-way tie scenario in the Big 12 South. However, this is a loaded offense that has excellent talent and experience across the board.
Oklahoma: Of course they aren’t no. 1…
QB: 5
Sam Bradford is as good as they come. He throws very accurate deeper patterns and can absolutely murder a team when he has time to throw regardless of the quality of the secondary. He hits his receivers in stride and creates tons of yards after catch. We haven’t seen him lead OU down the stretch in a big 4rth quarter yet but I’m not sure the fault lies with him.
Skill Players: 4
Since that genius Jermaine Gresham decided to return with Sam Bradford to store up the undeniable value of an Oklahoma University Diploma there offense will be in better shape. He’s a tremendous player and punished the Florida defense better than anyone else in Crimson. DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown are both returning 1,000 yard rushers, although we’ll see what happens when they aren’t running behind Cooper and Robinson. Ryan Broyles is a great receiver, the rest are solid new guys that Bradford will make look good but aren’t game breakers. They also have a very versatile Fullback named Matt Clapp that allows them to run a lot of different formations in no-huddle because he can line up as a fullback, receiver, halfback or even tight end. This is the type of player you find on championship teams.
Offensive Line: 3
This is going to be the best part about watching Oklahoma this season, at least from the perspective of a Texas fan. Last season the line mauled every opposing defensive-line save for Texas and Florida (and TCU to a lesser extent), both of whom gave them fits. This season they’ll have 1 returning starter, Trent Williams, who is moving from Right Tackle to left. Against anyone not named Sergio Kindle he may look alright but Orlando Pace he is not. The starting center is currently injured, along with his backup. It’s possible OU will have to use a converted tight end until they get healthy. If that’s the case for more than a few games this unit will drop from a 3 to a 2. You can’t replace your center with just anyone over 270 with a crimson shirt.
Defensive backs: 3.5
OU is getting a lot of national respect for their secondary but I’m not fully buying it. As slow as safeties Lendy Holmes and Nic Harris might have been, both of them knew the system. Nic Harris in particular was a very heady player who I think could make an NFL roster as an outside linebacker or safety in nickel or dime packages. He made big plays for them. Lendy Holmes had 5 interceptions. New starter Quinton Carter is a big hitter and both he and new SS Sam Proctor aren’t totally inexperienced but OU’s zone scheme calls for great safety play to be elite. Both starting Corners are back and both are very solid. Dominique Franks is considered All-Conference.
Defensive line/linebackers: 5
For this reason, OU might have their best defense since the 2000 championship team. Travis Lewis is an excellent Weakside linebacker and amassed 144 tackles last season. Lewis and Keenan Clayton are the type of linebackers all the other Big 12 schools are searching for. If Ryan Reynolds can stay healthy he’s a great Middle linebacker. If not, they’ve accumulated a ton of talent to replace him this time around.
The defensive-line will be close to as good as Texas’ last season. It starts with nosetackle Gerald McCoy, who is a top 10 pick, consumes 2 blockers per play, and collapses the pocket. DeMarcus Granger and Adrian Taylor make for a great 3 man rotation at tackle.
They have 3 ends better than anyone at Oklahoma St. with Beal, English and Frank Alexander. It’s an ideal unit, strong against the run, and great at pass-rushing with depth at every position.
Coach: 4.5
Kevin Wilson has designed a no-huddle offense at OU that was able to bulldoze over teams last season and scored 60 points 4 times in a row. It’s based in versatility and simplicity, which is what you want when you field elite talent. On defense, they’ve been doing the same thing for years, playing a highly aggressive Cover-4 zone that can demolish a team if they don’t have something up their sleeves. On the other hand, I would literally have to do a google search or think for about 2 minutes to remember the last bowl game this staff won.
Overall: 25
Very good everywhere, except on the offensive line. Sort of like last year’s Cowboys. Dallas will see some pretty poor line play in 2009.
Texas: We all knew this was coming.
QB: 5
Sam Bradford vs. Colt McCoy is about as meaningful an argument as Peyton Manning vs. Tom Brady. For years I took Brady because he does it in the clutch and with less talent. I take Colt for similar reasons, he’s lead a ton of comebacks, he wins big games, and he’s done it the last 2 years without a dominant vertical threat. Bradford, like Manning, probably also has it in him but hasn’t had the right circumstances. Ultimately, you’re better off than anyone else with either player. Anyways, Colt should win the Heisman this year with Bradford throwing behind tweedle-dee and tweedle-dum and Tebow, the most overrated player since Reggie Bush, playing without Percy Harvin.
Skill players: 3.5
Don’t get me wrong, I wouldn’t take any group of receivers over the Texas group. Malcolm Williams can be a game breaker, Jordan Shipley is phenomenal, Collins and Kirkendoll combined can equal Quan Cosby. However, as solid a stable of running backs as Texas has, there isn’t 1 guy that has emerged as a real force. Tight end is an even bigger concern, especially after the best looking player went down in the first open practice last night. If someone can emerge at Tight end as a decent vertical threat who can be any kind of “blocking surface”, as Greg Davis calls them, Texas will be okay. I’m still naming Vondrell McGee the favorite at running back with Fozzy a dark horse. Cody Johnson will still man short-yardage situations, a job for which he has no equal.
Offensive line: 4.5
All 5 starters are returning if you include Huey as a starter. Ulatoski is garnering attention as a top 10 pick next season at left tackle, although that seems a little far-fetched, and he and Chris Hall are consensus preseason all-conference guys in almost every magazine. Apparently these magazine writers don’t watch games because Chris Hall, while being a fantastic guy and extremely versatile player, hasn’t dominated anything yet. Right tackle Kyle Hix is a mauler and his partner Right guard Michael Huey make the right side a likely pathway for Texas’ attempts to run the ball. In pass protection this group may have no equal nationally so if they can start to move bodies in the running game it’s all over.
Defensive backs: 4.5
This should be the best secondary since the last championship. Earl Thomas is as good a safety as you will find in college football. Aaron Williams and Chykie Brown are both poised to break out as all-conference corners. Christian Scott is an incredible athlete who will certainly see the field while Blake Gideon has been strong enough not to give up his spot. There are 4 very good corners on this team with serious game experience and 3 safeties. It’s the best secondary in the conference by far and might be the best in the country.
Defensive line/linebackers: 4
This is similarly the best group of linebackers Texas has seen in a while. In fact, due to the dearth of quality here, this might be the best linebacker group Texas has seen in decades. Muckelroy is a tackling machine and Jared Norton could break out at middle linebacker. The backups Keenan Robinson and Emmanuel Acho are both excellent athletes who can run, hit and blitz all of which modern linebackers need to do. Defensive end is a revolving door of talent. First there is the Predator, Sergio Kindle, who is a candidate for defensive player of the year and will move from various angles and positions to hunt quarterback. Alex Okafor is a freshman who looks like the next Brian Orakpo. Sam Acho, Eddie Jones, Okafor and some other ends will also plenty of action in the 3-3-5 alignment or the 4-2-5. Tackle is a concern. Lamarr Houston can be one of the better tackles in the conference but lining up next to him will be the weakness of the defense. Like at tight end, Texas just needs to find someone who can take on a few responsibilities and eat space and this defense can reach an elite status.
Coach: 4.5
Texas might have the best defensive coordinator in the country with headcoach-in-waiting Will Muschamp. Mack Brown should be above reproach at this point and Greg Davis has handled great scrutiny and criticism to produce an offense that could rival or even surpass the 2005 juggernaut. It’s a good staff.
Overall: 26
I think this is the best team in the country although Florida is a very worth pre-season no. 1 considering the return of their entire defensive 2-deep. There are no glaring weaknesses on this team that can’t be overcome with smart scheming and excellent play from other positions.
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