Day 1 of the Big-12 Media Days got under way in Arlington Wednesday morning. If you missed it, then you’re in the right spot. Oklahoma, TCU, Iowa State, Kansas State, and West Virginia all took the stage Day 1. We saw a lot of familiar faces Day 1 including 4x Big-12 champion Lincoln Riley.
Iowa State
Iowa State has a strong possibility of winning the Big-12 this season. They are ready to dethrone Oklahoma, and seem focused on that goal. This roster reminds me a lot of the Texas A&M roster from last year in the sense they have a lot of veteran players at key positions. Breece Hall is a legit Heisman contender and will be one of the best players in the nation. Brock Purdy is a Heisman contender himself. The Cyclones defense is going to be one of the strongest units in the nation, and are led by Mike Rose.
TCU
TCU is a surging team for 2021-22. Max Duggan is ready to bring TCU back to the spotlight. However I fully expect this to be the Zach Evans show this season. Evans is a dark horse Heisman candidate and should be one of the best running backs in the nation. It would not surprise me to see the Horned Frogs use Evans to make life a lot easier for Duggan. Plus many forget how willing Max Duggan is to run, and Doug Meacham will probably mix a lot of play action into the offense. The defense will have plenty of talent, but will be raw at safety though. Linebacker may also be a question mark for the Frogs, but Marcel Brooks and Wyatt Harris gives the position a lot of potential.
Kansas State
Chris Klieman believes Skylar Thompson will have a strong super senior season. Last year Thompson started off very strong, and looked to be taking the right steps at quarterback. No turnovers, and high efficiency football. His health will be the difference of competing in the Big-12, and competing for a bowl game. Will Howard was extremely fresh last year and was the reason the Wildcats lost some close games.
West Virginia
West Virginia is still putting things together, but has a strong structure building. They had the best defense in the Big-12 last year, and should maintain a great unit this season too. The offense will be their biggest question mark, and road bump. They still lack serious talent on the offensive side of the ball, and I didn’t get a strong sense of that looking to change this season. Neal Brown is building something in West Virginia and Nicco Marchiol will be a big piece to that puzzle, but until elite play comes back to the quarterback position I don’t think the Mountaineers will do much in the Big-12.
Oklahoma
Oklahoma will be Oklahoma. You can tell that the goal is not a Big-12 championship but a National Championship. This team is one of the best all around rosters Lincoln Riley has ever had. Kennedy Brooks will be a big addition back into the offense along with Eric Gray. The biggest difference in this roster versus some of the past is the defense. This defensive line is going to be very physical and be able to compete with those SEC offensive lines.
