Big 12 Breakdown: Inside the numbers
INSIDE THE NUMBERS: SEC | Big Ten | ACC | Pac-12
The season is winding down and several trends have solidified in the Big 12. Oklahoma’s class continues to be the toast of the league. There is still much work to be done by all teams. Here’s five interesting numbers from the current Big 12 recruiting landscape.
0: Net additions to Texas’ class since July 15
Nacogdoches cornerback Josh Thompson committed to Texas on July 27, just about two weeks after the decommitment of four-star tight end Major Tennison. Xavier Newman committed to Texas in April but flipped his commitment to Colorado following his official visit to Boulder last month. Three-star defensive end Taquon Graham is the Longhorns’ most recent commitment, announcing his decision in early September, but the Texas class sits at just seven commitments - only Baylor has fewer in the conference.
3,281 and 46: Receiving yards and touchdowns scored by Oklahoma-committed pass-catchers
Cedarian Lamb been one of the nation’s best wide receivers statistically and leads the group of pass catchers committed to Oklahoma in 2017. Lamb has piled up 1,445 yards and 22 touchdowns for Texas 5A team Richmond-Foster while fellow Texas receiver Charleston Rambo has 16 scores on 938 yards receiving. Four-star California athlete Grant Calcaterra has amassed 898 yards and eight touchdowns of his own. That’s in addition to the over 2,100 yards and 23 touchdowns rushing that Kennedy Brooks has had this season.
4: Total number of defensive linemen committed to Baylor, Kansas, Oklahoma State, TCU and Texas Tech combined
Admittedly, it’s a little unfair to lump Baylor in any negative trend related to recruiting at the moment, but that’s still a low number even for four teams in a conference. A comparable group of Pac-12 schools; Arizona, California, Colorado, Oregon State and Washington State have 16 defensive linemen committed among them. Within those four Big 12 commits, recent Texas Tech commit Nelson Mbanasor flipped from Oklahoma State. Those five Big 12 teams allow an average of 203 rushing yards per game this season.
5: Number of teams whose top-ranked commit comes from out-of-state
The Sooners' top nine players in the 2017 class, including four-stars, Tyrese Robinson, Addison Gumbs and Jacob Phillips, are all from outside the state of Oklahoma. Iowa State is maintaining a top-30 class nationally, led by four-star Mississippi product Kam White. Oklahoma State’s Chuba Hubbard is an international recruit from Canada, and West Virginia’s top commit is Florida’s Mike Harley. Kansas’ top commitment, Texas running back, Dominic Williams is a high three-star recruit and has ran for nearly 2,000 yards this season.
7: Percentage of Rivals250 players committed to Big 12 teams
A large part of the 29 percent of uncommitted players in the Rivals250 comes in the form of Texas prospects Marvin Wilson, Baron Browning, Jeffrey Okudah, Walker Little and Anthony Hines, who are at least considering teams in the Big 12.
Even if they were all to commit to Big 12 teams, that percentage still falls short relative to other top conferences. And while other leagues have more teams, the talent that is headed to the Big 12 isn't spread out very much as 10 of the 19 players in the Rivals250 committed to Big 12 teams are pledged to Oklahoma.