Big 12 Spotlight: Five teams that will benefit from 2020 season
The Big 12 football was one of the conferences able to kick off its football season with the rest of the country on Sept. 12 and by now, everyone has dived into their regular-season slate.
Playing football this fall – which appeared to be in jeopardy because of COVID-19 – is important to every Big 12 program, but there are certain schools within the conference that have more to gain on the recruiting front than others this season by playing this fall.
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TEAMS WITH THE MOST TO GAIN: Big Ten | SEC | ACC | Pac-12
CLASS OF 2021 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
CLASS OF 2022 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Position | Team | State
COVERAGE: Rivals Transfer Tracker | Rivals Camp Series
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1. Texas
Texas is currently sitting atop the Big-12 standings with a 2-0 mark to open the 2020 season, including a defeat of Texas Tech in an overtime thriller over the weekend.
The Longhorns and coach Tom Herman are certainly in the spotlight this fall as pressure continues to mount on this program to take the next step and compete for a conference championship. Texas has recruited well both locally and nationally, signing five-star Bijan Robinson and Rivals250 defensive lineman Alfred Collins, among others, who are both getting involved early for this team.
The fact that certain newcomers are playing early and making a difference is critical for Texas, which holds the No. 15-ranked haul for 2021 and is going to compete for the No. 1 group in 2022 headlined by five-star quarterback Quinn Ewers. To maintain that momentum, the Longhorns will need to continue to impress with their new players, new coordinators and keep coming up big on Saturdays.
2. Baylor
Dave Aranda is finally a head coach after successful tenures as a defensive coordinator at Wisconsin and LSU, which culminated in a national championship in January. Aranda took over a Baylor program on the rise thanks to Matt Rhule, who since accepted the head coaching gig with the Carolina Panthers.
Rhule turned Baylor around after scandals involving Art Briles back in 2015. Aranda inherited a quality roster, including a three-year starter at quarterback in Charlie Brewer, and tabbed several familiar assistants from LSU as members of his staff and brought in former North Carolina coach Larry Fedora to run his offense.
Aranda earned his first victory as a head coach with a lopsided victory over Kansas on Saturday. Baylor holds 19 commitments with the majority being in-state recruits. The strong start should only benefit the Bears' efforts closing out this 2021 class.
3. Kansas
It's the second year that Les Miles is leading the Jayhawks, who have opened this 2020 campaign with back-to-back losses, including the aforementioned defeat at the hands of Baylor on Saturday.
Miles, who won a national championship during his time at LSU and had the Tigers competing for SEC titles year in and year out, is tasked with doing the same at Kansas. But in over the past 11 seasons in Kansas, the Jayhawks have a meager 7-90 record in the Big 12 and are off to an inauspicious start again this fall.
Kansas holds commitments from 21 players thus far in 2021, including prized Louisiana wide receiver and basketball standout Keon Coleman, who picked the Jayhawks over Oklahoma and South Carolina. Kansas will need to impress on offense and churn out a few wins in order to keep the boat afloat.
4. Oklahoma State
It was certainly a choppy offseason in Stillwater, Okla., but as football returns the focus is on the Cowboys on the field. So far, Oklahoma State has eked out a win over Tulsa and knocked off conference rival West Virginia to stay atop the conference at 2-0.
We're all anxiously waiting for the Oklahoma State offense to return to mid-season form with Heisman hopeful Chuba Hubbard and Tylan Wallace back. Any sort of accolades for these two offensive superstars paired with the Cowboys' success on-the-field is certainly going to help out Mike Gundy on the recruiting trail.
The Cowboys hold 14 commitments thus far with some key targets already on board. The team is still in search of its quarterback for the class in addition to other critical positions, but a strong start this fall should help them finish strong.
5. Oklahoma
Oklahoma? Oklahoma made this list despite maintaining a stranglehold on the Big 12 conference ever since Lincoln Riley inherited this program. One of the country's premier head coaches, offensive minds and recruiters, Riley's 1-1 is certainly noteworthy, but it shouldn't disrupt the machine that is Oklahoma football.
The Sooners came up short against Kansas State, but 83 points through two contests is still going to catch people's attention. In the Week 2 defeat, redshirt freshman quarterback Spencer Rattler completed 73-percent of his passes for 387 yards and four touchdowns, but also threw three picks. Riley has a reputation for grooming quarterbacks, but unlike Kyler Murray, Baker Mayfield and Jalen Hurts, Rattler is a young passer that signed with the Sooners out of high school and will get an opportunity to learn firsthand from Oklahoma's head coach.
Oklahoma has 15 commitments in place, good for the nation's No. 12 haul, and that includes five-star quarterback Caleb Williams, who picked the Sooners over LSU and Maryland. The Sooner Summit opened a door for Oklahoma to land even more blue-chip recruits and recently welcomed four-star Maryland wide receiver Jalil Farooq into the fold. Moving forward, it's all about Rattler learning and growing with the rest of the Oklahoma offense.