Big 12 Spotlight: Summer recruiting scoop
With the summer recruiting season heading into its stretch run before the football season begins, our analysts look at the recruiting landscape in each Power Five conference. We add to the weeklong series today by covering the Big 12.
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RELATED: Summer recruiting scoop in the ACC | SEC
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
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THREE HOTTEST TEAMS
1. Texas: Following a commitment from Arch Manning, Texas rattled off 10 commitments in 10 days to put itself squarely in the mix for the top class in the country. That run featured pledges from highly ranked players such as Johntay Cook, Derek Williams and Jaydon Chatman, which has helped set the foundation for Texas' 2023 class.
2. Oklahoma: After entering the summer with just four commits, Oklahoma has caught fire with 12 commitments during the months of June and July, including 5.9-rated prospects Jaquaize Pettaway, Daylan Smothers and Adepoju Adebawore, who all committed in the span of eight days. In addition, quarterback commit Jackson Arnold has had arguably the best summer of any signal caller in the country with his camp performance at Elite 11.
3. Baylor: Despite some concern regarding Austin Novosad's commitment, Baylor has been able to weather the storm and still bring top talents into its 2023 class this summer. Of the Bears' 14 summer commitments, three are four-star prospects: TayShawn Wilson, Corey Kelly and Isaiah Robinson. Even if Baylor can't hold on to Novosad, Dave Aranda still has the makings of a strong class coming off of a Big 12 championship.
WATCH OUT FOR ...
1. Kansas State: The Wildcats pulled off a big recruiting upset this summer in keeping Maize (Kan.) four-star quarterback Avery Johnson home while national powers were involved. In looking around its class, Kansas State is full of players with high upside, such as Dylan Edwards, who cemented himself in the four-star conversation after a huge performance at Future 50 this past weekend.
2. Texas Tech: The Red Raiders stormed out of the gates in the 2023 cycle, and despite other teams in the conference catching fire as well, Joey McGuire's first class is still very strong considering his product has yet to touch the field. Now comes the challenge of adding a face of the class or two to further cement McGuire's vision in Lubbock, which I think he and his staff are more than capable of doing.
3. TCU: In looking around at TCU's class, it oozes with high-upside talent on both sides of the ball. Prospects such as Javeon Wilcox, Montana Warren and Keviyan Huddleston are primed for big senior seasons, while Avion Carter sits atop the class as its lone four-star with his size and athleticism. If the Horned Frogs can add a major name to go along with Carter, Sonny Dykes is in position to secure a top-three class in the conference.
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SUMMERTIME BLUES
1. Kansas: Although all six of the Jayhawks' commitments have come since June 1, it's still tough sledding in Lawrence when it comes to building a class. Despite the new NCAA rule allowing programs like Kansas to sign upwards of 25 to 30 prospects, it's been tough for Lance Leipold and his staff to reel in commits.
2. Oklahoma State: Despite coming off of a Big 12 Championship appearance, Oklahoma State sits ninth in the Big 12 with 10 commitments who are all three-star prospects. The Cowboys have yet to find the standout member of their class, unlike last year when at this time, when they had some big names such as Ollie Gordon and Garret Rangel already in the picture.