Big 12 Spotlight: Teams that won October
October was a busy month on the recruiting trail. Highly ranked prospects announced their commitments and some committed players flipped from one school to another. This week we'll look at each conference’s biggest recruiting winners from October, and next up is the Big 12.
OCTOBER RECRUITING WINNERS: The ACC
RELATED: Big 12 team rankings
*****
STING FACTOR: Christian Brathwaite flips from Baylor to LSU
CLASS OF 2023 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2024 RANKINGS: Rivals250 | Team | Position | State
CLASS OF 2025 RANKINGS: Rivals100
TRANSFER PORTAL: Stories/coverage | Message board
*****
TCU
It's hard to argue any program in the country making as much noise this season both on and off the field than Sonny Dykes' TCU squad. The Horned Frogs are rolling into November at 8-0 and that momentum has carried over to the recruiting trail.
TCU capped off October on Monday with a commitment from Red Oak (Texas) four-star safety Warren Roberson as the Horned Frogs fought off USC, Texas, Oklahoma State and others for the coveted DFW prospect.
Additionally, the Horned Frogs are looking at making a splash at the wide receiver position and October was big in them becoming the front-runner for Temple (Texas) four-star wide receiver Mikal Harrison-Pilot and getting back in the mix for Notre Dame commit four-star wide receiver Braylon James.
TCU is also firmly at the top for one of the best defensive backs in the JUCO ranks as Channing Canada has the Horned Frogs high on his list going deeper into the fall as a result of a solid month of communication from the staff.
*****
WEST VIRGINIA
Despite a rocky season to this point on the field, West Virginia has still been able to create some steam on the recruiting trail. That continued this month with the addition of Sean Boyle as the class leader at quarterback after losing Raheim Jeter during the summer.
The Mountaineers sit comfortably in the top 30 of the 2023 Rivals team rankings going into November with a few spots in the class still left up for grabs. The staff is continuously maintaining strong contact with its top commits including wide receiver Rodney Gallagher.
*****
TEXAS TECH
Although Texas Tech did not land any commits in October, the 2023 class for the Red Raiders continued strong senior seasons that could have some in the mix for a rankings bump down the line.
It starts with Frisco (Texas) Reedy wide receiver Kaleb Smith, who has excelled both in the receiving game and in the return game for one of the last remaining undefeated high school teams in the DFW area. Staying in the receiving corps, Arlington (Texas) Bowie wide receiver Kelby Valsin is averaging more than 100 yards per game this season as his value in the class continues to rise.
Texas Tech has built a class around athletic prospects, and those traits are really shining in the 2022 season ahead of Joey McGuire's first full cycle National Signing Day.
*****
TEXAS
Despite being 5-3 on the field going into the month of November, the elite recruiting class that Steve Sarkisian and his staff at Texas were able to build over the summer has not taken many big hits to this point.
This month did feature a shocker of a decommitment from Spring (Texas) Dekaney four-star wide receiver Jonah Wilson, but the damage could be a lot worse with commits such as Malik Muhammad, Johntay Cook, Cedric Baxter and more taking visits to other Power Five contenders.
If Texas can hold onto the strong pieces that have made up the 2023 class, we may not continue to look at three losses midseason as we have grown so accustomed to seeing in the past.
*****
KANSAS STATE
Kansas State landed one of the three commitments in the entire Big 12 in October from Fort Walton Beach (Fla.) wide receiver Jayce Brown as the Wildcats continue to add weapons around their prized quarterback commit in Maize (Kan.) four-star Avery Johnson.
On that note, Johnson is having a stellar senior season as he has thrown for 2,221 yards on 70-percent passing along with tossing 25 touchdowns compared with just one interception. On the ground, Johnson has added 621 rushing yards and 11 more scores. His performance this season has his Eagles sitting at 9-0.
Additionally, the Wildcats are trending in the Rivals FutureCast for recent Colorado wide receiver decommit Wesley Watson from College Station (Texas) A&M Consolidated.