Texas and Big 12 Capsules: No preseason Heisman hype for Big 12 quarterbacks
Quick, name a Big 12 quarterback being mentioned as a Heisman Trophy candidate.
Sam Bradford is now in the NFL after the 2008 Heisman winner’s injury-shortened time at Oklahoma. So is Colt McCoy, a two-time Heisman finalist who set the NCAA record with 45 victories at Texas.
Zac Robinson? Todd Reesing? Nope, they’re gone too after becoming the most prolific passers at their schools and helping Oklahoma State and Kansas get into the Top 10.
"A few years ago, we had the perfect storm with quarterbacks," Missouri coach Gary Pinkel said. "I always said at that time it was hard to imagine that any league could have the number of high-level quarterbacks that there were. I think it’s a little bit more typical now."
This season, most of the Big 12 quarterbacks are relative unknowns outside the conference — and sometimes even outside their own schools.
That is much different from past years, when the likes of Bradford, McCoy, Chase Daniel, Graham Harrell, Brad Smith and Vince Young created plenty of national preseason hype.
"From a competitor’s standpoint, I’m a little excited about it that we don’t have those high-profile guys to worry about and lose sleep over," Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said.
Texas coach Mack Brown is careful to separate experience from talent.
"We’ve got some great quarterbacks maybe that haven’t played as much as that little run on quarterbacks we had," he said. "But I think at the end of the year we’ll be talking about how great this quarterback group is."
There is dynamic dual-threat quarterback Robert Griffin at Baylor. But he is coming back from right knee surgery that limited him to only three games last year after his sensational freshman season in 2008 (2,934 total yards, 28 touchdowns).
Coach Art Briles won’t be able to blow the whistle Saturday night to keep Sam Houston State defenders from tackling Griffin, who got a medical redshirt and is still considered a sophomore.
"When he’s out there and the bullets are live, he’ll know how to respond," Briles said. "Robert has good instincts and great talents to go with it."
The league’s most experienced starters are Iowa State’s Austen Arnaud and Texas A&M’s Jerrod Johnson. Both seniors have started 23 games.
The 6-foot-5 Johnson, a receiver before being moved back to quarterback, led the Big 12 with 314 total yards per game and threw 30 touchdowns last season. But the Aggies still had a losing season.
The Longhorns’ Garrett Gilbert got shoved onto the national stage after McCoy got hurt on the first drive of the BCS national championship game. Gilbert threw the only two TDs — and only four interceptions — of his freshman season going 15-of-40 passing against Alabama.
Gilbert gets his first start for fifth-ranked Texas on Saturday at Rice.
"Those teams that lost players like Texas and Oklahoma, they always and will always have guys in the wings ready to step in," Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman said. "I’m sure that you lose a Bradford or McCoy, you look at it from the outside, you say ‘Wow, that’s too bad.’ ... They have guys that will step up and play."
After Bradford injured his shoulder in last year’s season opener, Landry Jones went on to throw for 3,198 yards, breaking Bradford’s Big 12 freshman record. Bradford was the No. 1 overall draft pick after bypassing his senior season.
"As far as me getting to Sam’s level, that’s not my goal. My goal is not to be Sam Bradford," Jones said. "Yes, he is a great player. ... But that’s not who I’m trying to be right now. I’m trying to be Landry Jones, the best player that I can be."
Coach Bob Stoops said that, like Bradford, Jones has a good attitude and work ethic while being a humble team guy for the seventh-ranked Sooners. The coach doesn’t want to extend the comparisons much further right now.
"In all fairness to Landry, we love where he’s at. We love everything that he’s doing," Stoops said. "But to compare him to the No. 1 pick in the draft and a guy that set records, it’s just not fair. ... Just isn’t quite fair just yet."
Zac Lee is back for Nebraska after starting 12 games last season, but coach Bo Pelini won’t say if he will still be the starter when the No. 8 Cornhuskers open Saturday against Western Kentucky.
Lee missed spring practice to recover from surgery on his right (throwing) elbow, possibly clearing the way for backup Cody Green or spring sensation Taylor Martinez to start.
Former Texas Tech coach Mike Leach often plugged in different quarterbacks with the same head-spinning results in his pass-happy offense. Kliff Kingsbury, B.J. Symons, Sonnie Cumby, Cody Hodges, Harrell and Taylor Potts all led the Big 12 — and often the nation — in passing.
New Red Raiders coach Tommy Tuberville plans to be a bit more balanced but will still throw plenty. Potts earned the starting nod over Steven Sheffield in the preseason.
At Colorado, junior Tyler Hansen will again start over coach’s son Cody Hawkins; senior Carson Coffman (four starts in 2009) will start for Kansas State; and sophomore Kale Pick replaces Reesing as Kansas’ No. 1 quarterback.
Oklahoma State’s new starter is junior Brandon Weeden after only limited snaps behind Robinson.
Blaine Gabbert followed Daniel at Missouri, and threw for 3,593 yards with 24 TDs and nine interceptions last season even while bothered by a gimpy ankle. Gabbert is healthy and can build on that valuable season of experience.
"Seeing the things I did right and some of the things I did wrong have helped me out a lot," Gabbert said. "I’m a whole new player."
Sounds like so many of the Big 12 quarterbacks.
Oklahoma State's Gundy still learning on the job
STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) — Mike Gundy hasn't lost his love for dialing up the right play to keep Oklahoma State's offense purring along.
That passion, which he has called the most enjoyable part of his job as head coach, was bred into him as an offensive coordinator. Long before that, he was a starting quarterback for the Cowboys.
But after nearly five years in charge at OSU, Gundy realized that it was time to start letting go.
"I knew that eventually I was going to have to get out of it because I couldn't keep up," Gundy said. "Just physically, I couldn't do it."
Fairly or not, the 43-year-old coach gained an intense reputation around college football three years ago when he delivered his "I'm a man! I'm 40!" rant at a newspaper columnist after a game. It may still be the moment people know best about him, but Gundy sees himself continuing to learn and grow as a coach.
He said he understands now the value of patience, and appreciates that players who are giving their best and committed to his system will get better in time.
"You can go out there and scream at them and run them to death. You're not going to get anywhere," Gundy said. "It's not going to make them a better player."
And running himself to death won't do the trick, either.
In the same exhausting profession that caused Florida's Urban Meyer to temporarily step away to focus on health concerns, a worn-down Gundy began wondering late last season whether he needed to bring in help.
He'd already decided to take more of a hands-off approach with the defense, trusting coordinator Bill Young's decades of expertise over his own background as an offensive coach. Then after last season, he approached athletic director Mike Holder about taking similar steps on the other side of the ball, seeking an offensive coordinator who could handle more of the game-planning and play-calling.
Gundy found his man when Dana Holgorsen, the architect of the nation's top offense last year at Houston, agreed to sign on.
"It'll definitely add years to my life," said Gundy, who added that he's never been asked to change coordinators. "I love this job because of the many challenges we face, from finding an offensive and defensive scheme to recruiting to dealing with (disciplinary issues) and all the things you deal with every single day. I really enjoy it.
"I've always said if it gets to be where I don't look forward to it, I'm done. I'll go do something else."
Instead, he's finding a new way to do what he loves. In putting Holgorsen in charge of the offense, Gundy estimates that he's regained six hours each day to spend on other ways to improve Oklahoma State's football team.
He's taking time in the morning to call recruits and doubling the number of letters he can write to those players. No longer does he find himself rushing into the office at 5:45 a.m. trying to figure out what the Cowboys should run on third-and-5.
That new routine still doesn't feel entirely comfortable heading into his team's season opener Saturday night against Washington State. He believes the non-stop pace he'd grown accustomed to was also a way to keep him from losing focus.
"That's the one concern I have is I'm here all the time, but I'm not running around like a chicken with my head cut off," Gundy said.
He believes the head coach, like the CEO at any company, should be working just as hard as the new guy still trying to prove himself. Sometimes it's hard for him to realize that while he's not as involved in some aspects of the game-planning, one of those extra phone calls or letters just might end up bringing in the Cowboys' next program-changing superstar.
"If somebody would put a sprinkler system in your front yard, I want to be digging the ditch. I don't want to be standing there telling somebody to dig it," Gundy said. "That's hard for me."
-- Jeff Latzke
Pelini expects another big year from Crick
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska's Jared Crick put up big numbers last season because opposing offenses were so preoccupied with trying to keep Ndamukong Suh under control.
The popular argument is that Crick can validate his 9½-sack season only by doing it again this year without Suh at his side.
Coach Bo Pelini disagrees, saying game films show that opponents schemed against Crick as much as they did against Suh.
"I don't think he has anything to prove," Pelini said of Crick. "The only thing he has to prove is that he can get better. You can also say the argument that Suh benefited from having Crick next to him. It's a two-way street."
Suh, a star-in-the-making for the Detroit Lions, and Crick teamed up to make the Huskers almost impenetrable in the middle last season. With Crick as the anchor and more seasoned players available, Pelini predicts the defense can be even better than the 2009 unit that allowed a nation-best 10.4 points a game and ranked among the top 10 in stopping the run and total defense.
An All-Big 12 first-team pick a year ago, Crick comes into his junior season as a preseason All-American and conference co-defensive player of the year.
"If at the end of the season I have the same credibility or same hype as at the beginning," he said, "then I did my job."
The Crick hype is fueled by eye-popping statistics for an interior lineman, including: 73 tackles, 15 for loss, 16 quarterback hurries. And don't forget those 9½ sacks.
A school-record five came against Baylor, the top single-game sack total in the nation last year.
Pelini said he doesn't want Crick to feel pressure to produce similar numbers.
"It's about playing well within the scheme," Pelini said. "Sometimes you're going to get stats, tackles for losses. Sometimes that's not going to happen but you can play a really good football game.
"If he keeps it in perspective, plays within the scheme and does the things he's been taught to do and improve on what he did last year, he's going to have a great year. How that measures up to expectations outside, that's not something he needs to concern himself with."
Even with Suh gone, Crick should get more help this year. Baker Steinkuhler is the front-runner to start alongside Crick, with Terrence Moore and Thaddeus Randle joining them in a rotation.
The Huskers also like their depth on the ends. Pierre Allen and Cameron Meredith are backed up by Josh Williams and Jason Ankrah.
"We're going to be fresher and healthier, and they're all going to contribute," defensive coordinator Carl Pelini said. "You may not see one guy with those kinds of stats, but I expect our defensive line as a whole to not have any drop-off."
Crick flourished early last season while offenses double- and triple-teamed Suh.
"That just gave me the freedom to rush one-on-one with the blocker," Crick said, "and every time I won, I either made a play or helped the defense out in some way."
The numbers bear that out. In the first eight games, Crick had 8½ of his sacks, 49 tackles and 13 tackles for loss. In the final six games, when he drew more attention, he was credited with half a sack two times, 24 tackles and two tackles for loss.
Crick said he has improved his strength since last season, which should enhance his game.
"Last year I used my speed to my advantage more than anything else," he said. "This year I feel stronger. I'm still going to use my speed, but being stronger is going to intensify my game and help me out in other ways."
Whether Crick clogs the middle and funnels traffic to the outside, or whether he piles up another gaudy number of sacks and tackles, the 6-foot-6, 286-pounder from rural Cozad won't disappoint, Allen said.
"He dominated a lot of guys one-on-one and in double teams, and you can credit some of it to Suh because Suh is who he is and they had to triple-team him sometimes," Allen said. "I don't think Suh being gone is going to make Crick fall off at all. If anything, I think he'll have a better year than he did last year."
-- Eric Olson
Second-generation Sands ready to run
LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — Like father, like son? Deshaun Sands can only hope.
The Kansas freshman knows if he's going to follow in his father's footsteps, he'd better step lively and he'd better step fast. In the Jayhawks' game against archrival Missouri back in 1991, ol' dad carried the ball an NCAA-record 58 times for 396 yards — No. 2 in NCAA annals.
Now Deshaun is ready to begin his own career as a Jayhawk running back, beginning Saturday night in the season opener against North Dakota State.
The elder Sands was an undersized running back for the Jayhawks from 1988-91 and he'll be in the stands watching on Saturday as his son begins his career. He earned the nickname "Tuxedo" by showing up for games in formal attire.
"Man, I just get goose bumps thinking about it," said Deshaun. "I'm going to be out in front of 50,000 fans, my first time, I'm just nervous."
Deshaun will likely split playing time with sixth-year senior Angus Quigley, who is back atop the depth chart after playing linebacker this season. Kansas' leading rusher from 2009, sophomore Toben Opurum, switched to linebacker in mid-August and the Jayhawks lost junior running back Rell Lewis to a season-ending injury around the same time.
The openings in the depth chart gave the younger Sands a shot at a larger role in the offense.
The differences between Quigley and Sands are obvious. At 6-foot-1, 231 pounds, Quigley is a big, powerful back. Deshaun is built more like his dad at 5-foot-7, 190 pounds.
"They're different backs, there's no question about that as far as their style of running," coach Turner Gill said. "I think we want to get a sense on the field for both of them in a football game."
Deshaun compares his style to his father's — quick and low to the ground.
"I play a lot like him," Deshaun said. "We don't have the same attributes, but you can see on the film that he played a lot like me. He was able to get through the holes and find space to move."
Gill said nothing about using Quigley and Sands in specific situations. In practice, they've both gotten the same repetitions on the same plays.
Besides the contrast in style, Quigley and Deshaun Sands have had different mentalities through practice, senior offensive lineman Brad Thorson said. Quigley, a team captain in his sixth year, has been focused on developing the team as a whole while Sands came into camp trying to prove he deserved a spot near the top of the depth chart.
"Angus carries himself as a sixth-year guy would, and Deshaun carries himself as a redshirt freshman," Thorson said. "He wants to prove a lot to us."
Just taking the field this weekend after sitting out last year with a redshirt is a dream come true for Sands. But he won't be satisfied with simply playing the occasional down. His goal through the whole offseason has been earning a central role in the offense.
"I think a lot of people expected him to be a situational back," Thorson said. "But that's not what he wants to be. Deshaun wants to be an every-down type of guy."
At least for Saturday, he'll be sharing most of the on-field duties with Quigley. True freshmen Brandon Bourbon and James Sims may get playing time as well.
"We're going to take it week-by-week, and we're going to play the best guys," Gill said. "Whoever gives us the best chance of being successful, that's what we're going to do."
Whether that means a competition for the top spot or not, it hasn't stopped Angus from reaching out to Sands.
"We've been having talks through the weekend. He's been asking me if I'm ready," Sands said. "I mean, 50,000 people. Who wouldn't be ready for that?"
Iowa State opens tough 2010 schedule against NIU
AMES, Iowa (AP) — Much of the offseason discussion about Iowa State concerned its schedule, and with good reason. The Cyclones have a brutal fall on tap, with road games at Iowa, Texas and Oklahoma and home matchups with Utah, Nebraska and Missouri.
Iowa State's opener isn't exactly a cakewalk either.
Instead of working out the kinks against an undersized and overmatched FCS team, the Cyclones kick off the 2010 season on Thursday night against Northern Illinois, a favorite in the Mid-American Conference.
Iowa State has plenty to worry about down the road, starting with a trip to Iowa City next week, but it doesn't have the luxury of a tuneup, either.
"They are solid at every phase. Defensively, they stop the run. On offense they run the ball extremely well," Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said of Northern Illinois. "They have a defense that flies around the field and pursues with great intensity to the ball. They have an offense that physically wears opponents out."
The oddsmakers have the Cyclones as just a 4½-point favorite.
The Huskies finished 7-6 a year ago and were thumped by South Florida 27-3 in the International Bowl. But Northern Illinois brings back most of its defensive starters from a year ago and a star running back in senior Chad Spann, who rushed for 1,038 yards and 19 touchdowns a year ago to lead the MAC's top rushing offense.
Northern Illinois has three players listed as the potential starter at quarterback.
Junior Chandler Harnish, the team's primary starter each of the past two seasons, ranked second in the league in passing efficiency, but he missed part of spring ball with a knee injury. Fellow junior DeMarcus Grady started four games and won them all last season, but he's more of a running quarterback than a passer, and redshirt freshman Jordan Lynch hasn't attempted a pass in college.
Huskies coach Jerry Kill won't reveal his starting quarterback until they trot out for the first series, but whoever it is will likely play the entire game.
As if the Cyclones didn't have enough to worry about.
"We won't see three quarterbacks," Kill said. "Whoever it's going to be, we don't want to reveal that."
A year after surprising nearly everyone in the Big 12 by reaching and winning a bowl game, the Cyclones will have just three returning starters on defense Thursday night. Strong safety David Sims, the Big 12's defensive newcomer of the year in 2009, was suspended for the opener after offseason legal trouble.
The Cyclones are hoping the offense will have enough firepower to overcome whatever learning curve their defense is in for.
Though Iowa State averaged just 20.5 points a game last season, it's got a tailback star of its own in senior Alexander Robinson. He rushed for 1,195 yards last season despite nagging injuries, and he's proclaimed himself healthy for the opener.
Talented but spotty senior quarterback Austen Arnaud worked on his throwing motion in the offseason, which he hopes will help him improve on the 14-to-13 touchdown-to-interception ratio he registered in 2009.
"Twenty points a game is ... not acceptable. Their biggest charge is to put more points on the scoreboard," Rhoads said. "They want to perform at a higher level, and I'm looking forward to them going out and proving that."
Despite a solid first season under Rhoads, most preseason pundits believe Iowa State will be done in by a schedule stacked with opponents who combined for a .634 winning percentage in 2009.
Iowa State insists it isn't overlooking the Huskies, though.
"I have a very mature and focused football team," Rhoads said. "They don't take days off."
-- Luke Meredith
Missouri dismisses RB facing sex assault charge
COLUMBIA, Mo. (AP) — Missouri running back Derrick Washington was dismissed from the team Wednesday, two days after being charged with sexual assaulting a former tutor in her bedroom over the summer.
The school released a two-sentence statement that said the Tigers' leading rusher the past two seasons and a team captain had been "permanently suspended" from the football program.
Washington, a 21-year-old senior and Kansas City-area prep star, is accused of entering a former Missouri tutor's closed bedroom while visiting her roommate and assaulting the woman while she slept. The woman obtained a court order of protection that expired in July.
Washington, who faces a single felony count of deviate sexual assault, will remain on scholarship as long as he meets his academic requirements. He declined comment when reached on his cell phone.
Coach Gary Pinkel indefinitely suspended Washington last week without disclosing details. The timing of Washington's initial suspension was questioned since his appointment as one of four team captains and a school-paid trip to Dallas for the Big 12 Conference's annual preseason media gathering occurred after the protection order was issued in late June.
The civil protection order expired on July 21 after both Washington and his accuser didn't show up in court. On Monday, Washington's attorney said his client was never served with the order.
Missouri faces Illinois on Saturday in St. Louis. Pinkel has named sophomore Kendial Lawrence and junior De'Vion Moore as likely starters, with true freshmen Henry Josey and Marcus Murphy also expected to play.
Washington's arrest and dismissal marks the fourth off-field legal problem for the Missouri program since early August.
Reserve tight end and long snapper Beau Brinkley was charged with driving while intoxicated earlier this week. Reserve linebacker Will Ebner and assistant coach Bruce Walker were also arrested this summer for possible drunken-driving violations.
-- Alan Scher Zagier
UTEP RB Buckram injures knee
EL PASO (AP) — UTEP running back Donald Buckram was carted off the practice field after injuring his left knee.
Coach Mike Price said Buckram was injured Wednesday during a non-contact drill. Price isn't confirming the nature of the injury, saying his staff was awaiting results of MRI tests.
Buckram was all-Conference USA as a junior in 2009 and was one of 10 semifinalists for the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation's top running back. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound from Copperas Cove rushed for 1,594 yards and 18 touchdowns in 259 carries and caught 30 passes for 453 yards and three TDs.
The Miners open their season at home against Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Sept. 4.
Former Texas receiver clear to play at SLU
HAMMOND, La. (AP) — Southeastern Louisiana's deep receiving corps just got a little deeper.
Former Texas receiver Brandon Collins has been cleared by the NCAA Clearinghouse to play for the Lions.
SLU coach Mike Lucas told The Advocate that Collins will play in Thursday's season-opener against Tulane at the Superdome.
Collins was dismissed from the football team at Texas in January after he was charged with aggravated robbery and engaging in organized criminal activity. Felony robbery charges against Collins and two others were later dropped by a Texas grand jury.
Collins was academically ineligible last season and had 35 catches for 430 yards and three touchdowns as a sophomore in 2008.
