BH's Official 2016 Preseason All-Big 12 Team
Hold your horses...
I didn't see a whole lot about the Big 12 media's preseason all-conference team to take issue with this year.
I went ahead and took a stab at my own preseason picks, though, for posterity's sake.
BH's Official 2016 Preseason All-Big 12 Team
Offense
QB: Baker Mayfield, Oklahoma
RB: Mike Warren, Iowa State
RB: Samaje Perine, Oklahoma
WR: K.D. Cannon, Baylor
WR: James Washington, Oklahoma State
TE: Mark Andrews, Oklahoma
OL: Orlando Brown, Oklahoma
OL: Tyler Orlosky, West Virginia
OL: Connor Williams, Texas
OL: Patrick Vahe, Texas
OL: Kyle Fuller, Baylor
Offensive MVP: Mayfield
*Not long ago, you could at least count on the Big 12 to pump out some of the best offensive talent in the country every year. Looking at this list, I’d say the conference’s talent drain is catching up with that side of the ball.
*I’ll hear out arguments that Pat Mahomes possesses the best skills of any quarterback in the Big 12. I can’t get on board with the idea that he is the most valuable QB, though. I was a Mayfield skeptic heading into last season, but he alleviated any doubts that I harbored about his ability to win big at OU. It’s a great marriage of system and player, and Mayfield’s presence on the field had a steadying influence on the rest of the offense.
*I included Andrews on the first team because he’s listed as a tight end, a position that is woefully short on talent across the league. If you were to take him off in favor of a third true receiver, I wouldn’t fight you on it. (Also, I’d take OU’s Dmitri Flowers over KSU’s Winston Dimel if required to have at fullback on the squad.)
*I reserve my right to change my opinion if it turns out that Cannon is going to miss extended time as a result of his recent surgery.
*It’s entirely possible that Orlando Brown, a last-second throw-in to the Sooners' 2014 recruiting class, is the top offensive lineman in the entire league.
Defense
DL: Josh Carraway, TCU
DL: Will Geary, Kansas State
DL: Charles Walker, Oklahoma
DL: Jordan Willis, Kansas State
LB: Malik Jefferson, Texas
LB: Elijah Lee, Kansas State
DB/LB: Travin Howard, TCU
DB: Jordan Thomas, Oklahoma
DB: Steven Parker, Oklahoma
DB: Denzel Johnson, TCU
DB: Fish Smithson, Kansas
Defensive MVP: Carraway
*Feels odd to say this, but there are more known quantities on this side of the ball than the other. That’s a rarity these days in the Big 12.
*OU has big names, and Texas has big talent in the pipeline. Neither will have the best defense in the conference this season. That will most likely be TCU, but don’t sleep on Kansas State. Even though I left safety Dante Barnett off the first team, it’s still fair to say that the Wildcats have at least one star on all three levels. (Sophomore cornerback Duke Shelley boasts plenty of promise, too.)
*I don’t know if Howard will actually play linebacker or safety this season for the Horned Frogs. It doesn’t matter: He should still have an all-conference season wherever he lines up.
*I was tempted to find a spot for Jordan Burton, but I just didn’t have the room for OSU’s ultra-productive LB.
*Honestly, I think Jefferson’s mammoth potentially is out in front of what he has truly shown on the field. It wouldn’t shock me at all to see Texas’ stud LB break out with a monster year - he’ll hit first-round lock status before the end of his career with the Longhorns. Even so, naming him preseason defensive player of the year over Carraway at this point doesn’t sit quite right. (Watch out for Lee, too.)