One big question for each coach at Big 12 Media Days, which kick off today in Dallas:
Baylor – Who replaces Bryce Hager?
As is usually the case with quarterbacks, many of the questions about Baylor this offseason have focused on replacing Bryce Petty. If you haven’t noticed, Art Briles has hadn’t much trouble in that department.
Hager might be a little tougher. The three-year starter at linebacker led the Bears in tackles in two seasons and provided leadership during a period that saw Baylor’s defense improve dramatically. Making up for his presence in the middle of the defense will likely prove to be defensive coordinator Phil Bennett’s toughest task this season.
Iowa State – What happened to your defense?
The Cyclones have fallen off precipitously on defense in the last two seasons, dropping from 35th nationally in Defensive S&P+ in 2012 to 86th and 2013 and 119th in 2014. D was supposed to be Paul Rhoads’ calling card. If he can’t shore that up this year, the chances are good that he’ll find a pink slip waiting for him in December.
Kansas – What are the keys to beating South Dakota State?
No, seriously. New coach David Beaty better not look past his season opener against one of the better FCS teams in the country. Lose that one, and an 0-12 debut season is seriously in play.
Kansas State – When does the next Lockett arrive?
Fortunately for the rest of the Big 12, there are no Locketts on the Wildcats’ 2015 roster. That family tree has terrorized KSU’s conference mates for decades.
In a broader sense, though, Bill Snyder is searching for dependable options at receiver. Finding them could be the difference in making a bowl game this year for KSU.
Oklahoma – How do you know when enough is enough?
Bob Stoops is in no danger of losing his job any time soon. However, 17 years in one place just doesn’t happen much these days.
Stoops is undergoing the most dramatic overhaul of his coaching staff since arriving in Norman in 1999. If it doesn’t produce noticeable results right away, who’s to say Stoops has it in him to keep pounding away at the wall separating his program from its former position among the national elite.
Oklahoma State – Who is your playmaker on offense?
OSU has pumped out a number of productive stars at the offensive skill positions in Mike Gundy’s tenure. As was the case a year ago, however, this season’s group is pretty low-wattage.
Junior college running back Chris Carson is the most likely candidate to be the Pokes go-to guy. Senior wideout Brandon Sheperd could make a leap, too.
TCU – How long will it take to get your defense up to speed?
Gary Patterson is one of the best defensive minds in the college game, but even he’s not immune to the kind of personnel losses that have hit his squad.
Six of the team’s seven leading tacklers from last season are gone. The departees include cornerstones from all three levels of the D — guys like Paul Dawson, Chucky Hunter and Sam Carter.
TCU has early road trips this season to Texas Tech and Kansas State. Best get the newbies up to speed quickly if the Horned Frogs want to make good on the hype this year.
Texas – What makes Shawn Watson the right guy to install the spread?
Everything about Charlie Strong suggests that he’s a great head coach — except for his muddled talk about the plans for his offense at Texas.
UT showed very little semblance of an offensive identity a year ago. Now, Strong is asking Watson, his pro-stylist offensive coordinator, to oversee a shift to the spread. Understandable if that doesn’t make the Burnt Orange faithful feel good about where this is headed.
Texas Tech – Are you in over your head?
Kliff Kingsbury wins press conferences and coaching beauty contests, but his two years in Lubbock have left plenty to be desired on the field.
In particular, the defense continues to play soft, clueless football. Kingsbury brought in well-respected defensive coordinator David Gibbs from Houston to get the D in order. That’s great and all, but Kingsbury ultimately has to set the tone for getting that side of the ball up to some level of respectability.
Establishing a level of competence on defense will go a long way toward determining if any skepticism about Kingsbury’s comet-like rise through the coaching ranks is justified.
West Virginia – What did you lose with Tom Bradley’s departure?
Bradley might have been just a defensive line coach at WVU, but it’s hard to get over how much better the Mountaineers played on that side of the ball in ‘14. With Bradley off to UCLA, we’ll get a feel for just how much of a difference he really made in his one season as part of Dana Holgorsen’s coaching staff.
