With the football season quickly approaching, it is time for Big 12 players and coaches to talk with the media about the upcoming season.
The Big 12 Media Days are set to begin Wednesday and go through Thursday. There is a lot on the docket, and it will be kicked off by Big 12 Commissioner Brett Yormark.
The opening comments from Yormark should shed light on the past year, as he has time to reflect on his rookie season of sorts. It will also be key to understand Yormark’s vision for the near future of the Big 12 as change is coming.
The Big 12 is changing every year, but the upcoming few seasons will usher in a new wave of Big 12 sports. Four new schools are joining the conference, while two powerhouses are leaving.
Wednesday should be a good first look at how some of the new schools are going to tackle the upcoming football season. After Baylor kicks things off with head coach Dave Aranda and select players taking the podium, BYU gets its time in the spotlight.
The pressure is high for the new schools to adapt quickly to the pace and playstyle of the Big 12. BYU will be the first of the new schools to talk with the media about what the 2023 season will look like.
After BYU comes Houston. It should be interesting to see what the future holds for Houston as it tries to find its footing in the new conference after a season of ups and downs.
Three more schools—the projected top dog of the conference, Texas, the national title runner-ups, TCU, and the surprise stars of the 2022 season, Kansas—will talk with the media Wednesday with many questions surrounding them.
The expectations are as high as ever for Texas as the Longhorns took the top spot in the preseason rankings for the first time since 2011. In the last year in the Big 12, the Longhorns are looking to take advantage of their talented young roster to find themselves on top for the first time since 2009.
TCU is coming off a historic season where it made the national championship game, falling to Georgia in the end. However, the Horned Frogs are losing a good chunk of their dominant roster, including Heisman nominee Max Duggan. With the Big 12 adding solid competition, it will be interesting to see what the game plan looks like for TCU going forward.
After years of pain and suffering, Kansas found some spark in the 2022 season thanks to the talents of quarterback Jalon Daniels. Although Daniels was injured late in the season, he is back and better than ever and ready to take the conference by storm again.
Day two of the Big 12 Media Days will be a chance for other top schools to make clear what their goals are for the immediate future.
UCF and Cincinnati will kick things off Thursday to give their outlook on how they are going to adapt to the Big 12. UCF is projected to be the top dog of the new schools, while Cincinnati had the most recent success, making it to the College Football Playoffs in 2021.
Iowa State will follow Cincinnati on Thursday with head coach Matt Campbell and company ready to face the music. The Cyclones finished their lackluster 2022 season with a 4-8 record.
Iowa State couldn’t find its rhythm all year long, as the conference season proved to be heartbreaking week after week. The Cyclones ended the season with just two losses of more than one score.
With new faces ready to move into leadership positions, Iowa State is ready for a comeback season. Wide receiver Jaylin Noel, linebacker Gerry Vaughn and defensive backs Beau Freyler and T.J. Tampa will address the media Thursday.
The last two schools with questions surrounding them are Oklahoma and Kansas State.
Oklahoma struggled to get back to its old self in 2022 as it finished in the middle of the pack. The Sooners have been a powerhouse in the Big 12 for years, winning the Big 12 Championship for six years straight before the two most recent seasons.
Now in their last year in the conference, the Sooners will look to make one final push for the top and cement their legacy in the Big 12.
After an upset win over TCU to take home the Big 12 title, Kansas State is looking to build off the momentum from the 2022 season. The Wildcats will have their work cut out for them if they want to make it back to the top, as they have to fight through powerful competition.
When all is said and done, one question hangs in the air for the entire Big 12 going into the media days:
Can Kansas State repeat, or will there be another top dog of the Big 12?
