ESPN College Football

We're only 100 days away from the college football season, but today we're looking at what each conference needs to do, team by team, between now and then. Here's the Big 12's checklist.

1. Sort out and develop those quarterbacks. I've written about it plenty, but there's no doubt that the quarterbacks are the story of the Big 12 this offseason. There won't be lots of experience next fall, but there will be a lot of talent. To tally the Big 12 quarterbacks: Four teams (Kansas State, Oklahoma State, TCU, West Virginia) still possibly don't know who their Week 1 starter will be, and another (Oklahoma) hasn't officially announced one, though Blake Bell appears to have earned the job. Two more Big 12 teams (Baylor, Texas Tech) will have quarterbacks making their first career starts in Week 1. Iowa State quarterback Sam Richardson will be making just his third career start and Kansas' Jake Heaps will be making his Jayhawks debut after starting almost two seasons at BYU. Texas' David Ash is the league leader with 18 career starts, and though TCU's Casey Pachall has 17, he hasn't officially won the job and hasn't played since October.

2. Try to find a national title contender. The Big 12 won't have much preseason hype, but consider this: Oklahoma State was picked third in the Big 12 preseason poll in 2011, with just one vote to win the league. Kansas State was picked sixth last season. By November, they had made it very, very clear that they were the Big 12's best teams in those respective years, and were right in the thick of the national title race.

3. Get to politicking with pollsters. That said, the preseason hype will be at an all-time low this year in the Big 12. The conference has never started a season without a team in the top 10, but that looks likely to happen this season. It's going to take a lot to change that, but here's guessing most coaches across the Big 12 aren't real excited to have their teams earn a bull's-eye on their backs. Oklahoma being preseason No. 1 in 2011 offered another reminder that preseason polls don't mean a whole lot.

4. Mix in the new faces. Everybody's dealing with freshmen in fall camp, but teams like Kansas State, Kansas and West Virginia are mixing in tons of new contributors who were nonfactors on last year's teams or not even on the roster this time last year. Oklahoma is doing it on defense, too.

5. Keep bringing up the rear. The Big 12 coaches have been trumpeting the bottom half of the league, an argument for the top half's road to the national title game being college football's most difficult. Having nine teams crack bowls after the 2012 regular season helped that case, but the league will need it to continue. Kansas is moving in the right direction while trying to end its 21-game losing streak, but it's not going to be easy for Iowa State to make another bowl game after this season.

Our list of the top 10 Big 12 players ever generated as much response from you all as anything we've ever done. I really appreciate all of it. Many of you agreed with the list. Plenty of you didn't. That's pretty natural. It was an absolutely brutal list to put together. Tons of talented guys have a case to be on it, and might be on your list. I wouldn't necessarily disagree. Still, I only had room for 10. Here's an extensive list of all the guys who I also think have a strong case for inclusion. They're the players who just missed my all-time top 10. In no particular order, here they are:

Eric Crouch, QB, Nebraska: In 2001, won the Heisman Trophy, Davey O'Brien Trophy, Camp Award and was the Big 12's Offensive Player of the Year. Finished his career with 4,481 passing yards and 3,434 rushing yards and accounted for 84 touchdowns.

Justin Blackmon, WR, Oklahoma State: Won the Biletnikoff Award in 2010 and 2011, and was the Big 12's Offensive Player of the Year in 2011. Finished his three-year career with 252 catches, 3,564 receiving yards and 41 total touchdowns.

Grant Wistrom, DL, Nebraska: Won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors in 1996 and 1997. Won the Lombardi Award in 1997 and helped Nebraska go 49-2 during his career. Finished with 58.5 tackles for loss and 26.5 sacks.

Michael Crabtree, WR, Texas Tech: The first-ever two-time winner of the Biletnikoff Award as the nation's top receiver. He was a unanimous All-American in both seasons and finished his career with 231 catches for 3,127 yards and 41 touchdowns.

Troy Davis, RB, Iowa State: Finished second in the Heisman voting in 1996 and fifth in 1995. Topped 2,000 yards rushing in both seasons and scored 37 touchdowns. He was the Big 12's Offensive Player of the Year in 1996.

Darren Sproles, RB, Kansas State: Rushed for 1,986 yards in K-State's Big 12 title season in 2003. Finished his four-year career with just under 5,000 rushing yards. Scored 44 touchdowns in his final three seasons and was fifth in Heisman voting in 2003. Also returned a punt for a touchdown in 2003 and averaged more than 27 yards on kick returns.

Dat Nguyen, LB, Texas A&M: Won All-Big 12 first-team honors three times, and was the league's Defensive Player of the Year in 1998, leading the Wrecking Crew to Texas A&M's only Big 12 title. Won the Bednarik Award and Lombardi Award that season. Made 51 consecutive starts and finished his career with 517 tackles, the only player in A&M history to lead the Aggies in tackles for four seasons.

Cedric Benson, RB, Texas: Won the Doak Walker Award as the nation's best running back in 2004 and was a two-time first-team All-Big 12 selection. His 5,540 career rushing yards are second all-time at Texas to only Ricky Williams.

Chase Daniel, QB, Missouri: Led Missouri to two Big 12 Championship games and helped the Tigers reach BCS No. 1 in 2007. Finished his career as the school's all-time leader in total offense. Threw for 12,515 yards and 101 touchdowns in three years as a starter. Finished fourth in Heisman voting in 2007.

Tommie Harris, DT, Oklahoma: One of the greatest freshmen in Big 12 history. Won the Lombardi Award in 2003 and earned All-Big 12 and All-American first team honors in 2002 and 2003.

Derrick Johnson, LB, Texas: Made the All-Big 12 first team three times and finished his career with 458 tackles, 69 tackles for loss, 11 forced fumbles (nine in 2004) and nine interceptions. Won the Butkus Award and Nagurski Trophy in 2004.

Michael Bishop, QB, Kansas State: Became a starter at K-State after a junior college national title. Finished second in the 1998 Heisman voting to Ricky Williams and helped K-State to an undefeated regular season. Was 22-3 as a starter and accounted for 5,715 yards of total offense and 59 total touchdowns.

We're walking through each Big 12 team and identifying its most irreplaceable talent on the blog right now. He's the guy they can least afford to lose and the guy to whom an injury or departure would have the most effect.

Let's move on with Texas Tech.

More most indispensable players.

Most indispensable player: TE Jace Amaro

It's not the only reason, but you have to wonder about Texas Tech's record last season, don't you? With Amaro in the lineup during the regular season, Tech was 5-1 with a lopsided win against West Virginia that included five catches for 156 yards and a touchdown from Amaro.

However, he suffered a rib injury against the Mountaineers and Tech fell to just 2-4 the rest of the regular season before Amaro returned for the bowl game. A tougher schedule had a lot to do with that 2-4 stretch, but Tech's offense just wasn't the same without him. It was held to 24 points or less in losses to Texas, Kansas State and Oklahoma State. I don't believe the losses were solely because of Amaro, but his absence changed the offense. He's an impossible matchup for defenses at 6-foot-5 and 257 pounds. He knows how to use his body, he's got great speed and is unbelievably difficult to bring down in the open field. The Red Raiders simply don't have another player like him, and obviously makes him irreplaceable. We saw the results last season. Amaro was the best tight end in the Big 12 last season, but an injury kept him off the All-Big 12 team. He'll be the league's best tight end again this season, and if he can stay healthy, he won't have much competition for that first-team spot. No question about this one: This season, Amaro is Tech's most irreplaceable talent.

David Ubben says defensive inexperience and an underrated receiving corps is Oklahoma's reason for hope and concern in 2013.

There's been so much talk about where Wes Lunt can't go in the past few days, there hasn't been much attention shed on where he will go. Colleague Joe Schad has an update.

Former Oklahoma State quarterback Wes Lunt took an unofficial visit to Illinois at the end of last week and is sincerely considering transferring there, sources familiar with his option said Monday.

Lunt is considering Illinois because he grew up an Illini fan and he believes the spread offense operated by offensive coordinator Bill Cubit is a good fit.

Lunt also has a relationship with coach Tim Beckman. Illinois is selling the fact that Lunt could potentially succeed a senior starter and that he could help turn around a program in front of his home-state fans.

Helping reboot that program under Beckman, a former Oklahoma State defensive coordinator, would be a nice fit for Lunt, though the Illini are far from a Big 12 power. Champaign, Ill., is about 90 miles from Lunt's hometown of Rochester.

FriendZone might be the most brutal show on TV.

• Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman has some Longhorn Network updates, thoughts on Wes Lunt and more.
• Limiting Lunt's options is a bad look for Mike Gundy, writes Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman. Former OSU OC Todd Monken says Lunt should have stayed in Stillwater.
• TCU coach Gary Patterson sat down for an interview with a man I'm sure you've all heard of.
• WVU got a nice boost when WR Ivan McCartney came back and rejoined the team. Mike Casazza of the Charleston Daily Mail has the report.
• Jason Kersey of The Oklahoman talked to coaches and players about the suspended recruiting proposals, and writes about OU's search for size at receiver.
• Kansas' Toben Opurum's career thus far is pretty much the craziest thing ever.
• Bob Stoops has agreed to play a celebrity golf event.
• Matt Tait of the Lawrence Journal-World writes about KU's graduating players.
• Former Kansas State quarterback Collin Klein still believes he can be a quarterback at the next level, writes Jeff Legwold of the Denver Post.
• The Lubbock Avalanche-Journal has a look at some future Red Raiders.
• Gina Mizell of The Oklahoman looks at OSU's efforts to recruit out west.

Mel Kiper is walking through his top players nationally at each position, and his latest piece put the microscope on defensive tackles .

No Big 12 players made Kiper's top five, but a pair from the conference cracked the top 10. TCU's Chucky Hunter was overshadowed by Devonte Fields and Stansly Maponga last season, but he's No. 7 on Kiper's list. Kiper says he's ready for a breakout year and moves extremely well for a 6-foot-1, 305-pounder from Louisiana.

Oklahoma State's Calvin Barnett grew up a lot last season and makes an appearance at No. 10. I believed Barnett was already one of the league's best defensive linemen, and Kiper agrees. He thinks Barnett will be in for a big year now that there's no need for adjustment from the junior college game, where he spent his first two seasons before starting for the Cowboys last season.

Barnett got off to a rough start with a run of personal fouls in a frustrating road loss to an average Arizona team last season, but after a talk with Mike Gundy, didn't make those same mistakes much the rest of the season. The 6-foot-2, 300-pounder was a big-time recruit coming out of high school, and only improved his physical skills after having to play juco ball. He's a handful for offensive lines, and don't be surprised if he's in the mix for the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year in 2013.

Delvon Simmons' road to Texas Tech was complicated, but his stay was short.

He's elected to transfer, according to multiple reports, leaving a void in the middle of Texas Tech's defensive line. Simmons won a starting job last season and made 27 tackles with six tackles for loss and two sacks.

Simmons, a 6-foot-5, 290-pounder from McKeesport, Pa., came to Texas Tech as a four-star recruit and the No. 3 player in his state. He signed with North Carolina originally, but never played. Tommy Tuberville's staff in Lubbock got Simmons to make the big move from Pennsylvania to West Texas in his 2011 recruiting class.

He would have been a junior this season and showed some promise, but can't seem to catch a break when it comes to coaching changes. He's got tons of talent, but wanted to leave UNC after his position coach took a job in the NFL. Now, another coaching change has him looking elsewhere.

It's not great timing for Texas Tech's defense, who won't find many others on the depth chart with Simmons' physical gifts. He didn't live up to the hype at Tech yet, but he definitely was on the right track. We'll see if he can reboot his career elsewhere. Junior Jackson Richards was behind Simmons on Tech's post-spring depth chart. Look for him to slide up into a starting role.

Simmons, who has two years of eligibility left, will have to sit out the 2013 season if he goes to an FBS school. CBS reported reported Simmons planned to visit USC.

Mike Gundy endured a whole lot of criticism over the weekend when news broke that he was limiting where quarterback Wes Lunt can play out the rest of his promising career.

Lunt eyed five finalists -- Southern Miss, Tennessee, Vanderbilt, Illinois and Louisville -- but multiple reports surfaced that Gundy wouldn't allow Lunt to leave for Southern Miss or any SEC schools, which eliminated three of Lunt's options. Former Oklahoma State offensive coordinator Todd Monken -- an Illinois native like Lunt -- is preparing for his first season as Southern Miss' head coach.

The Tulsa World reported Lunt wouldn't be allowed to transfer to any Pac-12 schools or future opponent Central Michigan. OSU preventing Lunt from going to any Big 12 schools or future opponents is par for the course. A high percentage of high-profile transfers are blocked from leaving for schools their current program is likely to play in the future in either conference or nonconference play.

The situation is still in flux, but while Lunt's still deciding what to do -- the World also reported that Lunt's family is considering an appeal of the restrictions -- here's a few thoughts:

• Gundy declined a request from ESPN.com for an interview, statement or explanation through a spokesman, who said the issue is "between him and Wes."
• It's not surprising to see Gundy catch a whole lot of criticism. Some of it's deserved, but here's the scenario I see in which Gundy's position is most defensible: Lunt comes to him and asks for a transfer at the end of spring, saying he'd like to be closer to home. Gundy says yes, but wants to make sure that's the real reason why Lunt is leaving. In that case, leaving for the SEC or Pac-12 obviously would not make sense, but it doesn't behoove Gundy to come out in public and explain that Lunt either lied to him or changed his mind in the process of deciding where to go. That makes sense. Is that what actually happened? We may never know.
• Even if that's the case, I still say the negatives outweigh the positives here for Gundy. Even if Lunt did change his mind about being closer to home, the perception is that Gundy's being unnecessarily stingy. I see two reasons why Gundy could do what he did in scenarios other than the one I described above: One, because it sets a dangerous precedent to allow players to follow assistants to other schools if they leave. Two, other schools telling Lunt they'd love to have him before he'd decided to transfer -- aka tampering -- might get back to Gundy, and it seems banning Lunt from going there is fitting retribution. It doesn't behoove Gundy to go public with that information. The latter is possible, but if you've got players skipping town after assistants leave, there's something wrong with your program. OSU has had several assistant coaches leave for better jobs in just the past three years alone (Robert Gillespie, Joe DeForest, Dana Holgorsen, Monken) and we haven't seen any players elect to follow them, so I don't buy that as a legitimate worry. OSU's a healthy program in good shape and building in the right direction. Lunt was the only OSU player on the roster from Illinois, though, and obviously had something of a bond with Monken, who maintained in an interview with The Oklahoman that he hasn't had contact with Lunt since he decided to transfer. Monken also said Lunt's best option was to stay at OSU and compete. I agree. Still, Gundy can't be worried about Lunt coming back somehow in a game against OSU with Southern Miss, who went 0-12 a year ago.
• To clarify: Lunt can go anywhere he wants to next season, but Gundy's limitations mean he would have to pay his first season on campus, and couldn't be put on scholarship at another school without a release from OSU.
• I don't buy two criticisms levied against Gundy, though: One, that he's worried Lunt could go to an SEC school and come back and beat the Cowboys. Two, that somehow Gundy's flirtations with Tennessee last offseason have anything to do with his decision in Lunt. The latter couldn't be a more different situation than Lunt's and Gundy, after all, elected to stay. One is possible, but knowing Gundy and his attitude like I do, I don't buy that it's a concern big enough to be the reason he's blocking Lunt from leaving for an SEC school.
• It definitely feels a little unfair to Lunt, but with neither side opening up about many details, it's hard to draw a lot of concrete truth. Still, it's hard to believe the costs for Gundy and OSU of letting Lunt go wherever he wanted to go outweigh the PR hit his program endured in the court of public opinion (and, perhaps, the recruiting trail). I don't get it.

A list of Wes Lunt's five possible future destinations surfaced earlier this week, but Oklahoma State is limiting more than half of them.

From colleague Joe Schad:

Former Oklahoma State quarterback Wes Lunt's release will not allow him to transfer to Southern Miss, Tennessee or Vanderbilt, according to several people briefed on the decision.

Lunt had been considering transferring to all three schools, a person familiar with his plans told ESPN this week. He can still visit and consider the other two schools on his list, Illinois and Louisville, sources said.

CBS earlier reported that Oklahoma State had trimmed Lunt's list.

See the full story for more.

Thanks for all the e-mails this week. Good to hear from you. Here's where you can reach me if you've got more to say.

Mike in Overland Park, Kan. writes: Hey Dave, regarding your "10 best Big 12 players ever" list -- I guess I should have known it would basically be a TX/OU All-Star team. How about a list of 10 best players NOT on TX/OU?

David Ubben: Well, yeah, Mike. I don't know what you expected. Such is life in the Big 12, which Texas and Oklahoma have dominated for most of its history. Off the top of my head, here's how I'd rank the top 10 players in Big 12 history who didn't play for Texas or Oklahoma:

1. Ndamukong Suh
2. Robert Griffin III
3. Tavon Austin
4. Justin Blackmon
5. Troy Davis
6. Darren Sproles
7. Grant Wistrom
8. Michael Crabtree
9. Eric Crouch
10. Chase Daniel

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Dave in Dallas writes: How does the Big 12 stop from becoming the Big East? Does it need to have the normal 8 teams fall apart and let UT and OU battle for the top while 3rd place has 7 wins. It isn't very interesting but it seemed everyone was happy when it was a TOP HEAVY conference especially when the winner of the North would be a 9-3 or 8-4 team. Do you think that the loss of Nebraska and now the resurgance of a lost A&M is now weighing on Texas/OU and the overall strength of the conference?

DU: I don't think that's a fair assessment. And I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "becoming the Big East." The Big 12 has two of college football's biggest brands, which the Big East hasn't had since Miami and Virginia Tech left, and both Texas and Oklahoma are bigger brands than both.

As for the Big 12's recent parity, part of it has been Oklahoma and Texas sliding a bit, but you're underrating how much the rest of the Big 12 has grown. Oklahoma State and Baylor are stronger than they've ever been since the Big 12's birth, and you could make an argument for Iowa State as well. WVU is spinning their wheels a bit, but they could bounce back in 2014. Texas Tech is trending in the right direction. The loss of Nebraska and Texas A&M is huge. No doubt about that. Texas A&M's growth -- or at least the speed at which it occurred -- was largely unpredictable. Nebraska hasn't done a lot since leaving the Big 12. Would the league love to have both back if some of the recent history was erased? Sure. But the Big 12 is far from being doomed to having a reputation like the Big East. For now, the Big 12 has a great case as the best conference behind the SEC, and as I've written over and over again, the gap isn't as wide as some might think.

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Mark Messick in Nashville, Tenn. writes: I get that Stoops is trying to fight for spots in future football four's to keep what happened to okie state from happening again. but as bad as we've played against SEC teams for the last 10 years, it really comes off as being whiney. Am I missing somthing or does he have another agenda that isn't being discussed?

DU: You make some good points, Mark. For one, I do think Stoops is motivated by knowing the playoff is around the corner, and the SEC's reputation is going to benefit it. I also agree that 1) he has something of a point and 2) the way in which he chose to express it didn't come off like he would have liked. Dropping the term "propoganda" will rarely work out well for you. Like I said, too, seeing how his team has performed against the SEC the last few times they've faced a team from there, his complaints didn't hit home like he would have wanted.

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Marty in Manhattan, Kan. writes: Hey Ubben... were you aware that Kliff Kingsbury has a superbowl ring??? How have you gone this long with writing an article about it?

DU: I am, and I mentioned it several times when he got hired. Coincidentally, he earned a ring with the Patriots in 2003 with his new peer, Kansas coach Charlie Weis, as his offensive coordinator. That's quite an odd connection. Still, he was the No. 3 quarterback on that team. That was 10 years ago. I'm sure you'll see more stories on that when Texas Tech preps to play Kansas, but it's a pretty crazy bit of Big 12 coaching trivia.

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Lance Casey in Suwanee, Ga. writes: David, Was there any talk about Oklahoma State redshirting Wes Lunt? Especially if Daxx Garman showed enough in the Spring that he could be number 2 or 3 QB. This way they are 3 deep even though Wes is waiting 1 year. He has to wait 1 year anyway if he goes to another D1 school. Thanks for your feedback

DU: You definitely heard that as a possibility if Clint Chelf won the job, and I think it would have worked out well for OSU if everybody would have stayed healthy, but for a young quarterback not anywhere close to home, asking him to sit out a year after winning a starting job a year earlier is tough to do. I don't think Garman would have had anything to do with the decision. You're forgetting about J.W. Walsh. I don't think OSU would have hesitated to pull the redshirt if Chelf had gotten hurt, but who knows how Lunt would have felt about that gamble?

I can't blame the guy for leaving, but I'm sure OSU hates to see him go. I'm expecting him to do big things wherever he ends up.

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Brad in Fort Worth writes: Where do you see Wes Lunt transfering to?

DU: My money is on Illinois, where he'd play for former Oklahoma State DC Tim Beckman and help him build the Illini program back up to where it was when Juice Williams, Rashard Mendenhall and Ron Zook somehow earned a Rose Bowl bid.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Iowa State faithful when I asked what their most important game in 2012 was, but I wasn't surprised to see a rivalry game against an average at best Iowa team earn 32 percent of the vote.

The biggest earner, however, was Iowa State's Thursday night game against Texas, which received 36 percent of the vote.

The Cyclones' home game against Oklahoma State was in third with 17 percent of the vote, but I was surprised Tulsa (nine percent) and Kansas (six percent) didn't earn a bit more of the vote.

Me? I'm with the fans on this one. Iowa State needs big wins and needs exposure, and it will get both in a Thursday night game against Texas. I've said for a long time that Jack Trice Stadium is an underrated venue, and it will be on display on national television against the Longhorns.

Can the team hold up its end of the bargain? I remember back in 2011 the Cyclones raced to a 3-0 start with three fourth-quarter comebacks led by quarterback Steele Jantz, and hosted a top 20 Texas team. It got rocked, trailing 34-0 at halftime of the 37-14 loss. That kind of thing can't happen this season. It took the air out of the stadium in Ames, and did more harm than good.

Looking back on that adds some gravity to the Cyclones' game. Yes, it's an opportunity, but it's a risk, too. Texas could come to Ames undefeated, and a lopsided loss gives everyone in the Big 12 and the country reason to dismiss ISU as a program to respect.

Win, and that's another win against a top 10 team on Paul Rhoads' resume, and a chance for ISU to earn a reputation as a team capable of building beyond just six and seven-win seasons, and taking that famed "next step" as a program. A win against Texas could be the key to making that happen, and to me, that makes it the most important game of 2013.

HornsNation
From Max Olson and William Wilkerson : In this week's edition of The Heard, Texas has made a jump for ESPN 150 defensive back Arrion Springs.

From the HornsNation staff : Which team on Texas’ 2013 schedule should fans worry about most and why?

From Sean Adams : What are the chances Tyrone Swoopes becomes the backup quarterback this season? More in Sean Adams' weekly mailbag.

More from Wilkerson : Class of 2015 cornerback Kendall Sheffield bonds with Texas coach.

SoonerNation
From Bob Przybylo: Ohio offensive lineman Alex Dalton commits to OU over Stanford, Arkansas, Indiana and Nebraska.

More from Przybylo : In this week's Sooner Intel, is OU out of the race for four-star safety John Bonney?

More from Przybylo : 2014 in-state receiver Jalen Adams talks about his interest in OU.

David Ubben is talking Devonte Fields, rivalries, and recruiting trail in this week's Friday Four Downs in the Big 12.

• West Virginia QB Chavas Rawlins enrolled early and came to Morgantown this spring, but he's already transferring. Odd move there.
• Was Ohio State AD criticizing or complimenting Iowa State with his recent comments?
• Charlie Weis is looking to give KU fans reason to believe, writes Taylor Eldridge of the Wichita Eagle.
• Jason Kersey of The Oklahoman writes about Oklahoma OC Jay Norvell's wife's battle against the disease she's fought her whole life.
• Former Texas QB Vince Young tells Bruce Feldman of CBS Sports that getting his degree this weekend will top winning a national title.
• A couple folks from the Dallas Morning News say the Cowboys could use Collin Klein. Interesting idea from Kevin Sherrington.
• Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury sat down for an interesting Q&A with the paper in Amarillo.