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HornsNation has more coverage of the Texas Longhorns:

Carter Strickland writes: The numbers have been crunched and the math shows that Texas needs more big plays for its offense to be successful.

Adrian Colbert Q&A: Incoming freshman safety Adrian Colbert talks about how he plans on balancing track and football at Texas.

Time to wrap up our series breaking down each team's best and worst positions entering the 2012 season. West Virginia will bring up the rear.

More spring superlatives:

• Baylor
• Iowa State
• Kansas
• Kansas State
• Oklahoma
• Oklahoma State
• Texas
• TCU
• Texas Tech

Strongest position: Wide receiver

The Big 12 has exactly zero returning 1,000-yard receivers in 2012, thanks to Texas A&M's SEC defection. All four 1,000 receivers from 2011 will be in the NFL (Justin Blackmon, Ryan Broyles, Kendall Wright) or the SEC (Ryan Swope).

West Virginia, though, returns two. Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin will start the season as the Big 12's top two receivers, and there's a pretty good chance they'll end the season in the same place. Quarterback Geno Smith is arguably the Big 12's best, and the offense returns eight starters entering Year 2 of Dana Holgorsen's high-powered attack. That's a good sign for Bailey and Austin, a pair of dynamic playmakers. WVU's entire offense is based around getting them the ball, and as long as they stay healthy, both are more than capable of getting open.

Weakest position: Pass-rushers

West Virginia loved watching feel-good story Bruce Irvin hear his name called in the first round of the NFL draft, but it also brings the focus on a stark realization for the Mountaineers: They need a lot of help with the pass-rush. Irvin is gone, but so is fellow defensive end Julian Miller and linebacker Najee Goode. Those were the team's three leading sackers, and leave behind 19 sacks in 2011 that the Mountaineers have to replace in 2012.

They'll do it in a new league with faster offenses and smarter, better quarterbacks. They'll also be breaking in a brand-new scheme. The 3-4 is a big departure from the 3-3-5 that much of the defensive recruits signed up to play when they came to West Virginia. That's an adjustment that won't be quick, but new coordinators Joe DeForest and Keith Patterson worked all spring on installing the system and making sure players can play fast with minimal thinking. Expect a few growing pains early. Everything looks better on defense when you have a disruptive pass-rush, but there are plenty of reasons to believe that element might not be there for WVU in the immediate future.

We're higher up here, so the sun's electricity is stronger.

• Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman has more on the advantages of the round-robin schedule.
• Oklahoma State compiled every single touchdown pass from Brandon Weeden to Justin Blackmon. Very cool. OSU folks will love it.
• West Virginia will allow multi-year scholarships, reports Mike Casazza of the Charleston Daily Mail. Casazza also stopped by to discuss all things West Virginia with the Solid Verbal boys' podcast.
• Blair Kerkhoff of the Kansas City Star weighs in on the prospect of Big 12 expansion.
• Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram offers an update on the stadium construction at TCU. Photos and video included.

Three Texas players and one former player are facing misdemeanor charges after being briefly detained in Austin on Monday.

Current Longhorns Kenny Vaccaro, Alex Okafor, Barrett Matthews and former UT player Eryon Barnett were arrested and charged with failure to obey, a misdemeanor, on the 300 block of West Sixth Street.

Barnett, who elected to transfer in April, was also charged with failure to properly identify himself, which is a felony.

We'll know for sure when more details emerge, but based on the buzz surrounding the incident, I wouldn't expect a suspension for any of the players if "failure to obey" is the only charge they face. Check in for some extra conditioning and move on.

Vaccaro took to Twitter on Monday night and didn't seem too distressed about the incident.

"Everything is all good. Nothing happened.. Total misunderstanding," Vaccaro wrote. "Won't be standing in line for pizza ever again!"

This time last year, we broke down who in the Big 12's would most likely hit the benchmarks for their positions in 2011. The quarterbacks came first.

Here's what I wrote then.

The clear line designating the best at the position is 3,000 yards. Plenty will top the number, and some from the Big 12 will even hit 4,000 yards.

In 2011, 39 quarterbacks broke the 3,000-yard mark.

Well, it's time to grade the prediction.

I broke down all 10 teams' prospects at having a 3,000-yard passer, but picked only six to do it.

1. Landry Jones, Oklahoma -- Jones topped 3,000 yards as a freshman filling in for an injured Sam Bradford in 2009 and had 4,718 yards last season, almost 500 yards more than anyone else in the Big 12. He also had the most attempts of any quarterback in college football. It's safe to say he's got this.

Final yardage tally: 4,463 yards

Thoughts: Easy pick here. Not much to say.

2. Brandon Weeden, Oklahoma State -- Weeden is probably a good bet to clear 4,000 yards, too. He had 4,277 last season and brings back a Biletnikoff Award winner at receiver in Justin Blackmon. He and Jones should be locked in a season-long battle for a spot as the first-team All-Big 12 quarterback, among other honors.

Final 2011 yardage tally: 4,727 yards

Thoughts: Weeden definitely won that battle with Jones, but RG3 surpassed even the highest expectations for him in 2011, winning the Heisman. Still, no contest on the 3,000-yard mark.

3. Seth Doege, Texas Tech -- Texas Tech has had a 3,000-yard passer for 11 consecutive seasons, the longest streak in college football. Coach Tommy Tuberville wants to run it more, but not that much more. Doege looks likely to slide into a spot as the next in line for two seasons.

Final 2011 yardage tally: 4,004 yards

Thoughts: His offense sort of crumbled around him thanks to injuries -- his top two running backs and receivers both missed significant time, and the offensive line was banged up, too -- but Doege did a great job continuing the quarterback tradition at Tech as a first-year starter.

4. Robert Griffin III, Baylor -- Griffin's 3,501 yards was his first 3,000-yard season, and he showed lots of development as a passer during his sophomore campaign. That should continue as a junior in 2011, and he's got a deep, talented receiving corps.

Final 2011 yardage tally: 4,293 yards

Thoughts: Well, undershot this one. We all knew RG3 had upside, but legitimate Heisman potential? He surprised us all with that one. He also helped Kendall Wright win the Big 12 receiving title, too.

5. Ryan Tannehill, Texas A&M -- Tannehill only had 1,638 yards last season, but he did it in just more than six games. With Jeff Fuller and a handful of other capable receivers, he should clear the mark easily in 2010.

Final 2011 yardage tally: 3,744 yards

Thoughts: Tannehill had his problems in 2011, namely throwing a league-high 15 interceptions and stumbling to a 7-6 record, but he was productive. He parlayed his season and a half of experience into a top-10 draft pick. Not bad. Fuller, though, was another story. We'll get to the receivers later.

6. Tyler Gabbert/James Franklin, Missouri -- I don't have much doubt that the pair will combine for at least 3,000 yards, but Missouri has a handful of solid running backs and both look like capable quarterbacks. If one struggles, the other could fill in and leave the Tigers without a 3,000-yard man at the helm.

Final 2011 yardage tally: 2,872 yards

Thoughts: Gabbert transferred just weeks after this was written, but Franklin took a hold of the job and played well as a sophomore. I knew he'd run and change Mizzou's offense a bit, but I'm not sure I expected him to run as much as he did (217 rushes). He handled it well, but it was surprising. He threw the ball 98 fewer times in 2011 (377 attempts) than Blaine Gabbert did in 2010 (475 attempts).

I didn't believe Texas, Iowa State, Kansas State or Kansas would have a 3,000-yard passer. None of them did. In fact, none of them even had a 2,000-yard passer, even though K-State and Kansas started the same quarterback in each game all season.

All things considered, how would you grade my picks?

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. -- At a recent practice, on the first play of a scrimmage, West Virginia's offense did what West Virginia's offense does: connected for a long pass play.

Echoing from the sidelines, though, were comments that brought a smile to co-defensive coordinator Joe DeForest's face, despite the struggles from the past play.

"Don’t worry about it. Don’t worry about it," teammates yelled. "Move on to the next one. Move on to the next one."

On the second play, the defense forced a sack.

"When kids start repeating what you’re saying out loud, you know they’re listening to you," DeForest told ESPN.com in a recent interview.

What West Virginia's coaches are saying out loud? A brand-new philosophy and culture for the defense.

The Mountaineers will encounter plenty of new faces, places and experiences in the Big 12, but it doesn't take a pigskin prodigy to see the biggest difference will come in the offenses WVU's defense will match up against.

West Virginia led the Big East in total offense in 2011, but only one other team (South Florida) ranked in the national top 60.

Meanwhile, the Big 12 had two of the nation's top three offenses, and six of the top 13. Missouri and Texas A&M were in the top 13 and will play in the SEC in 2012, but TCU brings the nation's No. 28 offense to the Big 12.

A new Mountaineer mindset was needed, and the spring in Morgantown was bent on pounding that into the defense.

"Guys that put their heads down when they give up a big play are going to be in for a long year when they get to the Big 12," coach Dana Holgorsen said. "You’ve got to develop that culture, which is taking place now."

There's no shame in giving up a big play, and nowhere on DeForest's list of goals is a ranking for total defense. After a decade at Oklahoma State, he's learned to focus on more applicable goals.

West Virginia's defense focuses on a three-letter acronym: EAT. DeForest demands Effort, Attitude and ... Turnovers.

"If we can create turnovers like I did at the previous place I was at, that gives you an advantage. It gives your offense possibly three more possessions a game than they would have," DeForest said. "Whether our numbers are good or not doesn’t really concern me. My numbers are wins and losses and how many turnovers we can get so our explosive offense can have another opportunity to score."

Oklahoma State forced 44 turnovers in 2011, six more than any other team in college football. Those wins and losses? The Cowboys went a hearty 12-1 and won the Big 12, even though they ranked 107th nationally in total defense.

Mission accomplished.

Every day in practice, co-coordinators DeForest and and Keith Patterson demand three turnovers from the defense, and the total number for the spring is compared to a goal set when the 15 practices began.

Not only are Big 12 offenses better, they're run at a faster pace. That means more plays for the defense, which requires DeForest and Patterson to develop more depth, while also making sure the players ready to play are better conditioned.

Four Big 12 teams ran at least 1,000 plays in 2011. Three more ran at least 972.

West Virginia ran 959 plays in 2011, but no other Big East team ran more than 944. Half the league ran fewer than 900.

More plays and better offenses means defenses better learn a new understanding of what to expect come Saturdays.

"It’s not about what happens, it’s about how you react to what happens. You’ve just got to forget the last play and move on to the next one, because the next one’s the most important one," DeForest said. "Whoever we’re playing, they’ve got good guys, too. They’re going to make a play. Just give ourselves a chance to play one more play. Get ‘em down and give ourselves a chance to create a turnover on the next play."

West Virginia's not only thinking differently, it's playing differently. The 3-3-5 that's been in place at West Virginia throughout its rise has been replaced by the 3-4 after coordinator Jeff Casteel left to follow former coach Rich Rodriguez to Arizona.

"We hired guys that understand how to stop our offense and how to play defense [against] an offense like this, which obviously exists in the Big 12 a lot," Holgorsen said. "It’s made us better offensively, because they know how to stop us, and those guys are doing a tremendous job on communicating how to get guys lined up quick, which you have to do when Baylor and Oklahoma are snapping that thing at 32 seconds on the play clock."

In the 3-4, offensive lines are pressed to communicate. Three defensive linemen are traditionally down in a stance, but offenses are ideally kept guessing where the fourth, fifth and sixth rushers will be coming from.

"The flexibility, what we have within our scheme, and our players can help us disguise and create confusion," DeForest said.

The means and attitude are different. The goal is the same.

"You can’t be moaning about what happened last. You’ve got to refocus and move on. Our kids are trying to do that," DeForest said. "Ultimately, it’s making one more stop than [the opponent] at the end of the game."

Sean Adams from HornsNation takes a look at the state of the Texas Football program. In this video, Sean looks at what it takes to develop a successful line of succession at the quarterback position.

Kansas named its three team captains last month, and one of them had never stepped on the field for a game as a Jayhawk.

It's a rarity, no doubt, but Jayhawks quarterback Dayne Crist earned the nod from his teammates in a vote.

"Anytime you can have a guy come in and he’s on campus for about five minutes and he’s already viewed at by his peers as the leader of the team, that is saying volumes about the situation," coach Charlie Weis said.

It says volumes, sure. It's not all good, though.

"On the negative end, it means that you’re lacking leadership," Weis said. "On the positive end, it means you have somebody who brings leadership to the team."

For now, Kansas has that.

Crist will be a fifth-year senior who has already bounced back from two serious knee injuries, a torn ACL in 2009 and a ruptured patellar tendon in 2010.

He appeared in four games in 2011 at Notre Dame, but was benched as starter after the first game. After the season, he elected to follow Weis to Kansas for a second chance in a much different environment.

Last year's starter, Jordan Webb, transferred and Crist has been installed as the Jayhawks' starter from the beginning of spring practice.

His teammates' response has made one thing clear: He's out to prove something in his new home.

For Weis, it's a welcome development.

"When you can bring in a guy that has that type of character and that type of leadership and have other players see this is the way things should be done," Weis said, "it just makes your job that much easier."

MORGANTOWN, W. Va. -- West Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen could list plenty of advantages of leaving the Big East for the Big 12.

The Mountaineers will be cashing bigger checks. They'll cash in on fan excitement for newer, big-name opponents making their way to Morgantown, too.

But for Holgorsen, what excites him most is making sure his players get a chance to be recognized for their efforts as deserved.

"Having guys like Tavon Austin and Geno [Smith] be in front of that many more eyes, they’ll get the credit they deserve if they can produce and win football games," Holgorsen said.

West Virginia played each of its 13 games in 2011 on television, but the television exposure gap between the Big East and Big 12 is large.

"We understand the exposure, although it was limited to the Northeast," Holgorsen said. "The thing that I’m excited about for West Virginia, and not only football but basketball and the university and the state is the Big 12 is viewed West Coast to East Coast because of the time zone."

The Big East can put games on TV, but as a league that's struggled to consistently field top-25 teams in recent years, it can't make fans watch.

One game in 2011 influenced public opinion about West Virginia more than any other. When people think West Virginia in 2011, the lasting image will be its 70-point explosion in the Orange Bowl win over Clemson.

That's closer to what West Virginia can expect in the Big 12, versus its weekly viewing audience in the Big East.

Time to continue our series breaking down each team's best and worst positions entering the 2012 season. Texas Tech is up next.

More spring superlatives:

• Baylor
• Iowa State
• Kansas
• Kansas State
• Oklahoma
• Oklahoma State
• Texas
• TCU

Strongest position: Quarterback

Seth Doege had a really strong start last year, pacing himself alongside the Big 12's best quarterbacks and setting the NCAA single-game record for completion percentage against New Mexico. Offensively, Doege can make it all run. Last year, it all just crumbled around him. His top two running backs got hurt. His best receivers couldn't stay healthy and receiver Alex Torres suffered a major knee injury late in the year.

When it was all over, Doege was third in the Big 12 in passing yards per game and topped 4,000 yards. Not bad, even though Tech stumbled to a 5-7 season. OC Neal Brown was really happy with what Doege did, the Red Raiders just had to rely on him too much. Putting up 28 touchdown passes to 10 interceptions is nothing to shrug off.

Weakest position: Linebacker

The good news? Tech knows who its best linebacker is. The bad news? He's a lightly recruited juco transfer named Will Smith who came in and made a huge impact. The Red Raiders found a good one in Smith, who could start for a lot of teams, but he illustrates the point that Tech had the league's worst linebacking unit in 2011.

New coordinator Art Kaufman is charged with revitalizing the unit. Coach Tommy Tuberville is moving back to the 4-3, where he's more comfortable, and moving away from the 4-2-5. We'll see if Daniel Cobb can help Smith, who won the middle linebacker job in the spring, make the defense look a lot better in 2012.

Now, that's what I call a SuperMoon.

• Bob Bowlsby's the Big 12's new man, and he talks a big game, but will he be Texas' man, too? Kirk Bohls of the Austin American-Statesman examines the issue. Bowlsby earned plenty of praise after his introductory news conference on Friday. If you want the Big 12 to stabilize, you better hope it's deserved praise, writes Kevin Haskin of the Topeka Capital-Journal.
• The Big 12 just got a new commissioner, but the Big East sounds like it's now on the market for a new head man.
• Matt Hayes of Sporting News ranks the Big 12 coaches from top to bottom. I'm sure you'll all agree.
• New Oklahoma State quarterback Wes Lunt is trying to keep life as normal as possible. Gina Mizell of The Oklahoman explains how.
• NFL.com takes you behind the scenes of Justin Blackmon's draft night. Cool stuff here.
• Cole Manbeck of the Manhattan Mercury introduces you to the newest QB at K-State who impressed at the spring game: Tay Bender.
• A judge refused to dismiss a civil suit against Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville.
• Matt Tait of the Lawrence Journal-World offers an update on the tight competition at receiver at Kansas. He also catches up with ex-Jayhawk tight end Tim Biere, who maneuvered his way through the world of undrafted free agency into a contract with the hometown Chiefs.
• Receiver Michael Harrison's future at OSU (or not) looks like it's getting even cloudier.
• Oklahoma offensive lineman Donald Stephenson is living a dream after being drafted by the Kansas City Chiefs.
• This story is insane.
• Loud noises!
• Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt offers his thoughts on the new Big 12 commissioner.
• Could a new stadium revitalize tourism in Waco?

HornsNation has more coverage of the Texas Longhorns:

Jalen Overstreet Q&A: In HornsNation's ongoing final look at the 2012 recruiting class, the Tatum, Texas, QB discusses why he isn't worried about redshirting or the logjam at the position.

Building depth at QB : Sean Adams looks at the issues facing Texas in 2012. In this edition, Adams looks at why Texas must redshirt and strategically build its QB depth, not just for next season, but the future.

William Wilkerson writes : It took longer than expected, but with his commitment, CB Antwuan Davis finally gets to take his place in Texas' 2013 recruiting class.

More Wilkerson : WR Robbie Rhodes picked up an offer from Texas over the weekend.

Washington Redskins coach Mike Shanahan spent plenty of time with Baylor Heisman winner Robert Griffin III before selecting him with the second overall pick of April's NFL draft.

He spent enough and saw enough to leave no doubt about where RG3 stands as a Redskin entering his first season.

"He's the starter. Period," Shanahan said.

Griffin took part in his first rookie minicamp for 90 minutes on Sunday, but when he takes part in offseason workouts with the rest of the team later this month, he'll be the starter.

After drafting Michigan State quarterback Kirk Cousins in the draft, too, it's necessary for Shanahan to make that clear. Griffin will be ahead of Rex Grossman, too.

Shanahan said the Redskins didn't go through all the trouble to get Griffin -- trading three first-round picks and a second-rounder to the St. Louis Rams for the No. 2 overall spot -- just to have him play backup. The coach said he made the decision even before the three-day minicamp.

"We're going to adjust our system to what he feels comfortable with," Shanahan said, "and we'll watch him grow and we'll do what we feel like he can do and what he does the best. ... One thing the NFL is not used to is a quarterback with his type of speed and his type of throwing ability, so I think we can do some things that people haven't done."

Anybody else pretty excited to see what that means?

Griffin noted, though, that there's no friction between himself and Cousins.

"We went over the playbook together. There's no issues there," he said. "We're both out there trying to get better, so we're cool. We ate a burrito together."

"Not the same burrito," he added with a laugh. "Just to clear that up."

Today, we'll kick off a new series on the Big 12 Blog pegging the single player each team in the Big 12 can't afford to lose. He's also the player that will be most responsible for the team's ultimate success. We'll start from the bottom of the alphabet for this one. First up, those 'Eers out East.

Most indispensable player: QB Geno Smith

2011 stats: Completed 346-of-526 passes (65.8 percent) for 4,385 yards, 31 touchdowns and seven interceptions.

Why West Virginia can't afford to lose him: Geno's simply the man who makes it all go for West Virginia. You'll see a lot of quarterbacks on this list from the Big 12, and Smith has arguably the league's top receiving corps, but it's his decision-making and arm that hold the offense together. Like many others, he blew up in his first year in Dana Holgorsen's offense, throwing for 1,600 more yards than his sophomore season in 2010. Despite throwing the ball nearly 150 more times, Smith still threw just seven interceptions in 2011, the exact same he threw in 2010. He's efficient, smart and does exactly what Holgorsen's offense is designed to do: get the ball in the hands of his playmakers. In Tavon Austin and Stedman Bailey alone, Smith has plenty. That's not even considering the solid depth WVU has in the rest of its receiving corps.

Paul Millard would be Smith's backup, but there's no question, Smith has to stay healthy. Without him, WVU would go from a Big 12 title contender to what's likely a middling eight-win team. Heisman voters know that, too. If Smith puts up more big numbers in 2012 and WVU wins 11 or so games, Smith's going to be a very, very serious candidate for the most hallowed individual award in sports.