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Sean Adams writes : History is telling Mack Brown that you can succeed with two QBs. However, the present climate begs to differ. If history wins out, is that the best thing for the Longhorns?

Carter Strickland writes: David Ash is learning to protect the football. He's learning the scheme, too. And as spring progresses, his confidence is growing.

Thanks for all the questions this week. The last two have been a little odd without a Saturday of games to look forward to. Here's where you can try with a better question if you didn't make it in this week's Mailbag.

Phillip Shoultz in Bartlesville, Okla., asked: With Landry Jones struggles through much of this season, do you expect him to return next year? I'd have to think he wants another year to show his value to scouts?

David Ubben: Well, let's back it up a bit. Jones wasn't as good in 2011 as he was in 2010, but I don't know if I'd go as far to say he "struggled." He didn't play well in Bedlam; this is clear. He still threw for more than 4,300 yards and 28 touchdowns, though he also had 14 picks. That last number is too high, but only one Big 12 quarterback threw for more yards, and Brandon Weeden and Robert Griffin III were the only Big 12 passers to throw more touchdown passes, despite Jones not having a single TD pass in his final three games. Jones played really well against Baylor and, considering the wind, Iowa State. Coach Bob Stoops lauded his play in that game, and generally I'd agree. His receivers hurt him with drops.

I think he'll end up coming back, and as I wrote earlier this week, he should.

Jones has all the measurables. He's a big guy who has added mass since he was a freshman, and he's got a big arm. His mechanics are solid. He's a smart guy, even if he's not necessarily a fiery leader. That stock would rise once he got to the scouting combine.

But Jones regressed this season, for whatever reason. And he continues to falter in some pretty big moments. The thing that hurts him the most is following Sam Bradford. At another school, Jones would be so, so much more appreciated. But because Bradford is sort of the standard Jones is graded against, it's almost unfair. Weeden and RG3 are the only guys who have been better the past two years, and Jones outperformed RG3 last year.

Johnny in Oklahoma City asked: What about Mike Stoops for DC at TAMU?

DU: Stoops will (and does) have a lot of options, but I wouldn't make that hire if I were Kevin Sumlin. The Aggies need a defensive coordinator with a lot of SEC knowledge. Not a lot of guys on Sumlin's staff at Houston -- or Stoops -- have that. They need a guy that knows how to defend SEC offenses, which are obviously a lot different than what you'd see in the Big 12. They need a guy who knows what pieces are needed on defense to win in the SEC. They need a guy who knows how to scout that talent, and to teach his position coaches and other recruiters how to mine that talent.

Stoops is great, but he's not the right fit for Texas A&M.

D. Bergman in Shawnee, Kan., asked: Ubbs, after seeing some new nick names pop up for Collin Klein I decided to take on a step further and envision it. So here you go, King Kleinonidas.

DU: K-State fans are bringing it hard in the Mailbag the past two weeks. Optimus Klein asked me a question last week, and now this. I'm pretty impressed.

Daniel in Raleigh, N.C., asked: Hey David, I was just accepted to TCU and Baylor, which school will be better to go to for watching football over the next 4 years? I would definitely guess TCU, but if RG3 comes back then Baylor could be pretty fun next year. Also how do these two schools compare to my non Big 12 options over the next four years (University of South Carolina, Florida State, NC State, and SMU) Help me choose my college based on football!

DU: Some tough love here, Daniel: I don't know what's worse — choosing your school based on football, or asking me to help you choose your school based on football.

I've heard Ball So Hard University has a great work-study program, though.

Blake W. in Austin, Texas, asked: Hey David! Great blog and thanks for tweeting too. With all the running back talent expected to be at Texas next year, what are the odds Harsin/Applewhite bring out an option attack in the spring? A little wishbone redux perhaps?

DU: Co-offensive coordinators Bryan Harsin and Major Applewhite need to have some creativity. The fact is this: They're going to have a lot of great tailbacks, and not a proven quarterback. This isn't complex. Texas' offensive line was a lot better this season, but the Longhorns need to find a way to get Malcolm Brown, Joe Bergeron and incoming freshman Johnathan Gray all on the field at the same time, and not ask Case McCoy and/or David Ash/incoming freshman Connor Brewer to throw the ball 40-50 times per game. The Longhorns aren't built to win like that.

Maybe it's the wishbone or maybe it's the option. I like Harsin's ability to find a way to make it happen and get those guys on the field. Texas, though, will be a lot better the less it throws the ball. That's just the way its personnel is set up right now, barring a big transfer or someone showing a ton of progress in spring.

The University of Texas learned that scout Willie Lyles requested $3,000 from a Longhorns booster in February 2008 to ensure a recruit's campus visits.

Months later, in July 2008, it paid $15,000 for a one-year recruiting service from a company that employed Lyles.

Mike Fish of "Outside the Lines" reports:

[Texas co-offensive coordinator Major] Applewhite, according to documents, advised against making any payments and later made a statement to Texas compliance officials.

Nick Vionis, Texas' senior associate athletic director for communications, said Wednesday that university compliance officials contacted the NCAA with concerns about Lyles, though Vionis wasn't sure when or the extent of the conversation.

Billing records and invoices shed minimal detail on what Texas received for quarterly payments of $3,750. The most specific is a September 2008 invoice referencing UT as making payment for "Elite Scouting Services 2010 Book and Consultation.'' Vionis said it included "standard web-based recruiting information'' and "maybe a book.'' In its public records request fulfilled last week, "Outside the Lines" requested copies of the materials given to Texas by Elite, but nothing was provided.

"Once we confirmed there were issues surrounding him, we had no other dealings with him,'' Vionis said of Lyles. "We were committed to the service for one year. Once that commitment to Elite was fulfilled, we had no further dealings with him.''

See the full story here.

We'll be rolling out our preseason poll this week with five teams each day, kicking things off today.

Texas is the second Big 12 team to debut in the poll, checking in at No. 22.Our poll was put together based upon ballots submitted by 25 ESPN.com college football analysts, columnists and reporters, including yours truly.

After our poll is finished this week, I'll unveil my personal top 25 ballot on the blog.

TEXAS: In most places, a 5-7 season is considered a disappointment. Texas is not most places; in Austin, 5-7 is an unmitigated failure. Mack Brown overhauled his coaching staff after enduring the worst season in his Longhorns tenure and seeing his streak of 10-win seasons end at nine. Defensive coordinator Will Muschamp departed to fill Florida's head-coaching vacancy; he'll be replaced by Mississippi State's Manny Diaz. Bryan Harsin arrives from Boise State to run the offense alongside co-offensive coordinator Major Applewhite. They'll have their hands full revitalizing an offense that struggled showing any signs of life in 2010 with first-year starter Garrett Gilbert at QB. Will the growing pains of 2010 produce dividends in 2011? The Longhorns hope so.
-- Chris Fallica, College GameDay researcher

Spring football is in full swing. Three teams from the Big 12 (Texas Tech, Baylor, Texas) are already done, and the last team in the Big 12 to start (Kansas State) kicked off on Wednesday.

That leaves seven teams in the Big 12 on the field, but who's coaching them? We've had plenty of teams shift coordinators this season, so here's a quick refresher if you've been busy following basketball since the season ended and the coaching carousel began spinning.

BAYLOR

Defensive coordinator: Phil Bennett. He replaces Brian Norwood, who moved to associate head coach and secondary coach. Bennett was previously the defensive coordinator at Pittsburgh, where he coordinated the nation's No. 8 defense.

KANSAS

Offensive coordinator: David Beaty. He spent a year at Rice, but returned to Kansas to coach receivers and serve as co-offensive coordinator alongside Chuck Long. He replaces Darrell Wyatt, who left to coach receivers at Texas. Long retained play-calling duties.

OKLAHOMA

Offensive coordinator: Josh Heupel and Jay Norvell. They'll share offensive coordinator duties, with Heupel calling the plays. He did so during the Sooners' 48-20 win over Connecticut in the Fiesta Bowl. They'll replace Kevin Wilson, who left to become the head coach at Indiana. Heupel will continue to coach quarterbacks as he has since 2006. Norvell will continue to coach receivers as he has since 2008.

OKLAHOMA STATE

Offensive coordinator: Todd Monken. He'll replace Dana Holgorsen, who took over as offensive coordinator at West Virginia and is scheduled to replace Bill Stewart as the head coach in 2012. Monken previously coached receivers for the Jacksonville Jaguars.

TEXAS

Offensive coordinator: Bryan Harsin and Major Applewhite. Harsin spent a decade at Boise State and five years as offensive coordinator, and will replace Greg Davis, the longtime coordinator under Mack Brown who resigned after the 2010 season. Applewhite is the co-coordinator after coaching running backs since 2008, but Harsin will call plays.

Defensive coordinator: Manny Diaz. Another young coach, Diaz was at Middle Tennessee State in 2009 and coordinated the defense at Mississippi State under Dan Mullen last season. He replaces Will Muschamp, who left to become head coach at Florida.

TEXAS TECH

Defensive coordinator: Chad Glasgow. Previously the secondary coach at TCU, Glasgow helped the Horned Frogs win the Rose Bowl last year and parlayed his recent excellence into a coordinator gig in Lubbock, where he'll replace James Willis, who left the program in December, before the Red Raiders beat Northwestern in the inaugural TicketCity Bowl.

Plenty has been written about Texas' offseason overhaul, and plenty more will be written.

But as the Longhorns prepare to kick off spring practice, Football Outsiders' KC Joyner asks: Is Mack Brown restructuring his program around what Alabama great Bear Bryant once did to begin the 1970s?

He says Brown's offseason moves mirror what Bryant talked about in his autobiography. His moves resulted in three national championships during that decade after winning three in the 60s, sandwiched around a mediocre 28-15-2 record from 1967-70.

It's a fascinating read, but Joyner's argument hinges on three big connections.

1) Install a cutting edge offense

• Bryant went with the wishbone.
• Brown hired Bryan Harsin from Boise State.

"[Boise State] lined up in 26 formations against Wyoming and [Texas] lined up in six," co-offensive coordinator Major Applewhite said.

Sets and formations don't win games by themselves. But this type of offense could help quarterback juior Garrett Gilbert take the small steps necessary to play at the level of former Longhorns QB Colt McCoy.

2) Alter their recruiting philosophy

• Bryant moved from smaller linemen to bulkier linemen after being whipped up front by Nebraska in the Orange Bowl
• Texas has signed just one top-15 running back in their previous five classes. This year, the Longhorns got highly touted running Malcolm Brown, who ESPN has as the nation's No. 2 running back. The Longhorns hope he has a similar impact as Auburn's Michael Dyer and South Carolina's Marcus Lattimore did in their true freshman seasons in 2010.

3) Don't stray far from core principles

• Bryant won with smashmouth football, and lost trying to throw it. He went back to running it, just running it differently.
• Brown kept Applewhite as a co-coordinator, presumably to add some Texas influence into Harsin's Boise schemes. Applewhite has been in the program all but three seasons since 1998. First as a player, then as a graduate assistant before returning in 2008 to coach running backs. He knows what's given Brown success in the past, and while change is needed, a complete change isn't.

It's definitely an interesting thought to consider from Joyner. Oversimplified perhaps, considering the five coaching hires in the offseason that were a bit glossed over, but it still applies well. You need Insider to read it all, but you should. He digs a bit deeper into all three aspects of the change.

The moves worked well for Bryant, clearly.

Will it be the same for Texas?

Texas just finished signing its 2011 class, but a year and a few days later, its 2010 class is finally complete.

Tevin Jackson has been cleared by the NCAA and can enroll at the University of Texas in June.

Jackson came to UT as the nation's No. 6 linebacker and No. 86 overall recruit, but missed all of last season because of an issue with his high school transcript.

You might remember him from our look back at the ESPNU 150 signees across the Big 12. He was one of a staggering 15 for the Longhorns from their 2010 class.

According to a report in the Austin American-Statesman, Jackson received the news after his high school coach got a call from Texas' co-offensive coordinator, Major Applewhite.

"He just sat down. It was a feeling of disbelief, excitement, and relief all rolled into one," the coach told the paper. "Then he gave me a big hug. He had tears in his eyes."

The Garland, Texas native is 6-foot-2, 230 pounds, and made 198 tackles and 19 sacks over his final three seasons. He committed to the Longhorns in February of his junior year, so it's been a long wait, but Jackson will finally get his chance.

"We're really excited to have Tevin back," coach Mack Brown said. "He's a tremendous young man. We can't wait to get a chance to coach and work with. We appreciate his patience and commitment to handling this issue and are really looking forward to his arrival in June."

Here's what our ESPN scouts had to say about him:

"Jackson has great physical tools and some of the better vertical attacking skills in this linebacker class. A bit of a 'tweener as he lacks stout between-the-tackles run stopping skills and the fluidity you like to see in a true outside 'backer. In our eyes, he projects high as a strongside 'backer with the versatility to play inside, particularly with added size, strength and improved leverage."

A few notes and nuggets from the offseason weekend that was:

Before Mack Brown began his coaching search that eventually required him to make six offseason hires, he met with the Texas Board of Regents to discuss coaching salaries. It sounds like they were, uh, receptive to what he had to say.

After a shocking and disappointing 5-7 season in 2010, Brown's assistants received hefty raises. Brown is expected to meet with the media in Austin later today for the first time since the season finale, a home loss to Texas A&M. Texas already sat comfortably at the top of the heap in assistant coaches' pay, and these latest raises only accentuate that. No one is making what defensive coordinator Will Muschamp made ($907,000) in 2010, but you definitely won't hear any complaints coming from the football facilities any time soon.

Here's a breakdown of last year and this year's salary among the coaching staff, courtesy of the Austin American-Statesman.

Defensive coordinator

• 2011: Manny Diaz - $625,000 (made $260,000 at Mississippi State in 2009)
• 2010: Will Muschamp - $907,000 (took Florida head coach job)

Offensive coordinator

• 2011: Bryan Harsin (will call plays) - $625,000 (made $259,520 at Boise State in 2009)
• 2011: Major Applewhite (also coaches running backs) - $500,00 (made 269,509 in 2010)
• 2010: Greg Davis - $477,084 (resigned after season)

Tight ends

• 2011: Bruce Chambers - $200,000
• 2010: Bruce Chambers - $187,039

Defensive ends

• 2011: Oscar Giles - $200,000
• 2010: Oscar Giles - $162,451

Defensive backs

• 2011: Jerry Gray - $425,000 (previous NFL salary unknown)
• 2010 Duane Akina - $318,509 (left for Arizona)

Offensive line

• 2011: Stacy Searels - $425,000 (made 301,200 at Georgia in 2010)
• 2010: Mac McWhorter - $292,759

Receivers

• 2011: Darrell Wyatt - $315,000 (made 250,000 at Kansas in 2010)
• 2010: Bobby Kennedy - 212,519 (took receivers coach job at Colorado)

Life as a Longhorn right now? Well, last season's struggles aside, it's clearly pretty good.

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Huskers find a new kicker

Nebraska will need a lot of new faces on special teams, after punter/kicker Alex Henery and kickoff specialist Adi Kunalic both exhausted their eligibility following the 2010 season.

The Huskers had a commit for their 2011 class, Niklas Sade, but he decommitted and pledged to North Carolina State last month.

The solution: Nebraska went after Mauro Bondi, a Boca Raton, Fla. native and (former) Wake Forest commit who has an impressive YouTube highlight reel and sounds ready to replace Henery.

"I definitely followed him, so I have to live up to that and maybe do even better," he told the Lincoln Journal Star.

Bondi gives Nebraska 18 commits for its 2011 class. ESPN.com ranks the Huskers' class No. 14 nationally.

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Cowboys' top commit 'solid'

One player who doesn't sound like he's decommitting or recommitting anywhere is ESPNU 150 member and running back Herschel Sims, Oklahoma State's top commit.

The Cowboys' running backs coach, Robert Gillespie, left Oklahoma State to join former offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen at West Virginia. Sims had reportedly been wavering earlier in the recruiting season, but took his official visit to Stillwater in January and his high school coach told the Tulsa World that Sims is solid with the Cowboys and ready to sign on Wednesday, adding that there isn't "any doubt about it."

Texas commit Malcolm Brown, ranked as the nation's No. 2 running back and No. 7 overall recruit, says he's still firmly committed to the Longhorns.

The Longhorns former offensive coordinator, Greg Davis, resigned after the season and Texas hired Boise State offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin on Friday. Brown's future position coach, Major Applewhite, was named co-offensive coordinator as well, but Harsin will call the plays.

On Saturday, at the U.S. Army All-American Game, Brown told the Fort Worth Star-Telegram he's still confident in his decision made back in August to attend Texas.

"Everyone knew I was still committed to playing for the University of Texas," Brown told the paper. "I'm excited about going to Texas and playing for the new coaches. I've met some of the guys before, and it's going to be fun to play with them."

The 6-foot, 215-pounder managed just seven yards on three carries, but as one of the top players in the state of Texas, he was reportedly hounded by autograph seekers and fans throughout the weekend in San Antonio for the game.

Brown is expected to make an official visit to Texas next weekend.

Texas has hired Bryan Harsin as its offensive coordinator, the program announced on Friday evening.

Harsin comes to Texas after 10 seasons at Boise State, and served as the team's offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach for the past five seasons.

"When I heard from Coach Brown, I was flattered and excited," Harsin said in a release. "What a great opportunity to come to a place like Texas with its rich history and tradition. We've had success at Boise State over the years, but you look at a Texas and it has been a championship program for a long, long time and it's just one of those places you want to be a part of."

Harsin will serve as co-offensive coordinator with current running backs coach Major Applewhite, but Harsin will call the plays.

"Everyone knows of the appreciation I've had for [Broncos head coach] Chris [Petersen], Bryan and the Boise State offense for quite some time," Texas coach Mack Brown said. "They have had an unbelievable amount of success over the last several years and their offense has played a huge part in that. In my opinion, they've been one of the most innovative offenses in the country, and I enjoy watching them every chance I get."

Harsin, whose offenses helped Boise State go 61-5 over the past five seasons with a pair of undefeated seasons, will replace former coordinator Greg Davis, who resigned following the season.

"Bryan and Major working together gives us two of the best, young offensive minds in the country," Brown said. "They had a chance to visit quite a bit yesterday and they clicked immediately. They both have everything we want in a coach at Texas."

Will Muschamp was done being a coordinator anywhere but Texas. That was obvious.

But as a "coach-in-waiting" for one of the most plum college coaching jobs in America, there weren't many places that could convince him to leave Texas.

Florida was one of them.

Muschamp has a reputation as arguably the best defensive coordinator in college football and one of its best recruiters. He could have taken a head coaching job at any number of schools before Florida, but his wait and consistent excellence on the field and the recruiting trail have landed him a job just as prestigious as Texas.

And it comes without a wait. More than anything, that's what prompted Muschamp to make the move. Despite Texas' struggles, a renewed and invigorated Mack Brown was reigning over the Longhorns in 2010.

Brown had knee surgery in 2006 and told reporters at Big 12 media days in July that he felt "better than I’ve felt in years." Muschamp was still a handful of seasons or more from removing the "in-waiting" from his title.

Muschamp's contract didn't have a buyout, and the "coach-in-waiting" title was more to keep him in Austin than to keep others from taking him. The promise to hand over the reins was enough to keep him from hopping to jobs at schools like Pitt, Louisville, Miami or a number of other openings in the SEC.

There was little that would have kept him from saying yes to the Gators.

Florida athletic director Jeremy Foley clearly feels strongly about Muschamp.

"Coach Muschamp is someone we targeted from the beginning and he is the guy we wanted. He is the only person we met with and the only person we offered the job to," he said.

Florida will be getting everything it wanted in a coach. As a recruiter, look no further than Texas' 2011 class, which ranks No. 1 nationally and has four defensive members of the ESPNU150 currently committed. The recruiting pool will be just as deep in Florida.

It wanted a high-energy guy whom fans could get behind and be excited about.

Uh, check.

It takes only a short YouTube search to figure out the origin of Muschamp's nickname, "Coach Boom." And the Georgia alum fits Florida's final criteria: a coach who knows the SEC.

Muschamp gained his reputation while coordinating defenses at LSU and Auburn earlier this decade, sandwiched around a short stint with the Miami Dolphins.

Florida took a leap of faith by hiring the 39-year-old first-time head coach, but there may not be a coordinator in the country more ready for his first stint, even if it's at Florida. Remember, Oklahoma took a chance once, too. In 1999, it took a leap of faith on some 39-year-old guy named Bob Stoops who was coordinating the defense at Florida and had never been a head coach, either.

For Texas, a program already in relative unrest will find even more turbulence. Offensive coordinator Greg Davis resigned earlier this week, and the Longhorns lost a pair of position coaches and their special teams coordinator to retirement.

That leaves Brown without anyone to run his offense or defense, and Muschamp could take any number of coaches with him to Gainesville, including running backs coach Major Applewhite, who was on Texas' short list to succeed Davis as offensive coordinator.

"Our commitment remains that we will build the best coaching staff in the country and we will begin a nationwide search immediately for a new defensive coordinator," Brown said.

The Longhorns could go in any number of directions, but don't expect Brown to settle for promoting from within. The amount of talent on defense at Muschamp's disposal will go to the next guy, and there are plenty of coordinators who would jump at the chance to coach players like Keenan Robinson and Emmanuel Acho, both set to be seniors in 2011.

Brown said after his first round of coaches left that he has no plans to name replacements until after bowl season. If there was ever a year in which Texas is lucky not to be preparing for a bowl game, it's this one. Brown can focus now on his somewhat daunting coaching search(es) without worrying about a bowl flop.

As for losing some of those 23 commitments, Brown won't have much to worry about. Only two of those don't hail from Texas. The vast majority of high school players in Texas don't grow up dreaming of playing for Will Muschamp, Greg Davis or even Mack Brown. They dream of wearing the burnt orange.

The Longhorns might lose a few -- maybe even one or two to Florida -- but don't look for a mass exodus.

Texas will probably emerge out of this offseason in good shape. Top-notch facilities, talent, location and a winning tradition offer at least some assurance of that.

The next few weeks are crucial for Texas. There aren't many Will Muschamps left out there to be a coordinator. Brown, ideally, would like to find the next one.

But with so many other coaches leaving vacancies on Brown's staff, the only thing we know for sure is we'll see a different-looking Longhorns team when spring football opens in a few months.

If you missed today's chat, here's the full transcript.

And a few highlights you may have missed:

Tritonmonc in Houston asked: You probably won't answer this but here goes. Which receiver do you think will be the next stand out in the burnt orange ranks? Do you really think the new scheme is going to work? I have a hard time believing that our run game is just going to miraculously reappear. I think it's time for GD to retire and give the reigns to Applewhite. What do you think?

David Ubben: Of the ones on campus, I think Malcolm Williams has the best shot, but DeSean Hales looked pretty good in the spring game. The new freshman should bring in an interesting dynamic to fall camp, so watch out for Darius White and Mike Davis to make an impact, too. Marquise Goodwin is kind of a wild card in there--a guy who just won the national title on the long jump.

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Thad in Lincoln, Neb., asked: Nebraska is one the top 3-4 favorites to win the national championship this year, correct? With the studs we got we have to be.

DU: No way. I'm not real high on anyone in the Big 12 as a legitimate national championship contender right out of the gate. I think Oklahoma, Texas and Nebraska will be right there, but they have to fill in big holes to do it. Nebraska can't win unless they play offense like they did in the bowl win over Arizona. Oklahoma has to be better on the offensive line, and Texas has to find guys who can make plays with the ball. If that happens, all three teams might be title contenders. But for now, I think they're all borderline top 10 teams. A few spots inside or out make sense.

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Ryan in Lincoln asked: How awesome would it be if the (potentially) last Big 12 Championship game was Nebraska vs. Oklahoma?

DU: Ha, I'd rather see a Nebraska-Texas part two. I'm not sure there would be any greater irony in college football in the past decade than Texas going undefeated and beating NU in Lincoln, and then Nebraska knocking Texas out of the national title game in Dallas. And then they'd get to laugh about it for as long as they wanted, until they ran into the Longhorns in a bowl game or something.

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Brian in New York asked: Where does the new b12 fall in the conference pecking order? Undefeated b12, sec, and big10 team; who plays for the NC?

DU: That's going to be a year-to-year discussion that brings in each team's nonconference schedule. And how good Texas A&M and Missouri are in the future, along with teams like Texas Tech and Kansas will have an influence on that. But immediately, I'd have to slide the Big Ten over the Big 12.

The Big 12 had an eventful decade in the one that just concluded. Two national championships, seven trips to the BCS national title game and a spectator-friendly offensive attack earned the league much national notoriety.

But you haven’t seen anything yet.

With that in mind, I dusted off my crystal ball and looked ahead to see some of the major events that we could see during the upcoming decade.

• We’ll see some realignment in the league as Missouri leaves for the Big Ten and TCU is added to fill the Tigers' place. That move will give Big 12 leaders an excuse for realignment that eventually will be selected from a blind draw of plans at Big 12 commissioner Dan Beebe’s desk. The Osborne Division will have Nebraska, Colorado, Baylor, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Texas A&M. The Royal Division will give a home to TCU, Texas, Oklahoma, Iowa State, Kansas and Kansas State. After four years of play, that grouping will prove so unpopular that the old divisional format will be adapted with TCU joining the South Division and Oklahoma State moving to the North.
• Mike Leach eventually will return to the Big 12 – but this time as a television analyst. His quirky conversational style will be panned by the critics but embraced by fans. And he’ll also appear on television in a continuing role of his good friend Donald Trump’s series “The Apprentice.”
• After being rebuffed by the major television networks, the Big 12 and Pac-10 will strike out on their own with a television network jointly owned by both. It will give us a late game every Thursday night from the Pac-10, along with an early Big 12 game every Saturday at noon. The two conferences will share the prime Saturday afternoon programming window and games on Saturday night, building national awareness for both conferences.
• The most intriguing part of the Pac-10/Big 12 programming association will be the “Kickoff Classic,” a week-long start of the season where the Big 12 teams will meet their counterparts from the Pac-10 in a series of eight games each year. The series starts off with a bang when USC beats Texas in 2015 at the Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas, earning a measure of revenge for losing to the Longhorns in the national championship game in 2006.
• By that time, Will Muschamp will have taken over at Texas. Mack Brown will remain at Texas through the 2012 season, celebrating as Garrett Gilbert leads the Longhorns to the national championship with a victory over Ohio State in the BCS title game. After that game, Brown announces his resignation, with Muschamp taking over and naming Major Applewhite as his offensive coordinator and Kirby Smart as his defensive coordinator in his first series of personnel moves.
• Bob Stoops’ association with Oklahoma will end in the middle of the decade when he accepts an offer to become the head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. At the time, it will end the longest association of any Big 12 coach with their school. He’ll be replaced at Oklahoma by Houston coach Kevin Sumlin.
• After Bo Pelini leaves for the vacant LSU job after the 2014 season, former Cornhusker Turner Gill takes over the Nebraska program after developing his Kansas program into a solid bowl contender. His hiring is one of the last acts that Nebraska athletic director Tom Osborne orchestrates before his retirement.
• Much to the chagrin of football fans, the BCS will endure. We’ll see one alteration, however. A “plus-one” model will be added with one game added for the national championship. Texas, Nebraska and Oklahoma all will win national championships during the upcoming decade. With Boone Pickens' influence lessening, Oklahoma State will fall back into a lesser position in the South. And Colorado will go through two head coaches in the decade before hiring Kyle Shanahan in 2018.
• Thanks to huge seasons from Robert Griffin and national interception leader Ahmad Dixon, Baylor will end its bowl drought with an appearance in the 2011 Texas Bowl. To celebrate, the Dr Pepper bottlers in Waco will release a commemorative bottle that becomes a prized collectors’ item.
• One change in the BCS will affect the Big 12. The Cotton Bowl eventually will become the fifth bowl in the national title rotation. To fill that hole, the Alamo Bowl will move to New Year’s Day as the destination for the top Big 12 team that doesn’t make the BCS.

I received a slew of comments about some of my early choices for my All-Decade teams across the conference. Hopefully, that will prove as popular during the rest of the week for the rest of the Big 12 teams as they are released.

Here's a representative example of some of the other missives I've received over the last few days.

Mike Heuertz of Iowa writes: Tim, even with Ndamukong Suh leaving Nebraska, as well as a couple other key defensive players, do you think the Blackshirts will be better next season? And what do you think Nebraska's record will be?

Tim Griffin: I talked with several Nebraska fans during my swing through the state last week who seemed almost giddy about the Cornhuskers’ chances next season.

That being said, the loss of Suh will be huge. I think he can be considered the arguably greatest defensive player in the history of the program. The Cornhuskers also will lose Barry Turner, Phillip Dillard, Larry Asante and the heart, grit and talent provided by Matt O’Hanlon.

Now I can see players like Prince Amukamara, Will Compton, Sean Fisher and Jared Crick getting a lot better gaining experience playing Bo Pelini’s defense. But it might be a little wishful thinking to hope for much improvement from this season -- considering the Cornhuskers’ big defensive personnel losses.

As far as their record, I would expect them to be one of the powers of the Big 12. They have a tricky game at Washington which will earn them a lot of national notoriety if they can win. Texas will be coming to Lincoln, as will Colorado and Missouri. A road game at Oklahoma State doesn’t look as daunting as it could be with the Cowboys breaking in a new quarterback. But an underrated challenge for the Cornhuskers might wait at Texas A&M with Jerrod Johnson and all of A&M’s strong returning offensive weapons back for next season.

Looking at that schedule, I’ll pick the Cornhuskers to go 10-2 and finish as the Big 12 North champion. Considering their returning talent and their schedule, I think that’s a relatively conservative pick.

But as far as next year's team being better than the 2009 version of the Blackshirts, that might be wishing for a little bit much -- even for the Pelinis.

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Chris Henson from Salt Lake City, Utah, writes: Tim, a quick addition to the Texas A&M-Oklahoma State tidbit. The Red, White, and Blue Out in 2001 was organized by a group of students first and foremost as a fundraiser for the victims of 9/11. I appreciate you noting this event as it really shows what Texas A&M is all about.

Tim Griffin: Chris, thanks for the clarification. Like you wrote, it was truly an emotional event. There’s a picture of the stadium that is still hung in the press box at Kyle Field of the stadium bedecked for that game. It still gives me goose bumps when I see it.

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Travis from Seattle writes: Tim, the players of the decade category has created quite a stir, with many saying, "...well how could X player be off the list." For the most part I agree with your list if you look at it being, who were great players, AND who did the most to influence their team's success, (thus why Graham Harrell is off, being a plug-and-play quarterback in that system although he did do a fine job).

But I propose a different category. Who were the best ATHLETES of the decade? And how about the best competitors, the ones who did everything to try to win. What are your thoughts?

Tim Griffin: You raise a good point about my list earlier being an all-around grouping of all qualities. As far as the best athletes of the decade in the Big 12 from the last decade, in no specific order I would include Ndamukong Suh, Eric Crouch, Robert Griffin, Chris Brown, Vince Young, Seneca Wallace, Dez Bryant, Dezmon Briscoe, Darren Sproles, Danario Alexander (before and after his injury), Brad Smith, Jeremy Maclin, Adrian Peterson, Brian Orakpo, Michael Huff, Earl Thomas, Reggie McNeal, Robert Ferguson, Sammy Davis and Michael Crabtree.

And among the top competitors I’ve seen include Stephen McGee, Crabtree, Colt McCoy, Roy Miller, Joe Pawelek, Jordan Lake, George Hypolite, Todd Reesing, Chase Daniel, Sean Weatherspoon, Matt O’Hanlon, Suh, Josh Fields, Brian Iwuh, Darrell Stuckey, Steven Sheffield, Wes Welker and Kliff Kingsbury. There are many others, but those are just some of the names that come to me off the top of my head. And the fact that Suh and Crabtree made both of those lists is pretty indicative of how exceptional they really were.

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Fred Dodge of Annapolis, Md., writes: Tim, in reference to your top 10 jobs in college football. You have a good list, BUT the one caveat that I think goes with this list or any list is context. Most of these are still the "right-guy-for-the-right-place" jobs -- as are coaches. Being a Husker, I lean toward Bo Pelini and Nebraska as my first examples. Bo would not be a good fit for many of these jobs...I just can't see Bo fitting at USC or Florida for example; but I also can't see Lane Kiffin or Pete Carroll being successful in Lincoln. And in my opinion there are only a few guys who can shape a program around their personality. Nick Saban could coach anywhere, Urban Meyer probably could, and Jim Tressel could in most places. But I have a difficult time seeing Mack Brown outside the southeast or southwest and Bo Pelini outside the midwest. All of these guys could still coach, but I think they would struggle in fan support -- and so they would also in recruiting.

Tim Griffin: You make an interesting point, although I think that Pelini would work in more places than you might suspect. He’s a dyed-in-the-wool football coach and would succeed at most traditional powers, although I think his style best suits him at Nebraska. But I could see him being successful in the Southeastern Conference, in the Big Ten or even at Notre Dame. Anywhere they have a deep appreciation for football, I can see Pelini working out.

I think coaches like Bob Stoops, Saban, Meyer and Tressel would work most places. I also think you might include some underrated coaches out there like Mike Riley of Oregon State, Gary Patterson of TCU, Jeff Tedford of California and Chris Peterson of Boise State would be adaptable at almost any job in the country. But it does seem that the smart coaches are the ones who pick places where they are comfortable and have the best chance for success.

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Kyle Zander of Fort Hood, Texas, writes: Will Chris Whaley and Desean Hales get playing time for Texas in 2010? I played against Hales in high school and the kid is the real deal, Texas needs to get him involved as soon as possible. And Whaley could help, too.

Tim Griffin: Texas needs to find some help for its running game. Whaley was hurt when he reported to practice last summer and never regained his form. If he’s willing to rededicate himself, there likely is a chance for him to earn some playing time this spring. He needs to have a big spring to get there.

Sales is in a similar situation. The Longhorns have wide receiving talent in players like senior-to-be John Chiles and James Kirkendoll. Malcolm Williams is a big strong receiver who will emerge in coming seasons and should be the team’s featured receiver in 2010. But there are catches – plenty of them -- available for Hales if he can force himself into the mix.

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Brett Stamm from Keller, Texas, writes: Tim, love the blog! Keep up the good work! Has Mike Sherman, or will Mike Sherman, or why will Mike Sherman not, consider Dat Nguyen for defensive coordinator? Talk about a guy who has done an outstanding job in his current position and would bring some instant credibility with players and recruits in a program that has pretty much let a proud defensive tradition die with questionable and mediocre hires. This is a guy who was the face of and exemplified the "Wrecking Crew" tradition for four years! Your thoughts?

Tim Griffin: Brett, Dat Nguyen has been a key member of Wade Phillips’ staff as an assistant linebacker coach and defensive quality control assistant with the Dallas Cowboys. But I would suspect that Sherman probably would like for Nguyen to have a little more seasoning and experience calling defenses before he would give him the responsibility of serving as the Aggies’ defensive coordinator.

In a way, Nguyen reminds me a little of Major Applewhite as they develop in their coaching careers. It won’t surprise me if both become successful coordinators and eventually outstanding head coaches. But they need more experience to get there.

Nguyen seems like a natural to join the A&M coaching staff in the future. But I think it might be a stretch to see him as the Aggies’ defensive coordinator at this stage of his career.

That’s all the time I have for today. Thanks again for all of the good questions and keep the letters and e-mails coming. I’ll check back again on Friday.

In the middle of all of the stuff we're putting together looking back at the past decade, there's still some news across the Big 12.

Here are some of the conference's most notable headlines for your noontime edification.

• The Oklahoman’s Jake Trotter ponders whether Jim Jeffcoat, Ruffin McNeill or Jim Leavitt could be joining Bob Stoops’ staff.
• Top recruit Jackson Jeffcoat, the son of Jim Jeffcoat, tells KRIV-TV in Houston that he is considering Oklahoma, Houston, Texas and Arizona State.
• The Sporting News’ Russ Lande analyzes what Darrell Stuckey, Larry Asante and Keith Toston need to do to impress NFL scouts at this week’s East-West Shrine Game.
• The Memphis Commercial-Appeal’s Phil Stukenborg reports that former Texas Tech assistant coach Brian Mitchell has joined Larry Porter’s staff at Memphis.
• Among the more notable assistant coaches from Nick Saban’s coaching tree include Texas defensive coordinator Will Muschamp and Texas Tech defensive coordinator James Willis, ESPN.com’s Ivan Maisel writes in his three-point stance.
• Texas running backs coach Major Applewhite, Oklahoma State assistant head coach Joe DeForest and former Texas Tech defensive coordinator/interim head coach Ruffin McNeill are among the names that have surfaced for the vacant head coaching job at Louisiana Tech, Jimmy Watson of the Shreveport Times reports.
• The Daily Texan’s Robert Rich shares a few memories from his trip to the Citi BCS National Championship Game.
• Texas Tech has lost a recruiting commitment from linebacker Fred Harvey of Memphis, Tenn., after the coaching change to Tommy Tuberville, Adam Zuvanich of the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal reports.
• The College Football News’ Pete Fiutak writes that Colt McCoy’s injury in the championship game put a capper on a disappointing 2009 college football season.
• FoxSports.com’s Pete Schrager has Nebraska and Texas making BCS bowl trips next season and Oklahoma ranked in the Top 25 among Big 12 teams.
• Sam McKeown of the Nebraska State Paper analyzes where Ndamukong Suh goes from here.
• The Omaha World-Herald’s Tom Shatel expresses some trepidation about the Nebraska-Boise State series.