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2012 record: 9-4
2012 conference record: 5-4 (third in the Big 12)
Returning starters: Offense: 10; defense: 9; kicker/punter: 1

Top returners: QB David Ash, RB Johnathan Gray, WR Mike Davis, WR Jaxon Shipley, LT Donald Hawkins, RT Josh Cochran, G Mason Walters, DE Jackson Jeffcoat, LB Jordan Hicks, CB Quandre Diggs, CB Carrington Byndom

Key losses: P Alex King, S Kenny Vaccaro, DE Alex Okafor, WR Marquise Goodwin

2012 statistical leaders (*returners)

Rushing: Johnathan Gray* (701 yards)
Passing: David Ash* (2,699 yards)
Receiving: Mike Davis* (939 yards)
Tackles: Kenny Vaccaro (107)
Sacks: Alex Okafor (12.5)
Interceptions: Quandre Diggs* (4)

Spring answers:

1. Under center: Texas has finally ended all the debate about its quarterback situation and settled on David Ash. While Ash has yet to be stellar in his first two years at Texas, the junior has steadily improved -- he was top 25 in pass efficiency rating in 2012 -- and has won the trust of new quarterbacks coach Major Applewhite. Applewhite believes Ash is the quarterback best suited to run the new up-tempo, spread attack.

2. Loaded at linebacker: One year after being the worst tackling team in the Big 12, Texas went into the spring looking to shore up its linebacker position. And it had plenty of options. Texas has seven linebackers who have started at least one game. Included in that group is Jordan Hicks, who is back after missing 10 games last year because of a hip injury. Hicks will team with true sophomores, Dalton Santos and Peter Jinkens for what should be a much faster and aggressive unit in 2013.

3. Along the lines: While there were a sprinkling of injuries along the offensive line this spring (Josh Cochran and Trey Hopkins), Texas appears to have finally solved the depth riddle at that position. Tackle Kennedy Estelle was able to get quality snaps and should prove to be a solid backup and Sedrick Flowers finally emerged as an option at guard. While Texas returns all five starter from a year ago along the line, the Longhorns know that in the new up-tempo offense it will have to lean heavily on these backups.

Fall questions

1. Speed thrills: Texas wants to move the ball fast. So fast that the offensive players were even taught how to quickly get the ball back to the official so that they could put it down and Texas could line up and run the next play. But Texas only decided it wanted to play this way in mid-December when there was a change in playcallers from Bryan Harsin to Applewhite. So Texas has only had a handful of practices to get up to speed. With a schedule that has Texas at BYU for the second game of the season there doesn’t appear to be much time to get things perfected.

2. Safety dance: Texas’ defense was the worst in school history and that was largely due to the play of the back seven on defense. And now the best player in that back seven, Kenny Vaccaro, is gone. He was a first-round draft pick. That has left Texas wondering who will step up and make some stop at the safety position. Adrian Phillips takes over for Vaccaro, but he was inconsistent last season. The coaches blamed a shoulder injury and the fact he missed the spring. Mykkele Thompson and Josh Turner also missed their share of tackles but both are being called on to be possible starters.

3. Receiving praise: Texas has not had a 1,000-yard receiver since Jordan Shipley in 2009. Mike Davis had 939 yards last year and appears poised to break the 1,000-yard mark this season. But to do that he will need help. And right now there are some questions as to where that help will come from. Texas wants to go with four wide receivers but two of the four players expected to fill those roles -- Cayleb Jones and Kendall Sanders -- are currently suspended because of legal issues. Both will probably be back. But even then, Texas is very thin at wide receiver and needs some other players to step up to help take the double teams away from Davis.

We're grading each Big 12 team's season right now, and we'll move on to the next team on the list: The Oklahoma State Cowboys.

OFFENSE: It was obvious from the start that this offense would only go as far as David Ash would take them, and the offense looked really, really strong in the first four games, including wins on the road against Ole Miss and Oklahoma State. He played well against West Virginia, but the wheels came off for everything in a blowout loss to Oklahoma. Ash was benched against KU and Case McCoy rescued a win, and McCoy got some run against TCU and K-State when Ash suffered a rib injury. Ash was OK this year, but has to eliminate the rough outings. The receivers were solid, but the running game still has yet to become the force that the raw talent at running back suggests it should be. It's been good, but the Longhorns still keep their backs healthy. The offense was better this year and earned Bryan Harsin a head-coaching job at Arkansas State, but there's a lot of room for improvement for this unit. GRADE: B-

DEFENSE: This is where it could get ugly, considering we generally grade these units on a curve relative to the talent present. Texas looked like a runaway candidate for the Big 12's best defense. The defensive line was beastly and deep at defensive tackle, and the linebackers were young, albeit promising. The secondary returned all of its best talents and Kenny Vaccaro and cornerbacks Carrington Byndom and Quandre Diggs could arguably be considered the Big 12's No. 1 and No. 2 corners. That was in the preseason, though. Texas never found much ability to slow the run, and Diggs and Byndom were disappointments compared to their 2011 seasons. The linebackers had to deal with the loss of leader Jordan Hicks for most of the season, so they get somewhat of a pass, and the defensive line recovered well from the loss of Jackson Jeffcoat. Alex Okafor was one of the Big 12's best defenders, but that inability to stop the run cost the Longhorns. GRADE: C-

OVERALL: That 4-0 start had plenty of folks, myself included, thinking Texas was back. The loss the following week to a top-10 West Virginia team (back then, anyway) was nothing to be ashamed of. That Red River loss, though, cast a huge shadow over the season and even a late four-game winning streak and a big win on the road at Texas Tech couldn't erase that. A Thanksgiving night disastrous loss to TCU might have repercussions on the recruiting trail in the future, and the Longhorns weren't ready to play 60 minutes with Kansas State, who ran away in the second half. The bowl win over Oregon State was Texas' best win of the season, but in a season in which Texas hoped to be back, it simply wasn't enough. Nine wins doesn't cut it at Texas. GRADE: C+

More Big 12 report cards:

• Baylor
• Iowa State
• Kansas
• Kansas State
• Oklahoma
• Oklahoma State

It's always fun looking back on what we thought in the preseason, and today, we'll take another look.

Here's who made the postseason team.

How did our All-Big 12 preseason team stack up at season's end? Here's how the preseason All-Big 12 offense ended up. Now, let's look at the defense.

DL: Jackson Jeffcoat, Texas

Jeffcoat was off to a solid start with 9.5 tackles for loss and four sacks with a pair of forced fumbles in his first six games, but a torn pectoral muscle ended his season early and he didn't make the postseason team.

DL: Stansly Maponga, TCU

Maponga was TCU's lone representative on the preseason team, but he didn't quite live up to expectations, and was overshadowed by teammate Devonte Fields. Maponga made just six tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks, neither of which ranked in the top 10 of the Big 12. He did force two fumbles but didn't make the postseason team.

DL: Alex Okafor, Texas

Okafor was solid this season, and wasn't far off from being the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year. He was third in the league with eight sacks and sixth in the league with 11.5 tackles for loss. He also forced two fumbles and made the postseason team.

DL: Meshak Williams, Kansas State

I took some flack for including Williams on my preseason team, but I'll have the last laugh here. I loved his relentless motor and underrated technique and use of hands in 2011. This year, it paid off with a Big 12 Defensive Lineman of the Year trophy after leading the league with 9.5 sacks and finishing third with 13.5 tackles for loss. He obviously made the postseason team.

LB: A.J. Klein, Iowa State

Klein returned as the league's Defensive Player of the Year and had a really solid year with 98 tackles and an interception returned 87 yards for a score. He also had 2.5 tackles for loss and made the postseason team.

LB: Arthur Brown, Kansas State

Brown didn't have a huge statistical year but he held together a solid K-State defense and flew around all season, even playing through a painful ankle injury. He won Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year honors for his efforts and made 91 tackles, six tackles for loss and intercepted two passes, returning one for a score. He obviously made the postseason team.

LB: Jake Knott, Iowa State

Knott was having a great year with 79 tackles and two interceptions through eight games, as well as five pass breakups and two forced fumbles. He suffered a shoulder injury that required surgery, though, and played one last game, going out on top with a win over Baylor. Despite the injury, I still placed him on the postseason team.

CB: Carrington Byndom, Texas

Byndom was my pick as the league's top corner this year, but he was part of Texas' defensive struggles and got surpassed by some better players. The Longhorns pass D ranked third in the league, but Byndom was 21st in pass breakups, though he did have three interceptions and two blocked kicks.

CB: Brodrick Brown, Oklahoma State

Brown and teammate Justin Gilbert were two of the bigger disappointments across the league this year. The duo combined for 10 picks a year ago. Neither had one this year, and OSU ranked seventh in the league in pass defense. He was surpassed by better performances on this year's team by Aaron Colvin and Jason Verrett.

S: Kenny Vaccaro, Texas

Vaccaro had a solid year with 93 tackles, two interceptions 3.5 TFLs and two forced fumbles, but I gave the narrow nod to K-State's Ty Zimmerman for the second safety spot on the postseason team.

S: Tony Jefferson, Oklahoma

Jefferson was one of the league's best defenders this year and finished second in the league with 113 stops. He picked off two passes and broke up three more. He made the postseason team.

Missed tackles have been the biggest problem for Texas' disappointing defense thus far this season.

How bad is it? Really bad, according to the data compiled by ESPN Stats and Info.

Texas missed a season-high 16 tackles against Oklahoma, raising its total to 69 on the season, 16 more than the second-worst tackling team in the Big 12. Kansas has missed 53 tackles this season through six games.

"The defensive line played pretty good," Texas coach Mack Brown told reporters this week. "We're still giving up way too much space and room, and linebackers and the deep safeties are not tackling like they need to when we get the ball out in the field."

Cornerback Carrington Byndom has missed nine tackles this season, tied with Kansas State safety Ty Zimmerman for the most in the Big 12.

Oklahoma State linebacker Shaun Lewis has missed eight tackles, the third-most in the Big 12 and eight other players in the league are tied with six missed tackles.

As the season has progressed, Texas' tackling problems seem to have only gotten worse. Here's how the missed tackle totals looked in each game, according to ESPN Stats and Info:

• Wyoming: 5
• New Mexico: 12
• Ole Miss: 13
• Oklahoma State: 10
• West Virginia: 13
• Oklahoma: 16

One of those missed tackles allowed Wyoming to connect on an 82-yard touchdown catch and run that put the Cowboys up 9-7 early in the Longhorns' 37-17 win.

It won't get any easier for Texas this weekend when it hosts Baylor, the nation's No. 2 offense.

"There have been times where I've been on teams where they've had an issue with turning the ball over, and it becomes such a battle cry that it can almost become the guys almost start holding the ball too hard and causing more turnovers until it becomes a psyche," defensive coordinator Manny Diaz told reporters this week. "I've seen the same thing happen with tackling before, where when tackling becomes such a major issue and we have worked obviously to the nth degree in practice, that the players can become so robotic in the tackling that what starts to happen is still the No. 1 thing in tackling is running your feet through contact and wrapping the guy up - is that you almost start to say, 'Okay, here I am.' And you start to slow down to do everything fundamentally absolutely right, where in a game like that you can't do that."

How does the rest of the Big 12 stack up when it comes to missed tackles? Let's take a look:

1. Oklahoma - 29 missed tackles
2. Baylor - 37
3. Oklahoma State - 40
4. Kansas State - 43
4. Texas Tech - 43
6. TCU - 44
7. Iowa State - 45
8. West Virginia - 52
9. Kansas - 53
10. Texas - 69

Another great set of games this weekend, headlined by West Virginia's first road trip in the Big 12. No pressure, guys, just your everyday, routine matchup of top-10 teams against the league's biggest brand-name team.

• Holy cow, I don't know about you, but I absolutely can't wait for West Virginia and Texas to tangle. There still seems to be more skepticism about the Longhorns than there is about WVU, but there's no doubt that West Virginia will have the best player on the field. He'll be facing one of the best defenses he'll see all year in Texas. Or will he? The Longhorns' tackling issues haven't gone away, but their form seems to have gone missing. Can Carrington Byndom and Quandre Diggs figure out how to cover Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin? I'm not sure it's possible. Help from the rest of the secondary will be needed. This is more than a one-man job.
• Oklahoma: How good is this team? There's plenty of reason to doubt the Sooners, who have looked poor in two of their three outings this season. What about Texas Tech? The offense sputtered in the first half against Iowa State, but it has been impressive in three games against patsies. We'll learn a lot about both of these teams this week, but you'll be hearing plenty about the Sooners' troubles in Lubbock. They haven't won there in almost a decade.
• Geno Smith is the Heisman front-runner, but this is one game in which he can really win this thing. A good enough performance on Saturday might give Smith enough slack to even suffer a loss and still maintain his lead in the race, as long as he plays decent in the loss.
• Iowa State couldn't get the win against Texas Tech, but TCU has left doors open all season long, and nobody's taken advantage. Other than K-State, is any team in the Big 12 more liable to take advantage of anything a team gives it? ISU is very dangerous heading down to Fort Worth. TCU gets somewhat of a pass for the mistakes against SMU because of the rain, but this is still becoming a trend.
• Will the bye week matter for Kansas? KU has gotten absolutely steamrolled against rival K-State the past two years, as the Wildcats have turned in some of their best performances. K-State has pretty much nothing to prove in this game, but can KU at least make this thing competitive? For the sake of those of us who have to watch these games (ahem), I hope so.
• Oklahoma State gets a week off to think about last week's heartbreaking loss to Texas. Baylor's also off this week after losing to West Virginia on Saturday, despite scoring 63 points.

Want the full Big 12 schedule? Here you go (all times ET):

• Kansas at No. 7 Kansas State, noon, FX
• No. 17 Oklahoma at Texas Tech, 3:30 p.m., ABC/ESPN2 (reverse mirror)
• No. 15 TCU at Iowa State, 3:30 p.m., Fox Sports Network
• No. 8 West Virginia at No. 11 Texas, 7 p.m., FOX

Everything seemed fine on the 40 Acres this time two years ago.

The defensive cupboard was well-stocked and Mack Brown was talking up the squad, openly inviting high expectations for his defense and claiming they might be the best in his time in Austin.

With the Acho brothers up front and three future NFL draft picks in the secondary, who could blame him?

"It didn’t turn out that way," Brown said this week.

The Longhorns defense was good, but not good enough. It led the Big 12 in total defense, but forced just 18 turnovers for 11th in the Big 12.

Oh, and Texas went 5-7.

The Longhorns bounced back with eight wins in 2011, and in 2012 the hype is back for a defense loaded with NFL talent once again. There is talk that it might be among the nation's best, if not the nation's best.

"I want our defense to live up to those expectations," Brown said. "All of us sitting here in preseason have expectations, especially at a school like the University of Texas. But, until you produce on the field, and we’ll have a better idea of how they look on Saturday, then we’re not sure how good they will be."

Brown's tempering the expectations a bit this time around, but he knows what he has.

The league's No. 1 and No. 2 defensive ends are anything but an unknown commodity. Both Jackson Jeffcoat and Alex Okafor could hear their names called in the first round of next April's NFL draft, though Jeffcoat said this week he wants to stay and get his degree from Texas.

Cornerbacks Quandre Diggs and Carrington Byndom morphed a question mark at cornerback into one of the team's strengths late in the season, and safety Kenny Vaccaro might be the best overall defender in the Big 12.

The one thing most closely resembling a question mark? The middle of the defense.

"I’ve consistently talked about the loss of the four seniors down the middle," Brown said, "and that we’ve got new, young guys in their places."

Linebackers Emmanuel Acho and Keenan Robinson were the vocal leaders of the defense last season, but have been replaced by super recruits Steve Edmond and Jordan Hicks, joining a speedster on the outside in linebacker Demarco Cobbs, who played quarterback, receiver, safety and returned kicks and punts in high school.

Tackle Kheeston Randall is gone, too, but the Longhorns look well suited to replace him by plugging juco transfer Brandon Moore and reformed running back Chris Whaley at the top of a rotation of five capable contributors in the middle of the defense.

Adrian Phillips moves up to replace four-year starter Blake Gideon at strong safety opposite Vaccaro.

"Until they prove it on Saturday that they’re ready to show that leadership and show that ability to handle Big 12 football at a fast pace, then we have to wait until they prove it before we can anoint them as a great defense," Brown said.

Here's guessing we won't wait long.

The season is only a few days away, and it's time to unveil our official All-Big 12 team.

The criteria for this is pretty simple: I picked the best players at every position in the game, but made room for deserving players. For this league, that meant eliminating the tight end spot and sliding a more deserving Collin Klein onto the team via an all-purpose position.

The quarterbacks are solid in this league, but I'd call the cornerbacks the best and deepest position in the league. The worst? Defensive tackle. I didn't put a single one on the All-Big 12 team, electing to name four defensive ends along the defensive line. I hate doing that, but this year, it's necessary.

Without further ado, here's our team:

OFFENSE

QB: Geno Smith, West Virginia
RB: Joseph Randle, Oklahoma State
RB: Waymon James, TCU
All-Purpose: Collin Klein, QB, Kansas State
WR: Stedman Bailey, West Virginia
WR: Kenny Stills, Oklahoma
WR: Tavon Austin, West Virginia
C: Joe Madsen, West Virginia
OL: Gabe Ikard, Oklahoma
OL: Lane Taylor, Oklahoma State
OL: Cyril Richardson, Baylor
OL: Mason Walters, Texas

DEFENSE

DL: Jackson Jeffcoat, Texas
DL: Stansly Maponga, TCU
DL: Alex Okafor, Texas
DL: Meshak Williams, Kansas State
LB: A.J. Klein, Iowa State
LB: Arthur Brown, Kansas State
LB: Jake Knott, Iowa State
CB: Carrington Byndom, Texas
CB: Brodrick Brown, Oklahoma State
S: Kenny Vaccaro, Texas
S: Tony Jefferson, Oklahoma

SPECIALISTS:

K: Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State
P: Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State
KR: Justin Gilbert, Oklahoma State
PR: Tavon Austin, West Virginia

Honorable mention/regrettable snubs: Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma; Malcolm Brown, RB, Texas; Ivory Wade, C, Baylor; LaAdrian Waddle, OL, Texas Tech; Blaize Foltz, OL, TCU; Kenny Cain, LB, TCU; Shaun Lewis, LB, Oklahoma State; Jamarkus McFarland, DL, Oklahoma; Quandre Diggs, CB, Texas; Nigel Malone, CB, Kansas State; Demontre Hurst, CB, Oklahoma; Tyler Lockett, KR, Kansas State

Colleague KC Joyner made his list of dark-horse Heisman Trophy candidates , including two from the Big 12.

Oklahoma State's Joseph Randle is the top candidate from the Big 12 outside the usual suspects (Geno Smith, Landry Jones, Collin Klein).

I couldn't agree more. Joyner liked Randle's penchant for maximizing his touches and turning them into points. He needed just 208 carries last year to rack up 24 rushing scores, and he's the league's only returning back with 1,000 yards or 20 scores, with apologies to Klein, a QB.

Joyner admits the Cowboys' offense won't be as dangerous, but it'll still be great, and Randle should be a big reason why.

The other Big 12 candidate? I'm not so sure about this one.

Joyner pegs Texas CB Carrington Byndom as the next-best dark horse.

Byndom might end this season as the league's best defender, but it's hard to see a cornerback who doesn't also contribute on special teams getting any real consideration for the Heisman. Yes, he might be the Longhorns' top overall talent (though, Kenny Vaccaro, Alex Okafor and Jackson Jeffcoat might disagree), but I'd lean more toward up-and-comer Malcolm Brown.

The most likely scenario is carries are split so much between Brown, Johnathan Gray and Joe Bergeron that nobody emerges with any real Heisman hype, but Brown seems the most likely of the trio.

Our official list of the Big 12's top 25 players entering the 2012 season marches on. Here's more on my criteria for who makes it, who doesn't and who lands where.

The official list is locked away in a vault in an undisclosed location, but we'll be revealing one player a day leading up to the season.

Next up on the list:

No. 11: Carrington Byndom, CB, Texas

2011 numbers: Made 58 tackles, eight tackles for loss. Broke up 15 passes, intercepted two passes, forced a fumble and recovered a fumble.

Most recent ranking: Byndom was unranked in our postseason list of the Big 12's top 25 players.

Making the case for Byndom: Byndom's the Big 12's best corner and grabs the No. 11 spot on our list for his big 2011 season. Texas started 2011 with a big question mark at cornerback after the losses of Chykie Brown, Curtis Brown and Aaron Williams, but by the end of the season, it became a strength.

Never doubt Texas' status as the nation's resident DB U. Byndom and teammate Quandre Diggs, along with hard-hitting, versatile Kenny Vaccaro are carrying on that tradition. Byndom will absolutely erase receivers, and did so against Oklahoma State when he held the Pokes' Justin Blackmon, a two-time Biletnikoff winner, to just 48 yards on four catches. He won the team's Defensive Player of the Week award four times last year, and made one of the biggest plays of Texas' season when he intercepted Texas A&M's Ryan Tannehill early in the second half, returning the pick 58 yards for a touchdown to swing the momentum of the eventual comeback win.

He broke up three passes that game, had seven tackles and added a tackle for loss. Expect more games like that in Byndom's future, and a possible spot in the top 10 of our postseason list. His upside is enormous after just one year of being a permanent starter.

The rest of the list:

• No. 25: Justin Gilbert, CB/KR, Oklahoma State
• No. 24: Ben Habern, C, Oklahoma
• No. 23: Terrance Williams, WR, Baylor
• No. 22: Josh Boyce, WR, TCU
• No. 21: Cyril Richardson, OL, Baylor
• No. 20: Trey Millard, FB/TE, Oklahoma
• No. 19: Quandre Diggs, CB/KR, Texas
• No. 18: Kenny Stills, WR, Oklahoma
• No. 17: Brodrick Brown, CB, Oklahoma State
• No. 16: Stansly Maponga, DE, TCU
• No. 15: Gabe Ikard, OL, Oklahoma
• No. 14: Alex Okafor, DE, Texas
• No. 13: Tony Jefferson, S, Oklahoma
• No. 12: Stedman Bailey, WR, West Virginia

Big 12 Media Days have come and gone, but it's time to look back and pass out a few awards from Day 2 at Media Days.

Best performance: Art Briles, Baylor. Briles repeated as the hit of media days, cracking jokes with nearly every question and drawing constant laughs. Mixing in meaningful answers with funny and interesting analogies helps, too. The WVU Mountaineer owned Day 1, but Day 2 was all about Briles. His response to a question about life on the recruiting trail for Baylor getting more difficult with TCU crashing the Big 12 party? "Shhhh!"

Biggest attraction: Mack Brown, Texas. Nothing new here, perhaps, but Brown drew by far the biggest crowds of the entire week. Brown can talk with the best of 'em, and reporters were lined up to hear it. Part of it comes with the territory of being the Longhorn in charge, but Brown's personality only intensifies the attention.

Best quote: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia. Holgorsen quipped that he didn't need to make any halftime adjustments in the 70-33 Orange Bowl win over Clemson, and instead elected to take in the halftime show, feature the band Train. "I'm a big fan of Train," he said.

Most surprising revelation: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State. Gundy never told his team that true freshman Wes Lunt would be their starting quarterback. "I didn't have to. Twitter and all that took care of it for me," Gundy said. "We met -- (offensive coordinator) Todd (Monken) wanted to meet with the quarterbacks individually, so I let him do it -- and they can no more get out of your office and everybody knows."

Best critique: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia. Holgorsen hadn't seen the Big 12 preseason media poll on Tuesday, but when informed that Kansas State was sixth, he had a simple response. "Ridiculous. They're pretty good."

Biggest cliffhanger: Charlie Weis, Kansas. Weis held court well in his introduction to the Big 12 media, but casually noted that yes, he came to Kansas, but he had other job offers that were paying more money. Which begged the question: Which ones? "It's not important. What's important is why did I take this job," Weis said.

Most unexpected gesture: Mack Brown, Texas. Brown invited 10 opposing cheerleaders up to the stage with him for his time in the print media room, the largest contingent at media days. "I asked the ladies to come in so if I had any hard questions, I would let them support me," he said. "So we’ll just ask them to step up and answer any questions that we need here." Brown got thrown a curveball, though, when the first question of the session was posed to the cheerleaders, asking who they wanted as the new Texas quarterback. "They'd want the worst one," Brown said.

Best first impression: Dayne Crist, QB, Kansas. Crist was honest like his coach, but impressive in handling the Big 12 media for the first time. Crist also noted that this was the first conference media days he'd ever attended. Notre Dame, where Crist played before transferring, is an independent. It was easy to see how his teammates took to their new quarterback so easily.

Best composure: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State. In the middle of Gundy's time at the podium, West Virginia's mascot and cheerleaders began a noisy chant next door that drowned out Gundy's answer to a question. He finished, though, unfazed. "I handled that pretty well, that's a pressure situation," Gundy said, adding he hoped his true freshman quarterback could do the same this fall.

Best hair: Joe Madsen, center, West Virginia. Madsen out-Mohawked TCU quarterback Casey Pachall, who had a much milder version on Monday. Madsen had a few inches gelled up and made his way around with a microphone, interviewing cheerleaders and media members for West Virginia's account of the day.

Biggest compliment: Mack Brown, Texas. Texas is known as a place for special defensive backs, but Brown laid out some special praise for Carrington Byndom, his returning cornerback. "Carrington will be one of the best defensive backs we've had," he said. That? That's a pretty big deal.

The Nagurski Trophy, given annually to college football's best defender, has released its 84-man, preseason watch list. From the Big 12:

• Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State
• Brodrick Brown, CB, Oklahoma State
• Carrington Byndom, CB, Texas
• Demontre Hurst, CB, Oklahoma
• Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, Texas
• Tony Jefferson, S, Oklahoma
• A.J. Klein, LB, Iowa State
• Jake Knott, LB, Iowa State
• Nigel Malone, CB, Kansas State
• Stansly Maponga, DE, TCU
• Alex Okafor, DE, Texas
• Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas
• Tom Wort, LB, Oklahoma

That's a hefty list. My only possible additions? Quandre Diggs of Texas and maybe Shaun Lewis of Oklahoma State. Other than that, it's basically a who's who of the best defenders in the Big 12.

The league's 13 candidates are third-most among conferences, behind only the SEC (19) and the Big Ten (14).

Texas and Oklahoma are tied for the nation's most Nagurski Trophies, with two. Brian Orakpo in 2008 and Ndamukong Suh in 2009 are the last Big 12 talents to take home the hardware.

Luke Kuechly of Boston College won the award last season.

More awards watch lists:

• Rimington Trophy--best center
• Bednarik Award--best defender
• Maxwell Award--best player
• Mackey Award--best tight end
• Lou Groza Award--best kicker
• Outland Trophy--best interior lineman

Today, we'll kick off a new series on the Big 12 examining one player who will enter 2012 with a profile that doesn't quite match their worth to the team.

In other words, they're coming in under the radar.

First up, the Baylor Bears.

Under the radar: CB K.J. Morton

Baylor is starved for a true defensive star, and while it may not have one yet, Morton could be due for a breakout year in 2012. His name doesn't come up on anyone's short list for the conference's best corner, but he proved he has an ability to be a playmaker late in the season.

He became the starter in the Bears' third game of the season, and by season's end, had earned honorable mention All-Big 12 status. In the regular season's final three games, he intercepted four passes, moving him to fourth in the conference. That included interceptions against Oklahoma's Landry Jones and Texas Tech's Seth Doege. Both of his interceptions against Texas in the season finale gave Baylor's offense the ball in the red zone.

What's the biggest reason he could make a jump in Year 2? The opportunity for offseason growth. Morton didn't transfer to Baylor until late August, and had to rush to learn the new defense under Phil Bennett. Bennett's system is in its second year, and Morton should have a much greater understanding of the position by now. Additionally, he faces top-tier talent at receiver in practice every day against an offense that puts a lot of stress on defensive backs.

Morton doesn't command the same respect as guys like OSU's Brodrick Brown, Texas' Carrington Byndom or Oklahoma's Demontre Hurst.

Don't be shocked if that has changed by December.

Texas

2011 overall record: 8-4

2011 conference record: 4-5 (6th)

Returning starters:

Offense: 9; defense: 8; kicker/punter: 0
Top returners

RB: Malcolm Brown, C Dominic Espinosa, WR Jaxon Shipley, QB David Ash, LB Jordan Hicks, S Kenny Vaccaro, DE Alex Okafor, CB Carrington Byndom

Key losses

LB Emmanuel Acho, LB Keenan Robinson, K/P Justin Tucker

2011 statistical leaders (*returners)

Rushing: Malcolm Brown* (742 yards)

Passing: David Ash* (1,068 yards)

Receiving: Mike Davis* (609 yards)

Tackles: Emmanuel Acho (131)

Sacks: Jackson Jeffcoat (8)

Interceptions: Quandre Diggs* (4)

Spring answers

Quarterbacks maturing: While Texas refuses to name an outright starter before the season, it is clear that both Case McCoy and David Ash have taken strides toward becoming more complete quarterbacks. Ash, who was plagued by indecision and interceptions, matured throughout the spring and has started to become the leader Texas needs him to be. McCoy is still having problems with picks, but has increased the velocity on his throws and, as a result, can make more down the field throws.

Replacements fit: Texas did not have to replace much on the defensive side of the ball -- only three players. But two of those three were the leading tacklers from 2011, linebackers Emmanuel Acho and Keenan Robinson. Still, it appears as if the Longhorns have upgraded at the linebacker with Steve Edmond and Demarco Cobbs. Edmond is bigger and faster than Robinson. Cobbs is faster and more agile than Acho. What neither has is experience and that will be tested early in the 2012 season.

Bergeron pushes Brown: Backup running back Joe Bergeron made his case for more carries in the spring. Despite playing in 11 of 13 games, the sophomore only received consistent snaps in two games as a freshman. During those two games, Bergeron rushed for 327 yards. An injury hampered him the rest of the season, but he was healthy over the spring and showed the coaching staff that he is ready to challenge Malcolm Brown for the starting spot at running back.

Fall questions

Who is going wild? Texas deployed the wild formation to great success under first year co-offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin in 2011. But headed into 2012, the Longhorns have yet to figure out who will be running that formation. There are several candidates, many of which are freshmen. Johnathan Gray, the most heralded recruit of the 2012 class, should get the first shot. The running back has great speed and instincts but has to prove he can read the linebackers and make the right decisions. Texas also will try two other freshmen, Daje Johnson and Jalen Overstreet. Overstreet was a high school quarterback so he could bring the option of throwing out of the wild as well.

Rotating quarterbacks: Texas could not make up its mind until the last game of the season last year when it came to quarterbacks. In that game Ash took every snap. Whether or not he continues to take the significant snaps for Texas is the largest question surrounding this team. If Ash is at all shaky under center, the Longhorns have no qualms about going with McCoy. But if both finally prove inadequate, Texas might have to make a decision on freshman Connor Brewer. Texas would prefer to redshirt Brewer, but the Longhorns have suffered through two years of poor quarterback play and a third may not be tolerated by fans.

Wide receiver: Mike Davis, Jaxon Shipley and Marquise Goodwin are all back at wide receiver, but beyond those three players, Teas is severely lacking experienced depth. D.J. Monroe has been converted from running back to wide receiver to take advantage of his speed and shiftiness on bubble screens. But Monroe has had problems catching the ball consistently. DeSean Hales showed up in the spring. But the senior has shown up in the spring before and disappeared in the fall. He had two catches in 2011.

That means freshmen Cayleb Jones, Daje Johnson, Kendall Sanders and Marcus Johnson are all going to get a shot. Additionally, Texas will be working with a redshirt freshman M.J. McFarland at tight end.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas has a well-earned reputation as the nation's "DBU," a proverbial factory of NFL defensive backs.

Even so, when three NFL-caliber corners leave a team, like they did at Texas before the 2011 season, doubts will surface.

Can you replace Aaron Williams' versatility? What about Curtis Brown's cover skills and Chykie Brown's knack for being in the right place for the big play at the right time?

New defensive coordinator Manny Diaz looked down his depth chart and saw a true freshman, Quandre Diggs, and a little-used sophomore in Carrington Byndom.

By season's end, though, the duo transformed one of the Longhorns' biggest question marks -- and after a 5-7 season in 2010, they had plenty -- into arguably its biggest strength.

"Both of them are both very bright," coach Mack Brown said. "They made an easy transition to the field. Both of them were in very good high school programs."

Diggs showcased his fearlessness early in the spring. He went head-to-head with -- and held his own against -- the team's top and more experienced receivers while he should have been in high school. The contact did not faze the former high school running back.

"Quandre was tough," Brown said. "He got knocked around a lot."

Meanwhile, Brown pointed to Byndom's outstanding athletic ability for his early success. Byndom had the option to play college baseball, but elected to stick to football.

"Carrington has gotten tougher every minute he's been here," Brown said, adding that he was a "very good athlete."

By fall, both were entrenched as starters.

Diggs finished the season with four interceptions, more than all but one freshman in college football (Bryce Callahan of Rice). The league's coaches named him the Big 12's top defensive freshman and Diggs was named a freshman All-American. He landed a spot on the All-Big 12 second team, too.

Byndom, a first-year starter, landed a nod as a first-team All-Big 12 talent and a key cog in a defense that topped the conference in total defense for a fifth consecutive season. He picked off two passes and tied Diggs with a team-high 15, earning the team's defensive player of the week honors on four occasions.

Notes KC Joyner of Football Outsiders:

His 6.2 yards per attempt (YPA) allowed total was better than the YPA marks posted by Alabama Crimson Tide cornerback Dre Kirkpatrick (6.6) and LSU Tigers cornerback Morris Claiborne (7.5), two coverage specialists who will likely end up selected in the first round of the 2012 NFL draft.

DBU, indeed.

The Longhorns also were the only team in college football to not allow a touchdown pass for 20 yards or longer before the season finale against Heisman winner Robert Griffin III and receiving champ Kendall Wright.

"They were very responsible," Brown said. "That was one of our biggest question marks sitting there in the spring and in the fall. And I thought you have to give a lot of credit to Manny and to [defensive backs coach] Duane [Akina] for devising a scheme that took pressure off of them as well.

"We didn't play near as much man and didn't put them in as many one-on-one situations, and then because of their confidence you see the play that Carrington made at A&M probably changed that game."

Byndom swung the momentum for the burnt orange in the final chapter of a heated rivalry with the in-state Aggies before they left for the SEC.

Trailing 16-7 at halftime, Byndom stepped in front of a Ryan Tannehill pass early in the third quarter, returning it 58 yards for a touchdown, silencing a rabid Kyle Field crowd and igniting a second-half comeback for the ages.

Brown saw plenty out of both corners in 2011, but they were young and inexperienced. What happens now?

Big 12 receivers, beware.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Kenny Vaccaro doesn’t want to offend or insult so it was with all apologies to those previous Texas players that he stated this defense, the 2012 version, is unequivocally faster than any he has played on.

Then linebacker Demarco Cobbs returned from injury.

“When he blitzes, it’s for real,” Vaccaro said.

In order for the 2012 defense to be for real, it needs Cobbs, not just a blitzing Cobbs, but one who stays healthy and active for the entire season. To date, Cobbs has been unable to do that.

A backup in 2011, Cobbs’ time on the field was limited to half the season because of a broken forearm. When he did make it back onto the field, the junior wasn’t effective as expected due to the injury and the unfamiliarity with Manny Diaz’s defense.

Spring was the same song, second verse. Cobbs suffered a neck injury that kept him out of the first half of spring. A combination of Tevin Jackson, Alex De La Torre, Aaron Benson and Kendall Thompson were shifted and shaped to try and fill the void alongside Steve Edmond and Jordan Hicks. Jackson received the most snaps. But he was unable to play with the same impact as Cobbs.

“We really were hurt by Demarco not being out there,” Texas coach Mack Brown said. “He's been a good player that's made some highlight plays. But he hasn't been consistently healthy. So like our backs, he's another guy that needs to be healthy and stay on the field.”

Ah, but when he is on the field …

“He is a versatile linebacker for us,” cornerback Carrington Byndom said. “With him being back, it is adding an older guy who has already been in this system. He is a pretty fast guy.”

“He is fast, and he is physical,” added Hicks. “He is somebody you can trust out there so it is always good to have somebody like that back.”

Trust will be a large factor in this defense. Diaz relies on many moving parts to confuse and stun the offense. Those parts must move in concert in order to be effective. If they are not moving together, it doesn’t matter how fast each individual player is.

For instance, in the first several games last season, Keenan Robinson and Emmanuel Acho, two players with less speed than Hicks and Cobbs, were not completely sure where the other would be within Diaz’s scheme. It led to several substantial runs from Rice, BYU, and UCLA before ultimately leading to a 64-yard backbreaker against Oklahoma.

That is the reason it was important for Cobbs to get back into spring practice and start working alongside Hicks and Edmond. That trio has to learn each other’s tendencies within Diaz’s schemes. That way they will understand what is expected of each other and how to react during the game. That familiarity can also lead to more innovation in the defense.

And that is exactly what has been happening in spring practice, Vaccaro said.

“I think we have the defense down to a 'T’ so much that we have freedom now,” he said. “We can mix things up on our own and execute the defense without putting too much of a twist on it.”

Now the added twist is the speed and ability of Cobbs.