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Time to look at a few of the best things in the Big 12 this spring.

Biggest breakout star: Bryce Petty. The Bears' quarterback is an unknown for now, but he's learned a proven system under great coaches and great quarterbacks. This spring, he never let his competition come close to making it real quarterback battle in Waco. Despite windy conditions, he capped the spring with 181 yards and two touchdowns on 13-of-15 passing. Don't be surprised if he hangs similar stat lines in a first half or two next year.

Biggest flip-flop: Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy. Midway through the spring, Gundy offered some real clarity on his quarterback situation, which ended with Clint Chelf carrying the Cowboys through bowl practices and a lopsided win in the Heart of Dallas Bowl. "Clint Chelf is our starter, he takes all the reps with the ones right now. The other guys compete out there, but I don't necessarily feel like there's a battle out there to start in the first game," Gundy said. A week later, though, he said the Pokes "haven't necessarily said anything about the [starter for the] first game of the season." He says they won't be offering any updates on the QB situation until after the season opener against Mississippi State and Chelf is off-limits to media, along with his competition, sophomores J.W. Walsh and Wes Lunt.

Best spring-game performance: Jordan Thompson, WR, West Virginia. Dana Holgorsen joked that Thompson is earning a reputation as the greatest spring game player of all time after he recorded six catches for 123 yards and three touchdowns. Just don't spend too much time reading this paragraph. "Until he plays like that in a game, we're going to call it like it is," Holgorsen said. "I haven't seen him play like that in a game yet. Until he does that in a game, we're not going to talk about it."

Biggest surprise: TCU's quarterback indecision. Many assumed that Casey Pachall's return to the Horned Frogs meant Trevone Boykin's days as the starting quarterback were over, or at least on hold for another season. After 15 practices this spring, however, that hasn't been the case just yet. Coach Gary Patterson says Boykin's made big strides since the end of the season and Pachall looked rusty after not working out or throwing while he was in treatment for drug and alcohol addiction. More than a few folks are skeptical of Patterson's insistence that the competition is still open, but we'll know for sure when TCU opens against LSU.

Most to prove: Jake Heaps and Kansas. KU's Big 12 losing streak now stands at 21 games, and Heaps is looking like a much better passer than Dayne Crist was at this time last year. Charlie Weis is also stocking his roster with tons of juco talent, which could mean a quick turnaround. Will it, though? KU needs to get back to respectability and fast, but winning that first Big 12 game won't be easy.

Best new uniforms: Baylor and West Virginia. West Virginia had a ballyhooed debut before its spring game with three sets of white, blue and Old Gold pants, jerseys and helmets, giving WVU 27 possible combinations. The numbers on the jerseys are also inspired by miners' pick axes. Baylor also debuted new jerseys, highlighted by an all gold chrome helmet and most importantly, the elimination of a cartoonish bear claw mark on the pants.

Spring football gives young players and unknowns an opportunity to prove themselves. Many times, success in the spring translates to success into the fall. Other times, however, it does not. Last year's Big 12 spring standouts offered a combination of both. Below are the 2012 spring stars from each Big 12 team:

Baylor: RB Lache Seastrunk

What he did in the spring: The Oregon transfer dazzled with 135 rushing yards on just seven carries, which included a 75-yard scoring scamper.

What he did in the fall: Seastrunk eventually supplanted Jarred Salubi as the starter, then rushed for more than 90 yards in each of Baylor’s final six games to earn Big 12 offensive newcomer of the year honors.

Where he stands now: Seastrunk is a surefire preseason All-Big 12 pick, and with QB Nick Florence and WR Terrance Williams gone, the Bears will be leaning on him to carry the offense.

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Oklahoma: WR Trey Metoyer

What he did in the spring: Metoyer enrolled in the winter after spending the fall at Hargrave Military Academy, and outperformed every other OU skill player. He led all receivers in OU’s spring game with six catches for 72 yards.

What he did in the fall: Metoyer opened the season as a starter, but struggled developing chemistry with QB Landry Jones. He eventually lost his starting job, then fell out of the rotation altogether.

Where he stands now: A new year and a new QB should do wonders for Metoyer, who has all the tools to become a dominant outside receiver. With 2012 starters Kenny Stills and Justin Brown gone, Metoyer will have an opportunity to win back a starting job.

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Oklahoma State: WR Charlie Moore

What he did in the spring: After catching just seven passes his entire career, Moore exploded in the Orange-White game with nine receptions, 243 receiving yards and three touchdowns.

What he did in the fall: He won a starting job and finished second on the offense with 35 catches and six touchdowns, and was a consistent performer as the Cowboys shuffled quarterbacks in and out of the lineup.

Where he stands now: The Cowboys figure to have one of their deepest receiving corps in years, and Moore is one reason why.

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TCU: CB Jason Verrett

What he did in the spring: During TCU's tumultuous off-season, Verrett continued his momentum from 2011 and turned in a dominant spring.

What he did in the fall: No Big 12 corner was better last season than Verrett, who earned first-team All-Big 12 recognition in TCU’s first season in the league.

Where he stands now: Verrett has been dealing with an injury he suffered in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl, but is expected to take part in spring ball soon. Verrett is one of the top returning corners in college football and should vie for All-American honors.

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Texas: LB Steve Edmond

What he did in the spring: The 260 pound-plus linebacker was a menace on the front seven all spring.

What he did in the fall: Edmond was one of the bright spots on a Texas defense that overall was porous against the run. He was first among linebackers with 103 tackles, and he forced two fumbles, including a key one in the second half of Texas’ 56-50 win over Baylor.

Where he stands now: Edmond is having to fend off Dalton Santos, who is getting some of Edmond’s first-team reps at middle linebacker this spring.

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Texas Tech: LB Will Smith

What he did in the spring: The junior-college transfer led all defenders in the spring game with six tackles and an interception, the only turnover of the scrimmage.

What he did in the fall: Smith locked down a starting job at linebacker and was a key part of Tech’s 6-1 start to the season. He finished fourth on the team with 55 tackles.

Where he stands now: Smith figures to anchor the Tech defense for first-year coach Kliff Kingsbury.

We're taking a look at spring breakout players across college football today, and here's who made a big impact across the Big 12.

Trey Metoyer, WR, Oklahoma: Metoyer may have had the best spring of anyone in the Big 12. The physical freshman spent last season in prep school, but walked in this spring and essentially earned a starting job. Then three Sooners receivers were suspended indefinitely. Metoyer was already going to play and probably going to start. Now, with Oklahoma's passing offense and Landry Jones throwing the ball, it's a near certainty that he'll have a huge impact.

Wes Lunt, QB, Oklahoma State: Lunt hasn't made an impact yet, but he's already made headlines. Lunt may be the first freshman to win a starting QB job in the spring in the history of the Big 12. The Illinois native beat out junior Clint Chelf and redshirt freshman J.W. Walsh for the right to succeed Brandon Weeden, and quickly trended nationwide on Twitter after the announcement.

Will Smith, LB, Texas Tech: Smith came to Lubbock as a lightly recruited California juco transfer trying to find some playing time at outside linebacker. Midway through spring, he'd already established himself as the team's best linebacker and coach Tommy Tuberville moved him to the inside so he wouldn't have to leave the field during passing downs.

Jordan Thompson, WR, West Virginia: WVU is already loaded at receiver, albeit a bit top-heavy. Stedman Bailey and Tavon Austin are bona fide studs, but Thompson should find a niche in the Mountaineers' offense after showing he could make an impact as an early enrolling true freshman. He's quick and has good hands, and the Houston native may resemble (gasp!) a young Tavon Austin next fall.

Brandon Moore, DT, Texas: Moore reportedly still needs to work on his conditioning, but the 6-foot-6, 330-pound juco transfer was a force in the middle of the line for the Longhorns, and could be a valuable pocket collapser and run stopper for a loaded Texas defense in 2012. That could blow up a lot of great Big 12 offenses. Think Nick Fairley vs. Oregon in the 2010 season's national title game.

Charlie Moore, WR, Oklahoma State: There was buzz surrounding Moore all spring, but he proved it in a big way as a spring game breakout star. The junior caught nine passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns in the game, and overshadowed yet another breakout star over the course of the spring, sophomore receiver Josh Stewart. OSU needed to find weapons this spring to replace Justin Blackmon, Josh Cooper, Hubert Anyiam and Michael Harrison at receiver. The Cowboys did exactly that.

Tony Pierson, RB, Kansas: Pierson made a small impact last season, but he's essentially the unquestioned starter at KU for now after Darrian Miller was kicked off the team and James Sims was suspended for the first three games of 2012. The East St. Louis native is dangerous in the open field and gives KU a much needed home run threat.