ESPN College Football

Seven Big 12 players will take part in the East-West Shrine Game on Jan. 21 in St. Petersburg, Fla.

• Tysyn Hartman, S, Kansas State
• Nicolas Jean-Baptiste, DT, Baylor
• Blake Gideon, S, Texas
• Dominique Hamilton, DT, Missouri
• Steven Johnson, LB, Kansas
• Cody Johnson, FB, Texas
• David Snow, OL, Texas

Good to hear from each of these guys, who have all been extremely productive over their careers. Traditionally, the Senior Bowl the following week is a more prestigious display, but all seven of these guys will get valuable exposure in front of NFL scouts.

We'll see who takes advantage and improves their draft stock.

You can see the full roster here.

Texas says, "Sorry, our schedule's booked up."

Turner Gill says the rivalry belongs in the Big 12.

Thursday night, Texas and Texas A&M will play for the 118th time. Only two rivalries have been played more.

It might be the last time. It will be the last time for the foreseeable future.

On Saturday, Missouri and Kansas will meet for the 119th time. Minnesota and Wisconsin are the only teams that have met on more occasions.

Realignment will claim two more victims upon Missouri and Texas A&M's exits to the SEC: Two of the nation's best rivalries.

"It’ll be difficult to ignore. Everybody knows what’s out there," Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman said. "It’s all part of it. I think there’s enough things on the table to motivate them. It’s certainly something everybody’s aware of."

That includes players. Here's thoughts from a few that grew up around the rivalry think about the rivalries' existence and ending.

Additional reporting by Carter Strickland of HornsNation.

What's your best memory in this rivalry, whether you played in the game or watched it?

Ryan Swope, WR, Texas A&M: Growing up as a Longhorn, I just remember how intense these games were. It didn't matter, the rankings didn't play a factor. Every game was just a battle. It was hard-nosed football. So much tradition involved in the game, and that's the main thing.

Tanner Hawkinson, OT, Kansas: Most recently, the one in '08 when Todd Reesing hit Kerry Meier at the end to win the game. I was redshirting, but I was at the game and it was just a crazy, crazy game. One of the better games I've witnessed.

There's quite a bit of hatred between the two schools going back to the Civil War and the battles between the Jayhawkers and Missouri. There's just a lot of hatred between the two schools.

T.J. Moe, WR, Missouri: The one in '07, the big one, was when I started watching because (former MU corner) Carl Gettis was playing and he was my high school teammate. Everybody knows what kind of game that was. That was kind of the start of, when both teams had great seasons, they started calling it the Border Showdown. That was a big game and a fight for No. 1. We got that safety in the end zone on Todd Reesing, and in 2008 they came back and got us, and thats how rivalry's supposed to be, back and forth like that. The '09 game was great, too. We had to win on a last-second field goal.

Are you for or against Texas A&M leaving for the SEC?

Blake Gideon, S, Texas: Against.

Does it matter that they're leaving?

Gideon: It doesn’t matter to me. This is my last year playing them anyway. It’s definitely one of those deals kind of like Nebraska last year that we want to send them off the right way. At Missouri we failed to do that this year.

What did you think when you heard it was probably ending?

Hawkinson: It's something that's gone on for a ton of years now, I'm not even sure how many. Obviously, it's disappointing. I wish it could go on, but we wish them well. It's something I feel like should stay in the Big 12, and they're going to the SEC, so, it's something they're going to just have to deal with if they're not in the Big 12 anymore.

Moe: I don't have any control over that. As far as players go, I think both sides would love to play each other. I can't speak for the administration. I think the administration over there keeps saying it's done if you're not going to be in the Big 12 anymore, but I'm sure players on both sides would love to continue the rivalry and we hope to do that.

Swope: There's so much tradition and history involved, it's going to be tough not to see Texas on the schedule, but it's a fun game. We're going to enjoy this one and we want to go out the right way.

Where you're from [Gilmer, Texas], are there a lot of Aggies?

David Snow, OL, Texas: Let’s just be honest — I’m the only one in my top 10 percent that came here. Everybody else is at A&M. Once they went to the dark side, I haven’t really stayed in that much contact with them. Changing my phone number and stuff.

Is there more pressure to win because it is the last one?

Snow: We have a lot of pressure every week to win, hell we’re Texas. You don’t expect to lose and you don’t want to lose.

Would you call it a nasty rivalry?

Snow: Yeah. I mean certain things happen there. When you hate two people certain cheap shots go on, especially on the other side. Never by us.



What's this rivalry mean to you?

Swope: It's a very personal game for me. I've got a lot of friends that are graduated from Texas or at Texas right now. Growing up in Austin, growing up a Longhorns fan, it's going to be real personal. My dad graduated from Texas. I have friends that go to school there and friends that are players for the other team.

Hawkinson: It's a great sense of pride for not only the university, but for the state of Kansas. It'd be a huge win not only for the university, but for the people that live in Kansas.

Moe: I didn't watch a whole lot of college football growing up, but when I did, it was Missouri-Kansas. It's a pretty special thing. It's been so close. It's almost tied up for the 100-something years we've been playing. It's just fun and something you look forward to. It doesn't matter if either team is bowl-eligible. We might have both gone winless and this game would still be special. It goes back to the Civil War days when it was a lot more serious than it is now.



What will you miss most about it?

Hawkinson: Getting prepared. The week leading up to it, this week, guys come in to practice and they're already excited. It's kind of an easy week to get pumped up for and practice hard for. Especially going up and playing at Arrowhead, it's a great environment, especially with two teams playing against each other with all the hatred toward each other. All that leading up to the game and one you get to the game, just playing in that atmosphere.

Swope: All the tradition and the history in this game. It goes back to the Bonfire and how big this game is and how much history it holds. It's one of those things. Everyone pulls tickets for this game. It's on Thanksgiving. It's a very traditional game being played and they've been doing it for so long, I think I'm just going to miss almost everything about the game.

Moe: If I miss a year of it, that's pretty sad. It's your rival. We had Nebraska, we lost them and we had Kansas. Those were our two big rivals. Now, of course, we'll move to the SEC and we'll kind of have A&M maybe as our new rival or whatever, but I don't know if it's ever going to be the same without Kansas because it has such deep roots, especially the guys on the team from Kansas City. They live in the war zone over there and it's pretty special to them.

I did my best to answer your questions. I've been more or less banned from speaking about Kansas this year, so I couldn't have a whole lot of fun.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Fozzy Whittaker brought Blake Gideon to tears.

That’s his effect. More than anything that emotion showed what Whittaker has meant to Texas football. It also showed how much Whittaker, who suffered a season-ending knee injury, would be missed.

“He would lay down in the street for any one of us,” Gideon said. “The type of guy that he is … the type of character that Fozzy has and what he will do for anyone one of us, that just shows you the type of person he is and why all of us think so much of him.”

Whittaker is in their thoughts now because he can no longer be on the field with them. The senior leader, who had made every right step this season, made one ill-fated cut and went down in against Missouri.

“You don’t understand why he gets hit all year and on this play he didn’t get touched,” Texas coach Mack Brown said. “He planted his foot and his knee went.”

“I felt it,” Whittaker said. “I just knew the way I planted, just feeling my knee buckle in and then kind of reposition itself back out it was kind of a nasty feeling.”

He didn’t blame the turf. He didn’t blame anyone. Whittaker had his mom, Gloria, come down to the locker room from the stands, place her hands on his knee and together they prayed about it.

A day later, it was Whittaker consoling his coach and his teammates. Typical Fozzy.

“Here he is picking up the 60-year-old who just lost some football game when his knee is torn up, and he'll have to have an operation, and he said, ‘Hey, let's go in there. We've got to beat Kansas State. Let's pick these guys up and let's move forward and see what we can do. I'll be fine. They're fixing these things better than ever before,’” Brown said.

That’s the thing about Whittaker, he has been there to pick the entire team up all year. In the two games when Texas needed a burst, there was Whittaker, who had never returned kicks before, going 100-plus yards for touchdowns.

When Malcolm Brown and Joe Bergeron needed someone to lean on, someone to help them find their way through the offense, there was Whittaker not just offering advice, but giving them carries, sharing the spotlight that should have been his.

On Monday, when he should have been depressed, angry, emotional, there was Whittaker maneuvering an orange scooter, knee wrapped and braced, smile plastered on his face, talking about a future in football administration, how he has six more hours to go to get his masters, saying don’t worry he’ll be fine.

“I'm not really the type to appear as immobilized as it seems,” he said with a nod to the scooter.

No he is not. Whittaker is someone, who regardless of what has been thrown in front of him, is always on the go. Life for him is not full of obstacles, but challenges. This is just the next one.

“I'm not really worried about Fozzy,” tight end Blaine Irby said. “I know that it sucks that he has had such a great career here, especially his senior year here, he really came out. But he's going to fine. Fozzy is a very strong individual and he's going to get through it.”

But can the team get through the last three games without Fozzy?

“It’s like you lose part of your heart and your soul,” defensive coordinator Manny Diaz said.

Diaz coaches defense. He doesn’t sit in on offensive meetings. He hasn’t been up close to see Whittaker bond with the freshmen. He is on the other side of the practice field from the offense most days, not even glancing at what is happening with the offense. And still he knows. He knows how much Whittaker meant to Texas.

They all know. And so too does Whittaker, which is why he has put on a brave face. He knows that this team, fragile as it is at this time, still needs him.

“I will still be out there with them,” Whittaker said. “I won’t be on the field obviously. I will be on the sidelines and they are going to make sure that I am still here and I'm still part of the team.

He never was one to fade. And now, because of him, his teammates are refusing to fade away as well.

“We have a cause in Fozzy,” guard Mason Walters said. “I am going to go out there and play my guts out for him.”

So what if Halloween was last week?

Tell that to the ghosts roaming around Texas Tech's Jones AT&T Stadium these days.

Back in 2007, there was a woozy Sam Bradford of Oklahoma sidelined with a concussion on the game's opening drive. National title hopes? Gone.

A year later? An easy interception inexplicably slid through the hands of Texas' Blake Gideon. A play later, an ill-advised, unnecessary throw by Graham Harrell somehow became one of the most famous plays in college football history.

Beware the winds of West Texas, Oklahoma State.

The Cowboys travel there on Saturday, to the place where two Big 12 national title runs have been buried. The Cowboys will go there with the intention of preventing a third.

Gundy's players watch the weekly BCS rankings get unveiled, and this week, they saw themselves at No. 2, higher than any team in Oklahoma State history and firmly in control of their postseason destination.

"They’re being told that they’re having a great year and everywhere you go, it’s ‘Make sure you keep it going’ and this and that," said coach Mike Gundy.

The odds say Oklahoma State will. The Cowboys enter as 17-point favorites over this particular band of Red Raiders that haven't wrecked much in recent weeks.

"There’s examples every Saturday, and just speaking for our staff, we’re able to use examples of teams that, on paper or people thought may have had a better team, but for whatever reason, they didn’t play as well that Saturday and didn’t win," Gundy said. "Because of that, you have to stay focused and understand the importance of preparation going into each game."

The Cowboys won't have to look far for inspiration. Texas Tech is just 1-4 in its past five games, and its past two losses have come by 32 and 34 points.

Its one win?

Tech made it count. The Red Raiders raced to a 31-7 lead and beat Oklahoma, who entered the game as 28-point favorites. Oh, and they hadn't lost at home since 2005 or in a home conference game since 2001, concurrent streaks of 39 and 32 games.

Oklahoma State should -- should -- win on Saturday. Last year's win in Lubbock was Oklahoma State's first since 1944.

Whether it does or doesn't do it again is likely up to the superior team.

"We just have to stay focused, absorb information in meetings and have good practices on Wednesday and Thursday," Gundy said.

So how does that happen?

"There’s not really anything other than trying to keep them in the moment and in the right frame of mind so they can stay focused on what’s important here and not get caught up in all the hype outside the program," Gundy said.

We'll find out on Saturday if the Cowboys did it. Iowa State awaits a week later, and win that one?

Bedlam.

DALLAS -- It got so bad in the second half, even Bevo had to look away.

The Longhorns' signature steer spent most of the third quarter behind the end zone with his horns pointed at the slowly draining Texas side of the 96,009 fans in the Cotton Bowl.

This was a forgettable stop on this 2011 Longhorns Revival Tour, a season-long crusade to erase the memories of a 5-7 season in 2010.

Oklahoma didn't hit 60 points, but that was about the only positive for Texas, whose 55-17 beatdown did not, at least to my knowledge, come complete with Sooner Schooner tracks along the back of the Longhorns' white pants and burnt orange uniforms.

"I thought they tried," said Texas coach Mack Brown, whose 38-point loss is the third-worst ever suffered in his tenure at Texas. The other two were delivered in 2000 and 2003 on the same field from the same team by 49 and 52 points.

As for what went wrong? Well, where to start?

Three turnovers for touchdowns seems as good a place as any to start digging into this performance, which stunk only slightly less than the gifts Bevo leaves behind on the way to his artificial turf mat behind the end zone.

"Can't have five turnovers and win games," Brown said.

No worries. They didn't.

Demontre Hurst kicked off the party in the end zone with a 55-yard interception return to put Oklahoma up 27-3 in the second quarter.

Any halftime locker room dramatics didn't follow Texas onto the field. Frank Alexander sacked Case McCoy and forced a fumble, which David King casually picked up and strolled 19 yards into the end zone to make it 41-10 early in the third quarter.

"They were just out there flying to the ball, playing faster than us," said Texas running back Fozzy Whittaker, one of the bright spots for the Longhorns on Saturday. Whittaker ran hard all day, returning a kick 100 yards for a touchdown and carrying the ball six times for 43 yards.

"It's one of those things where you just have to stand back and give them credit for doing what they do best," he said.

Saturday was 60 minutes of reality setting in for Texas: It might be better than it was last year, but Texas needs some high-quality binoculars to get a glimpse of the national elite.

The Longhorns' No. 11 ranking was gone sometime in the second quarter, at some point between one of Landry Jones' 23 completions, 305 yards and three touchdowns in the first half.

"They've got all the athletes and stats for a reason," said Texas safety Blake Gideon.

Texas' offense? The only offensive touchdown of the day came with 2:31 left to play and the Longhorns trailing 55-10.

Texas had a great opportunity with a 1st-and-10 at Oklahoma's 14-yard line late in the third quarter.

Then came a bad snap. Then David Ash got sacked by speedy Tony Jefferson, who intercepted Ash earlier, too.

Then Ash got sacked by Ronnell Lewis, who forced a fumble and ... "Hey, how'd we end up with a 4th-and-49 on our own side of the field?"

Games like this, in raucous environments against very, very good teams, expose inexperience. Texas didn't have much covered when it was all over.

"We mixed it up. We played man, we played some zone, we mixed up some man zones," said defensive coordinator Manny Diaz. "[Jones] knew where to go with the ball, he knew how to manage the play, he took what was there when it was there."

Diaz, despite Oklahoma's assertions after the game, said the youth of his cornerbacks wasn't to blame.

"Defending the run and defending the pass is an 11-man job," Diaz said.

Official numbers are sketchy, but the 11 men Texas put out on the field weren't getting much of a job done against an offense that the Longhorns couldn't compliment enough after the game.

"I can see why they're No. 1 in the country," Brown said, later noting that the coaches kept the Sooners at No. 1 while the media polls slipped the Sooners to No. 3, behind Alabama and LSU.

Wherever Texas falls in the polls after Saturday's forgettable turn at the State Fair of Texas, it'll be far, far behind Oklahoma.

And just like every Saturday, for this one, Bevo had the most enjoyable seat in the house.

Aided by an unforgettable name and knack for making legendary plays, Steele Jantz has become one of the Cyclones' most talked-about players with just three games on his résumé.

It's warranted, and if Iowa State is going to upset Texas on Saturday, Jantz will be the reason why.

"You can talk leadership, moxie, you can talk all those thing, but his production when those games have been on the line?" Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads said. "He’s delivered throwing the ball and he’s delivered running the ball."

In all three games this season, Jantz has engineered fourth-quarter comebacks, including a quarterback sneak in the final seconds against Northern Iowa and two key fourth-down conversions in an overtime win over Iowa.

"For myself and the team, we’re glad we’re 3-0, but it’s been a learning process," Jantz said.

In a road win over Connecticut, Jantz began the game by throwing interceptions on three of his first four pass attempts, and Iowa State fell behind 10-0. Making matters worse, Jantz suffered a sprained foot that he said limited him to about 60 percent for the game's remainder.

After the rough start, he didn't have another turnover and helped the Cyclones reach 3-0 for the first time since 2005.

"I’m proud that we won and I’m proud of our team for pulling through in all those games," Jantz said. "I know I have a long way to go, so I’m more focused on improving and eliminating the mistakes that I make."

He may do that eventually, but he's already proven a handful for defenses even when he's not trailing in the fourth quarter. On the season, he's thrown for 666 yards and six touchdowns.

He's also run for 112 yards and a pair of scores.

"If you get a guy that you have to worry about his legs also, you have to commit another guy to the rush or spying him that can be tough on your coverage," said Texas safety Blake Gideon. "He poses a threat and it’s going to be tough for us."

The Longhorns defense enters Saturday's game ranked second in the Big 12 in total defense and the league's best in pass defense.

"He’s a confident guy. He’s confident in his ability and he’s confident in his understanding of the offense," Gideon said. "You can tell he spent time with his receivers in the summer and in the offseason. Their timing routes are good, they’re tough to defend. We’re going to have to make sure we can rattle him someway and be able to get in his head and make sure he doesn’t get comfortable in the pocket."

The Longhorns might be able to take advantage of that confidence with the most talented secondary Jantz will have seen so far this season.

"He’s turned the ball over too many times," Rhoads said of Jantz, who has six interceptions this year. "He’s made a higher number than we would like of poor decisions. He’s made great decisions and he’s made some spectacular plays. I would say at this point he’s inconsistent. Certainly not unusual for a first-time starter at this level, coming off a successful junior college career."

Saturday may be Jantz's national coming-out party if he knocks off the Longhorns and gets Iowa State to 4-0 and just two wins from their second bowl appearance in three years under Rhoads. He's good enough to beat Texas already.

And with his career sitting at just three games old, he's only going to get better.

"As he plays more games and keeps doing the things that he’s doing, he’s going to understand better why he should make this decision over that decision, why he can stay in the pocket and not feel like he has to push himself out of it," Rhoads said. "His fundamentals and technique have been pretty good, but he’s gotta improve that like everybody else on the team."

AUSTIN, Texas -- Jaxon Shipley has been around Texas' campus for quite awhile.

So has coach Mack Brown.

Of course, when Shipley first got there, he was rolling down the hills surrounding the practice field. He later graduated to sliding down the hill on cardboard.

Give Shipley a break, though. That was back when big brother Jordan Shipley was practicing and he was "watching."

Now, it's Jaxon Shipley's turn, and he's making noise early in his career.

"He’s come in mature beyond his years and he hasn’t been overwhelmed by whatever, the fanfare, the moment, 100,000 people in the stands, he just hasn’t been overwhelmed," said senior safety Blake Gideon.

The result? Shipley became the first true freshman receiver to catch a touchdown pass in a season opener in Texas history. He caught a pass from John Harris on a trick play for his 36-yard touchdown and added another 18-yard catch to finish with 54 yards.

Shipley won the team's offensive MVP award for the game, and Brown had a tough time remembering the last freshman to do so in his first game.

"During 7-on-7 stuff this summer he was hopping in there with the first group very quickly and did a good job, so you know, I knew from the start he was going to be a good player," said junior quarterback Garrett Gilbert. "He really shined the other night."

Gilbert loved what he saw during the summer, but he didn't get to see much of Shipley during the spring. Despite graduating high school early, he decided to spend the spring semester working with the player that he may never stop being compared to: his brother, Jordan Shipley.

Brown called the decision "smart." Shipley's academics were in order and he didn't need to enroll at Texas early. He had a sore knee, too. Jordan Shipley was locked out by the NFL and planned to get married in the spring.

"This gave him a chance to spend more time with his brother than he’ll probably ever get again," Brown said. "He said he could spend all spring working on their route running together, so it made sense to me."

The comparisons are obvious, and far from forced.

Both can "run forever" Brown said, noting that Shipley stood out in Sunday's conditioning workout after the win over Rice. Brown credits having a father as a coach, and, of course, the work with his brother.

"The way they run looks similar and they both run very good routes," Gilbert said. "Jordan is doing it at the highest level right now ... and I’m sure he taught his little brother some of that stuff."

Jaxon Shipley hasn't encountered any of the injuries that kept Jordan on campus for six seasons, but his potential? Undeniable.

"He’s a great young cat," said linebacker Keenan Robinson. "He’s a guy that’s shown me a lot in camp. He hardly ever drops the ball in practice. He’s a guy that’s following in the right footsteps. He could be as good or better than his brother was. He’s definitely that. He definitely has a chance to put up big numbers, and I expect him to possibly be a freshman All-American this season."

That's a long way from sliding down a grass hill during Longhorns' practices.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Texas had 18 true freshmen play in its 34-9 win against Rice last week.

The team in college football closest to that number? Defending national champion Auburn, with 13.

The Longhorns added efforts from seven more redshirt freshmen, but there's no question about the fresh face that drew the most attention in Week 1.

Running back Malcolm Brown didn't play in the first half, but had 16 carries for 86 yards in the second half -- both game highs -- with his longest runs drawing a rise out of the 101,624 in attendance.

"As a freshman, you get 80 yards rushing? That’s pretty good," said linebacker Keenan Robinson.

It is, and Brown's debut showed promise of what may come. He came to Texas as the nation's No. 7 overall recruit and No. 2 running back.

The hope for Longhorns' fans? That Brown becomes "The Next Great Texas Running Back" along the lines of Ricky Williams, Cedric Benson or Jamaal Charles.

"Everybody has their 'Welcome to college football' moment. Nobody is exempt from that, so the thing about Malcolm, and really the whole freshman class, is they’ve done a great job of coming in, keeping their mouth shut and going to work," said senior safety Blake Gideon. "They’ve put aside whatever kind of recruiting stars they had and whatever kind of hype they had, because in the end, it’s just hype. They’ve really worked their tails off this summer and this camp, and now we’re going to see who’s producing."

Brown produced in Week 1, but for now, he's just a co-backup behind Fozzy Whittaker and sharing a spot on the depth chart with fellow true freshman Joe Bergeron, who came to Austin with a whole lot less fanfare. And for now, Brown has 86 career yards, a couple short of Williams' 6,592 in his four years at Texas.

"He’s a guy that’s learned to study his playbook really well, and he’s been coachable," Robinson said. "He’s got great examples in front of him [Whittaker and fullback Cody Johnson]. It’s great to have guys in front of you that will coach you and lead you and teach you what you need to do in practice. All through fall camp, he did really well, and now he got a chance in a game and shined."

That wasn't before his "Welcome to college football" moment, which was, admittedly, quite tame. Gideon chuckled thinking back to the first days of summer workouts with new strength and conditioning coach Bennie Wylie, offering only a couple scant details.

"Summer workouts in college are going to be different than summer workouts in high school," he said. "Whenever you’re running with Bennie out there in the heat, it’s definitely going to get your mind right."

Mack Brown helped Bergeron and Malcolm Brown get some time by putting them in a smaller amount packages, and Brown was even further behind after missing 10 days of fall camp with a sore hamstring.

"Probably freshman running back is one of the hardest places to play on a football team, especially when you have that many packages," Mack Brown said.

But early on, the signs are good for Malcolm Brown.

"I thought he did really well. He had good vision, he had good ball security and he ran the ball with some power," Mack Brown said.

Whatever it took, and apparently it wasn't much, Brown's mind sounds like it's right where it needs to be as he tackles his first year of college football.

Before last week's game Whittaker calmed his freshmen position mates by telling them to block out the 101,000 cheering them on and the brand-new surroundings and "just run like you did in high school."

So far, it looks like they're doing it.

"Hopefully they’ll be a big factor for us and be able to be a spark for us," Whittaker said. "Those young guys, they’re going to have a big significant role for us, and just seeing the way that they’ve played, it’s very encouraging."

Texas is easily the wildest card in the Big 12 deck this season, but how do you see the Longhorns faring in 2010?

The defense returns six starters, and is the strength of the team, despite losing Chykie Brown, Curtis Brown and Aaron Williams to the NFL. The team's safeties, Kenny Vaccaro, Christian Scott and Blake Gideon are solid, though Scott will be sidelined the first three games because of a suspension.

The front seven is loaded with potential, and the Longhorns have two of the best linebackers in the league, Keenan Robinson and Emmanuel Acho. Alex Okafor and Jackson Jeffcoat are exciting defensive ends offsetting Kheeston Randall, one of the league's best overall linemen.

Offensively, well, the Longhorns have a lot to prove. They're the only Big 12 team left that doesn't know its starting quarterback for the opening weekend. Eight starters from last year's offense return, but some of the team's biggest hype is coming from players new to campus.

Running back Malcolm Brown and receiver Jaxon Shipley showed up to campus this summer, but quarterback David Ash impressed coaches after enrolling early this spring.

The offensive line will have to be better, especially if any of those three will have success. Shipley should add some solid playmaking ability to a receiving corps depleted with the losses of Marquise Goodwin (Olympic track qualifying) and Malcolm Williams (personal issues), who won't be with the team this year. Mike Davis will likely be the team's go-to receiver, at least to start the season.

So how do the Longhorns stack up?

The Big 12 has released its All-Big 12 preseason team as voted on by the media, including yours truly.

Here's my ballot, for reference.

And here's the preseason team, in all its glory.

OFFENSE

QB: Landry Jones, Oklahoma
RB: Cyrus Gray, Texas A&M
RB: Bryce Brown, Kansas State
RB: Roy Finch, Oklahoma
WR: Justin Blackmon, Oklahoma State
WR: Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma
TE: Michael Egnew, Missouri
OL: Levy Adcock, Oklahoma State
OL: Kelechi Osemele, Iowa State
C: Ben Habern, Oklahoma
OL: Lonnie Edwards, Texas Tech
OL: Luke Joeckel, Texas A&M

DEFENSE

DL: Brad Madison, Missouri
DL: Ronnell Lewis, Oklahoma
DL: Kheeston Randall, Texas
DL: Frank Alexander, Oklahoma
LB: Travis Lewis, Oklahoma
LB: Jake Knott, Iowa State
LB: Keenan Robinson, Texas
DB: Coryell Judie, Texas A&M
DB: Markelle Martin, Oklahoma State
DB: Blake Gideon, Texas
DB: Demontre Hurst, Oklahoma

SPECIALISTS

K: Grant Ressel, Missouri
P: Quinn Sharp, Oklahoma State
KR: Coryell Judie, Texas A&M
PR: Ryan Broyles, Oklahoma

AWARDS

Offensive Player of the Year: Justin Blackmon, WR, OSU

Defensive Player of the Year: Travis Lewis, LB, Oklahoma

Newcomer of the Year: Malcolm Brown, RB, Texas

Selections by team: Oklahoma (9), Oklahoma State (4), Texas A&M (4), Missouri (3), Texas (3), Iowa State (2), Kansas State (1)

And a few thoughts:

• Generally, I agree with most of the selections. Nothing was really shocking. Brandon Weeden vs. Landry Jones is pretty close to a coin flip, and let's not act surprised that the quarterback from the bigger program got the nod. Perception is reality, even if the numbers are so, so close. Jones has the Heisman hype coming into the season, certainly more than Weeden, based on little more than the possibility his team runs the table.
• Running back is going to get a lot of attention, but let's not get riled up. This is going to sound bad, but believe me when I say I don't mean it to: Bryce Brown's selection is more an indictment of the returning talent at running back in the Big 12 than an endorsement of the hype surrounding Brown, who isn't even the clear-cut starter at K-State just yet. Here's what I wrote when I posted my ballot earlier this month. "The second running back spot is near impossible. Just about anyone might get it on the official vote when its revealed by the Big 12. You could realistically make a convincing case for James Sims, Eric Stephens, Joe Randle, Roy Finch and even newcomers like Malcolm Brown, Bryce Brown or Oklahoma's Brandon Williams. And that's the first team!" Well, there you go. For the record, I voted for Christine Michael, and still feel good about it.
• Finch and Brown tied for votes, giving the Big 12 three running backs. There weren't three spots on the ballot. And it also explains how Malcolm Brown got Newcomer of the Year and Bryce Brown got first-team All-Big 12 running back, despite both being newcomers. It's a little confusing, I suppose, and maybe not everyone did it, but my guess is a lot of ballots had Finch as the first-team running back and Malcolm Brown as the Newcomer of the Year. Not all that surprising.
• I originally had Luke Joeckel on my ballot, but took him off for Missouri's Elvis Fisher. I think Joeckel will end up being better, and maybe even by the end of this year, but right now, Fisher is the better lineman, and that's how I define the ballot. Perhaps others see it differently. There's no concrete rubric for this.
• I'm not very surprised to see Ronnell Lewis and Blake Gideon grab spots on the team, though I voted for Tony Jerod-Eddie and Trent Hunter in those spots on my ballot. Second safety and defensive line were pretty tough for me to fill out. Neither spot is very deep in this league, and both Lewis and Gideon have two of the biggest names, which matters in a media vote.
• Quite a huge gap between Oklahoma and the rest of the league. The Sooners had a lot of guys on my ballot that were close, but five more selections than anyone else in the league? That's impressive, and if ballot deadlines had been after Jamell Fleming's reinstatement, Oklahoma might have had 10 guys on the team. My ballot had Oklahoma State leading the way with seven selections, followed by Texas A&M with six and Oklahoma with five. My ballot also only had six teams represented. The media's Bryce Brown vote put Kansas State on the board, making it seven teams represented on the official team.

We'll move on to the safeties today in our position rankings across the Big 12.

Here's what we've covered so far:

• Quarterbacks
• Running backs
• Receivers/tight ends
• Linebackers

The group of safeties across the Big 12 isn't fantastic, without any truly elite groups, but it's decent. There aren't any teams that look really hopeless at the position in the immediate future.

I haven't given it real close examination so far on the positions we haven't covered yet, but this is by far the closest gap between 1-10 of any position so far.

Here's how I ranked them. (Remember, I lumped in nickel backs with linebackers, so Ahmad Dixon and Tony Jefferson won't be found anywhere in this post.)

1. Oklahoma State -- The Cowboys have Markelle Martin, the Big 12's best overall safety who's a big talent but a much better hitter than he is a cover man. Johnny Thomas is solid and both safeties got a lot better as the 2010 season progressed. OSU's depth lands them here, though. Daytawion Lowe could start for a few Big 12 teams and is slightly better than A&M and Texas' reserves, the other two teams with the deepest group of safeties.

2. Texas -- Blake Gideon takes his share of criticism, a good deal of it fair, but there's a reason he's starting for Texas for a fourth season this fall. He knows what he's doing. Kenny Vaccaro will challenge OSU's Martin, among others, for the title of the Big 12's biggest hitter and Nolan Brewster and Christian Scott are strong reserves at the position. The Longhorns lose a lot at corner, but all the safeties are back from a defense that allowed just over 170 yards a game through the air in conference play last season.

3. Texas A&M -- The Aggies' Steven Terrell and Trent Hunter are solid, and Hunter is a big playmaker who made 62 stops and picked off two passes last year. Toney Hurd Jr. is the backup and was one of the most impressive freshmen in fall camp last year, joined by Steven Campbell in the rotation.

4. Kansas State -- Tysyn Hartman has loads of experience and is one of the Wildcats that Bill Snyder loves to rave about. Ty Zimmerman was one of the Big 12's best freshman last year, and picked off three passes. They should be solid again next year, and for as much criticism as K-State's defense faced last year, they were fifth in the Big 12 in pass defense. Logan Dold should be in the rotation, too.

5. Oklahoma -- Reserve Sam Proctor has starting experience, but Javon Harris and Aaron Colvin enter fall camp as starters. That says plenty about how Bob Stoops and Brent Venables feel about them. In a word: confident. Colvin has the most potential in the group, but the two starters will have to learn on the go. Proctor, a senior, should be able to help. James Haynes will also be in the rotation.

6. Missouri -- Jasper Simmons is gone, but Missouri's safeties might be a bit underrated in this spot. Kenji Jackson has loads of experience and should be solid, and Tavon Bolden and Matt White are a pair of promising sophomores who should compete at free safety. Kenronte Walker should be in the rotation, too.

7. Texas Tech -- Injuries were a problem last year for the Tech secondary, but Cody Davis and D.J. Johnson will hold down the traditional safety spots away from the line of scrimmage in new coordinator Chad Glasgow's 4-2-5. The unit gave up lots of big plays in 2010 (151 over 10 yards, 46 over 20, and 25 over 30, all the most in the Big 12), but I'd expect that number to drop under Glasgow if the secondary stays healthy. Davis is the team's leading returning tackler, with 87 stops. Brett Dewhurst and Giorgio Durham should be in the rotation.

8. Kansas -- Keeston Terry and Bradley McDougald give Kansas a lot of speed and athletic ability at the position, but both of the team's safeties from 2010 graduated and Terry and McDougald are short on experience. Lubbock Smith should add some solid depth to the position.

9. Iowa State -- Iowa State loses their top playmaker at the position, David Sims, but returns starter Ter'Ran Benton. He'll be helped out by some combination of Jacques Washington, Earl Brooks and Deon Broomfield once the season starts. Iowa State's biggest weakness is on the defensive line, so it's hard to get a good read on how good the safeties really are with such a poor pass rush up front.

10. Baylor -- This group might move up the list during the year under Phil Bennett, but the two best raw athletes (Ahmad Dixon, Prince Kent) at the position moved to nickel back and linebacker, respectively. The team's leading tackler, Byron Landor, graduated, and that left Mike Hicks as the other starter. He'll be helped out at safety by Sam Holl, Josh Wilson and K.J. Morton. Last year, the Bears ranked last in the Big 12 in pass defense in conference play, giving up over 300 yards a game. That'll have to change or Baylor won't get past seven wins.

AUSTIN, Texas -- Mack Brown is done talking about the 2010 season. He made sure his team knew it at a 30-minute January meeting when he explained what caused his team's jaw-dropping 5-7 season -- one year after a loss in the BCS National Championship Game.

He told his players not to talk about it anymore. He said doing so is unnecessary, negative and would do little to keep it from happening again. The best way to make sure they followed his advice, Brown said, is to set the example.

The only time you'll catch Brown talking 2010 is if a question drags it out of him. And even then, it's not a safe bet.

"It’s not being rude, it’s just, as a team we have moved forward," Brown said.

The entitlement Brown sensed early last season, and detailed after it ended, has no choice but to leave. After the 2010 season, Brown made changes within the program. He replaced three coaches and filled the void left by two others who took different jobs. His players are now forced to take the field with plenty to prove, bent on resuming a winning tradition rather than riding the wake of double-digit win seasons, which has been the case in the previous nine springs. The fourth of 15 spring practices is set for this afternoon and the process of turning those offseason changes into wins has begun.

"This is like our first year. The excitement and the enthusiasm from our players and from our fans, I feel the same way it was in '98. We obviously can’t walk around with our swagger and talk about how great we were last year. So, we’re going to keep our mouth shut and earn our right to be back to what we’ve been," Brown said. "We’re talking to our kids about earning the right to go back and talk about being like the other Texas teams. And that’s why we’re not talking about last year. We’re talking about you have to earn that right to go do that."

That chance won't officially come until September. Brown has closed all workouts to media to give new coordinators Bryan Harsin and Manny Diaz time to implement their systems without the worry of early scrutiny. The same for his players, Brown said, especially the quarterbacks.

There's no depth chart for now, in part because there can't be and in part because Brown doesn't want there to be one yet. Texas has just eight offensive linemen suiting up for spring practice. For now, Texas' first seven practices are devoted to help players learn their new duties. The next eight will be about establishing separation.

The team's new motto, "Brick by Brick" was established early in offseason conditioning. The foundation at Texas is there, reinforced by 128 wins and four BCS berths in the 11 seasons before last year's disaster. But in the "What have you done for me lately?" world of college football, it's tough for most fans to see anything on top of that foundation at Texas after a season like 2010.

"I’m a young guy. I haven’t been through too much in my life, but football-wise," said senior safety Blake Gideon, "that was the worst feeling I’ve ever felt."

Gideon couldn't even bring himself to watch most of the bowl games that, for the first time in his career, he wouldn't be a part of. He took in the first.

"I had such a sick feeling in my stomach from it, that I just had to get away from it," he said. "I just watched the least amount of football I could. I ran from every television."

He didn't watch anymore until the second half of the national championship, where, a year earlier, he was on the field instead of on a couch.

"Last year, I think the sense of entitlement meant that we were living off the accomplishments of the past," said linebacker Emmanuel Acho. "We were living off ’08 and ’09. Now, in 2011, it’s only about us. Nothing that happened last year matters. This is our team. We have to go work day in and day out to make sure we’re as successful as we want to be."

That "entitlement" problem should be long gone by now.

So, brick by brick, they're trying to build a new tradition among the punchlines over the past six months.

"These kids have a tremendous amount of pride," Brown said. "They’re not proud of what happened last year, and they’re going to make sure they work hard to fix it."

In January, each coach got up and introduced himself to the team. No matter if they were preparing for their second week in Austin or their 13th season, they all said the same thing: This was their first day at the University of Texas.

"That was really a big point to us," said senior running back Fozzy Whittaker. "We’re starting over."

So after a set on the bench press, or after a practice or set of sprints, players make a mental note.

"That's another brick," Acho says with a smile.

He'll be saying that plenty for the next six months before Texas kicks off its 2011 season.

"We’re trying to build a house here, and every day we’re adding another brick to the foundation," Whittaker said. "We’ve got a lot of bricks to lay between now and next season."

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.

Texas A&M knows how Texas feels. They've been there.

It's been a full decade since the Longhorns ended a season without a double-digit number in its win column. Texas A&M? They haven't seen a 10-win season since 1998.

Which, of course, has meant the spoiler tag has been more often pinned to the Aggies.

Not so in what's been a wild 2010. Through six games, Texas A&M sat at 3-3. Texas was a healthy 4-2, fresh off a win over then-No. 5 Nebraska in Lincoln.

The Aggies haven't lost since. Texas is 1-4 over the same stretch.

They'll meet on Thursday, and with a win, Texas A&M is within a bowl win of a 10-win season.

"Just beating Texas--we haven't done that since I've been here -- is big in itself," said Aggies coach Mike Sherman, whose team already has wins over Big 12 powers Nebraska and Oklahoma this season. "We always talk about the next step, and each step -- as I told the players -- the consequence of winning is the challenge and expectations become greater and greater. If you don't beat Nebraska or you don't beat Oklahoma, then the significance of the ensuing games isn't quite the same. They put themselves in a position to be in a national spotlight, and this game Thursday night is huge for us."

A win could propel the Aggies to a berth in the Cotton Bowl for the first time since 2005 and finish the season with a six-game winning streak capped by no sweeter an opponent.

"We’re starting to play together. We’re coming together as a team. We’re playing a lot better, the offense is starting to gel and play as a unit," said quarterback Ryan Tannehill. "All those small things are coming together and making the team better as a whole. The special teams are playing great. It’s been a team effort and I think we’re playing as a team right now."

But while Texas may get its chance to prevent that from happening, their own string of losses has allowed that spoiler tag to still apply to the Aggies. A Texas A&M win ends Texas' season in November for the first time since 1997.

"It really comes down to a one-game season. We’ve played ourselves into this situation, some good, some bad. But we have played ourselves into this situation," said safety Blake Gideon. "It really does come down to this."

The Longhorns got their first win in over a month on Saturday, beating Florida Atlantic. Considering the history of the program, keeping that bowl streak alive is the only meaningful piece of the season to salvage.

These seniors would get to play another game, and they would like to. They feel like they’ve made some progress here at the end. The team’s hung together, and they did play well on Saturday," said Texas coach Mack Brown. "The other thing is Senior Day, beating your rival on Senior Day, your last game at home in your home stadium is very emotional."

But bigger for the Longhorns is a point Brown maintained throughout his team's skid. Getting back to Texas' winning ways next year won't be automatic, and getting that bowl bid this year could pay off next year.

"We would love to have the 13-to-15 practices for this young team to lead into spring practice," Brown said.

Young talents like quarterback Garrett Gilbert, linebacker Dravannti Johnson, receiver Mike Davis, a handful of offensive linemen and defensive back Kenny Vaccaro should all be contributors for the Longhorns for years to come. They'd be among the biggest benefactors of those valuable December workouts that not every team can use to their advantage.

The prospect looms, however, that the Longhorns could receive a bowl bid at 5-7 if not enough teams are eligible to fill 70 slots in 35 bowl games. Texas would be near the top of the list for bowl committees scrambling to fill a spot.

Texas A&M can't control that, but that doesn't mean they would enjoy beating Texas for the first time since 2007 any less.

Texas strung together an impressive opening drive that looked like it ended with a one-yard run from Cody Johnson to give the Longhorns an early lead.

Not so. Florida Atlantic coach Howard Schnellenberger called timeout, and officials ruled Johnson had been stopped short. The Owls proceeded to stuff Johnson at the goal line on fourth down to take over on downs.

That's exactly what Texas' offense didn't need in a game against a team that could allow them to establish some offensive rhythm heading into a game next week against Texas A&M when they'll really need it.

Fortunately for the fellas in burnt orange, Blake Gideon came up with a timely interception on the ensuing drive to get the ball back in the red zone. Johnson punched that one in, but had to do it on a pitch play on fourth down to give Texas an early 7-0 lead.