Let's take a look at the Big 12 Conference football players this spring who could have breakout seasons in the fall when Oklahoma and Texas join the Southeastern Conference. Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado and Utah join from the Pac-12, making the Big 12 a 16-team league.
Baylor: WR Hal Presley started six games and had 17 catches last season before being sidelined with a lower-body injury. The 6-foot-2 senior is a speedy receiver who can make tough, acrobatic catches, and he showed that throughout the spring while working with a new offensive coordinator.
BYU: RB LJ Martin ran for a team-high 518 yards as a freshman last season. Playing a bigger role could be the key to reviving what was one of the worst FBS rushing offenses last season when the Cougars went 4-8. Big 12 debut.
Cincinnati: QB Brendan Thorsby is expected to take over as starter with the departure of Emory Jones, who played for three schools over six seasons. Thorsby appeared in 10 games as a redshirt freshman at Indiana University last year, throwing for 1,587 yards and 15 touchdowns.
Houston: RB Parker Jenkins returns after a solid freshman season in which he led the team with 464 yards rushing on 99 carries. He surprised first-year coach Willie Fritz with a 60-yard touchdown run in the spring game and will be another asset for first-year coach Willie Fritz to pair with veteran QB Donovan Smith.
Iowa State: Coaches and teammates called freshman running back Dylan Lee a spring star. His impressive change of direction and acceleration was on display in the spring game, when he ran 17 times for 80 yards. The projected starter is Abu Samah III, but this offense prefers to use a back two or three on a regular basis.
Kansas State: DL Dylan Utke transferred from Youngstown State, giving the Jayhawks immediate experience at a position of need. Udoke has 20 tackles and nine sacks over the past two seasons.
Kansas: QB Avery Johnson replaces Will Howard, who transferred to Ohio State. The reality is that even if he returned to Manhattan, Johnson probably would have outsold Howard for the starting job. Johnson showed off his dynamic dual-purpose skills when he played last season, including a win over North Carolina State in the Poptarts Bowl.
Oklahoma State: Jackson-Arnold became the starting quarterback for the Alamo Bowl after Dillon Gabriel left for Oregon State. Arnold, making his first career start, passed for 361 yards, two touchdowns, and three interceptions in the loss to Arizona. Now a sophomore, he passed for 233 yards and two touchdowns in the spring game against the SEC-bound Sooners.
Oklahoma State: The entire offensive line that helped Ollie Gordon II win the Doak Walker Award, given to the nation's top running back, is back. Joe Michalski, Dalton Cooper, Preston Wilson, Jake Springfield and Cole Birmingham all started at least 10 games last season. Jason Brooks Jr. made seven starts. Behind him, Gordon rushed for 1,732 yards and 21 TDs.
TCU: LB Caleb Airms-Orr transferred from California after ranking third in the Pac-12 with 8.4 tackles per game (92 tackles overall). The junior could be a key piece of the unit for new defensive coordinator Andy Avalos.
Texas: Backup QB Arch Manning made the biggest splash in the spring game, passing for 355 yards and 3 TDs. Coach Steve Sarkisian said Quinn Ewers will remain QB1 after staying in school instead of entering the NFL Draft. The spring scrimmage was Manning's first chance to fulfill his much-touted promise, and he did so, assuring the Longhorns that the offense was in big hands if Ewers was injured again. He missed some or all of six games in two seasons.
Texas Tech: Edge rusher Amiah Washington appeared in just two games for the Red Raiders last season. That included an Independence Bowl win over California, where he had four tackles for loss, including two sacks, and forced a fumble after being moved by defensive tackle. The 6-foot-2, 275-pound Washington only played an outside role in the bowl after an opt-out and injury, but he could now become a starter as a redshirt freshman.
UCF: KJ Jefferson, a transfer from Arkansas, takes over as the Knights' quarterback after throwing for 7,923 yards and 67 touchdowns in 44 games over the past five SEC seasons, with 1,876 yards and 21 TDs. He replaces John Reese Plumlee, who helped UCF transition from the American Athletic Conference to the Big 12 last season.
West Virginia: QB Garrett Green has emerged as a solid two-way threat in his first full season as a starter. He threw for a career-high 391 yards against Houston and had three 100-yard rushing efforts as the Mountaineers, ranked last in the Big 12, won 9-4. The senior will need to work on his pitching accuracy after posting an FBS-lowest completion percentage of 53.1.
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