2012 football preview

By BEN JOHNSONPress Sports Editor

At the time, it probably wasn’t theideal situation.

Three games into the 2011 footballseason, Charlie Cooper resigned asTahlequah’s head coach, leaving theTigers with a huge hole to fill as dis-trict play approached. Health issuesbecame too much of a concern forCooper, so he handed the reigns over

the first-time head coach Brad Gilbert.“The transition wasn’t absolutely

smooth,” Gilbert said, recalling theweek of Sept. 19 last year. “It couldhave been easier.”

Now, as the 2012 season approach-es, Gilbert looks back as last season’stransition as a blessing.

“I got my feet wet,” he said. “...Igot six weeks of preparation last year,and now everything is starting to settledown.”

Tahlequah opens the 2012campaign — Gilbert’s first10-game regular season ashead coach — at Fort Gibsonon Friday night. And evennow as the head coach foralmost a year, Gilbert saidhe’s still learning on the job— and that’s not likely tochange in the near future.

“It’s always a learningprocess,” Gilbert said.“Whether I’m the coach forfive years, 10 years or 30, I’llstill be learning every year.But I do know this, I have agreat staff to work with;we’re all on the same page.”

The page the currentcoaching staff is on is tryingto guide Tahlequah to its firstwinning season in more thana decade. The Tigers are com-ing off a 3-7 mark in 2011.

If Tahlequah is to earn aplayoff berth or post at least a.500 mark with five wins,it’ll have to do so with ayoung crew at quarterback.Sophomores, David Dick andWill Carlisle, will handlemost of the duties in leadingthe offense.

At running back, MasonMcMillan will carry the bulkof the load. Jacob Morris,Alex Hodge and DakotaJames will also see time inthe back field, too.

“We’re going to havesome guys rotating in,”Gilbert said. “But handlingthe ball the most will beMason McMillan. The mainthing is to keep them all fresh,because they’ll all be playingdifferent positions, too.”

Options on the outside for Dick orCarlisle will be Ben Lamb, BrandonConrad and Tyler Eisensmith. Otherpass receiving options will be CalebMorton and Hunter Littlejohn at tightend.

Creating running seams or offeringpass protection will be the Tigersoffensive line, which includes AlexRice (left tackle), Wesley Rivas (leftguard), Austin Roberton (center),Spencer Walton and Jesse Rivas atright guard and Eric Garcia and ChaseCampbell at right tackle.

On the defensive side of the ball,Tahlequah will be anchored by ReeseDavis, Charles Mounce and JesseRivas at linebacker.

Morton, McMillan, Billy Bickford,Logan Cook and Campbell will set upshop on either end of the defensiveline. In the middle of the line will beWesley Rivas, Robertson, Rice andJarel Todd.

The Tigers’ secondary will havetwo newcomers at the cornerback posi-tions with Hestin Lamons and MitchSellers. The two juniors will replaceDayne Whitehorn and Tanner Weston.

“(Lamons and Sellers) have joinedus from the wrestling program,”Gilbert said, “and both are doing areally good job.”

Behind Lamons and Sellers will beConrad and Carlisle, at free safety andstrong safety, respectively.

Gilbert said the goal is to be able toplay 24 to 28 players per game.However, keeping guys healthy willbe priority No. 1 in order to keep theregular rotation around 30.

“I told them, ‘hey, football is not acomfortable sport. You’re going to beuncomfortable playing football attimes. You have to push through thatthough, and that’s called mentaltoughness,’” Gilbert said. “When youdon’t feel like playing or don’t feelgood, you still have to come to prac-tice and the games ready to go.”

Serving as motivation during thepreseason has been Tahlequah’s pro-jected finish as the eighth team — inthe eight-team district in 5A-4.

“I think in every publication,we’ve been picked to finish eighth,”Gilbert said. “We see that as a chal-lenge, and we accept that.”

... Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012 Tahlequah Daily Press 2012 Football Preview

Gilbert ready for 1st full year as Tigers coach

Head coach: Brad Gilbert.2012 district: 5A-4.ADM: 1,160.19.2011 record: 3-7.Top returning players: Mason

McMillan (RB, 6-0, 190, Sr.); Alex Rice(LT, 5-11, 307, Sr.); Brandon Conrad(FS, 5-11, 180, Jr.).

2012 scheduleDate OpponentAug. 31 @ Fort GibsonSept. 7 @ Rogers, Ark.Sept. 14 SallisawSept. 21 Grove*Sept. 28 @ Claremore*Oct. 5 Coweta*Oct. 12 @ Central*Oct. 18 @ Pryor*Oct. 26 East Central*Nov. 2 @ Collinsville** Denotes District 5A-4 games

––––––––––––––––––––––Ben Johnson

Press Sports Editor

TahlequahTigers

The Tahlequah Tigers will open their 2012 season on the road at Fort Gibson.Photo courtesy of Jay Kennedy

Front page photo courtesy of John Hasler/VYPE and Hasler Productions

Thursday, Aug. 30, 2012 ... Tahlequah Daily Press 2012 Football Preview

Tahlequah lost very few players from 2011’ssquad, so now the pressure is on for the returningplayers to perform.

The Tigers labored through countless injuries

last season, but everyone is back and close to 100percent.

Time to turn last year’s experiences into vic-tories in 2012.

Below is a breakdown of potential strengthsand weaknesses for Tahlequah in 2012:

Strengths• Offensive line: Injuries along the offensive

front allowed plenty of players to log playingtime in 2011. Now, the line is back in tact withAlex Rice paving the way at left tackle.

• Wide receivers: The Tigers lost Zaine Ristaufrom their passing arsenal, but the return of BenLamb helps ease that loss. Lamb provides a reli-able threat who can stretch the field. Toss in theathletic Brandon Conrad and Tahlequah shouldhave to solid passing options to build around.Tyler Eisensmith should have an impact at somepoint, too.

• Linebacker: Another position whereTahlequah lost some talent, with the graduationof Collin Downs. However, Charles Mounceprovides stability in the middle of the field.Along side Caleb Morton, a hybrid defensiveend who can stand up and play linebacker,Mounce gives the Tigers two solid defenderscalling the shots near the other teams’ offensiveline.

Weaknesses

• Quarterback: A.J. Campbell and Ristauvacated the signal calling duties due to gradua-tion, but the Tigers still have options. Just notany seasoned options. David Dick, Will Carlisleand Jake Johnson are capable of handing thequarterbacking duties, but none have sustainedexperience at the position. Dick is likely to be thestarter and can run and pass, but he’s yet to facea pass rush coming at him or throwing underpressure. Carlisle is a solid option in select run-ning packages.

• Cornerback: Hestin Lamons and MitchSellers are as solid as they come for the Tigers —when it comes to wrestling. The pair is stilllearning the ropes in pass coverage and readingoffenses. The good news for them is that Conradand Carlisle are solid options behind them atboth safety positions.

• Kicking game: Jared Bush vacated his kick-ing duties when he left the football team duringthe 2011 season. Tanner Weston filled inadmirably in Bush’s absence. Now, the problemis who is going to replace Weston. Expect shakyproduction from the Tigers’ kicking game untilsome experience is gained as the season goesalong.

— Ben Johnson, Press Sports Editor

Tahlequah’s strengths and weaknesses in 2012

Ben Lamb’s ability stretch the field and catch passes in traffic make Tahlequah’s pass-ing game a potential strength for the Tigers in 2012. Photo courtesy of Jay Kennedy


It’s been a decade-plus since Tahlequahenjoyed a winning season in football. The sched-ule maker in 2012 is making it an uphill climbfor the Tigers to snap that nasty trend.

Beginning Friday, Tahlequah will embark ona 2012 campaign that will include only fourhome games and seven playoff teams from 2011.

“We were looking at the schedule the otherday, and we’ve got seven teams who played inthe playoff last year on our schedule,” Tahlequahcoach Brad Gilbert said. “...It’s a tough schedule.It’s not something that we can’t handle. We knowwe have to win our home games to get an oppor-tunity to make the playoffs.”

Tahlequah will open up on the road at FortGibson before crossing the state line to play atRogers (Ark.) on Sept. 7. The Tigers will hostSallisaw in their home opener on Sept. 14.

“Not that the first three games aren’t impor-tant — because they are,” Gilbert said. “But ourgoal this year is to make the playoffs, and weknow it starts Week 4. The first three games willhelp us to prepare for that district run.”

Playing in District 5A-4 again, Tahlequah

will see the same cast of characters as 2011, savefor Collinsville who slides into Edison’s spot inthe district.

The Tigers will play two of their first threedistrict games at home. Grove will make anappearance at Doc Wadley Stadium on Sept. 21while Coweta arrives two weeks later on Oct. 5.Sandwiched in between in Tahlequah’s first dis-trict road game at Claremore on Sept. 28.

Tahlequah will explore life on the road in theclosing weeks of the regular season. The Tigerswill play at Central (Oct. 12), at Pryor (Oct. 18)and at Collinsville (Nov. 2), with East Centralplaying at Tahlequah on Oct. 26.

Scouting Tahlequah’s opponents(Here’s a look ahead to each of Tahlequah’s

opponents in 2012, with how team fared in 2011with a glance at their top returning player)

* Stats based on 2011 results• Fort Gibson: 5-6 (playoffs, first round)Jake Gandara - RB, 269 rushes, 1,882 yards,

18 touchdowns• Rogers, Ark.: 2-8.Information not available on the Mounties.• Sallisaw: 9-3 (playoffs, second round)Ben Oberste - QB, 141 of 276 pass attempts,

1,617 yards, 18 TD’s• Grove: 4-6.Anthony Krause - LB, 81 tackles, 1 sack, 1

fumble recovery• Claremore: 4-6Jordan Cunningham - RB/LB, 739 rushes, 12

TD’s, 136 tackles, 1 sack, 1 fumble recovery• Coweta: 6-4 (playoffs, first round)Hayden Holmes - QB/DB - no stats available• Central: 8-3 (playoffs, first round)

Deangelo Brewer - WR/DB, 15 catches, 419yards, 5 TD’s,

• Pryor: 9-3 (playoffs, second round)Carson Smallwood - LB, 149 tackles• East Central: 10-2 (playoffs, second round)Trent Williams - WR, 30 catches, 473 yards,

6 TD’s• Collinsville: 4-6 (playoffs, first round)Derek Iannapollo - QB, 87 of 156, 1,182

yards, 6 TD’s


Tigers have tough road ahead this season

Tahlequah coach Brad Gilbert will begin his first full season on the sidelines in 2012,after taking over for Charlie Cooper three games into last year’s season.

Photo courtesy of Jay Kennedy


By KOLBY PAXTONPress Staff Writer

The more things change atTahlequah-Sequoyah, the more theyremain the same.

On the heels of a disappointingfirst round playoff exit, head coachBrent Scott watched as a loaded seniorclass turned in the shoulder pads. ZackRobinson is gone. Stuart Polk andSonny O’Field are gone. WhiteRobertson and Eric Kirkpatrick are nolonger walking through the door,either.

Yet, just as it appeared as though itmight be time to turn the page onSequoyah’s recent regular seasondominance, the Indians delivered aclear message throughout the summerand into the team’s first scrimmage:“We’re not going anywhere.”

Not yet, anyway.Memphis-commit Brayden Scott

returns for his fourth and final seasonas the Indians’ starting quarterback.Scott accounted for 2,622 total yardsand 33 touchdowns in 2011. Thestate’s top signal caller is backed upby senior Ryan Helsley.

“We think Helsley is going to playsome college ball at the quarterbackposition,” said Brent Scott. “He’s areally talented athlete and a really tal-ented quarterback.”

Charged with protecting Scott’sblindside is 6-7, 270-pound seniorMvhayv Locust. Locust joins a groupof body guards that includes risingjunior Elijah Tucker and senior anchorTanner Sheets.

“Tanner Sheets is one of the bestoffensive linemen we’ve ever hadhere,” said Brent Scott. “He’s an unbe-

lievable lineman. You just can’t sayenough good things about him.”

Accompanying Scott in the back-field will be a committee of runningbacks led by seniors Kyle Helsley andKarter Woodruff.

“Woodruff and Helsley are goingto have big years this year,” said BrentScott. “They’re big guys and they’revery athletic. They can run around youand they can run through you. Theyboth spent the off-season in the weightroom building their body up, and theycan play.”

Senior Robert Smith will also fig-ure into the running game.

On the perimeter, the Indians facea slew of high–profile vacancies atwide receiver. Scott has confidence,however, that his new group is up tothe task.

“You’re going to be impressed,” he

said. “We’re going to change things upa bit. We’re not going to send themvertical as much as we have in the past.(Ryan) Helsley plays X. He’s excel-lent. Our leading receiver, NikoHammer, is back. Robert Smith isgoing to make plays. Cody Hooper isgoing to make plays. We expect bigthings from Nick Kingfisher. We’vegot some guys. Those four or five guysthat we have is a really efficient crew.”

Tyler Chaffin returns as the starterat tight end. Greydon Elrod andLonnie Drapeau will see time at full-back.

“Elrod and Drapeau both start bothways, they’re both really good,” saidScott. “Greydon has a lot of speed andpower. He’s one of the strongest guysin the state of Oklahoma. They’re bothwhat you need in a fullback.”

Senior Forrest Cully will handlethe place–kicking duties once again.Cully connected on 33-of-41 extrapoint attempts in 2011. Kingfisher willpunt.

Defensively, coordinator ShaneRichardson will deploy a multiple 4-4.

Up front, Chaffin and fellow-sen-ior Jordan Colburn will get the start atthe ends – sort of. Chaffin will actual-ly play “sam,” which is a hybriddefensive end/linebacker.

“We’re asking Tyler to do morethan anybody else, because he has toplay in space and he has to be physicalenough to play up front,” saidRichardson. “He’s playing the mostphysically demanding position interms of what we ask him to do.”

On the interior, Sheets will start attackle, flanked by Elrod at nose guard.

“To have a multiple defense, youhave to be able to do get into differentlooks and different fronts with thesame 11 guys on the field, and we cando that because our guys are experi-enced and athletic enough.”

The inside linebacker positions,“mike” and “will,” will be manned byDrapeau and Woodruff, respectively,with Robert Smith spelling each as theutility back-up.

“Karter was at sam last year,” saidRichardson. “We moved him insidethis year. He’s bigger and we thoughtthat’d be a good fit for him. Our topthree backers were all seniors lastyear, so we had to replace them all.

Lonnie is a guy that we ask to makethe calls. He calls the front, makes theadjustments and calls the stunts. Wedo a lot of studying with Lonniebecause he has to know everything.”

With the graduation of Robinson,O’Field and Polk, Richardson lostthree-quarters of his secondary, aswell. Niko Hammer returns at rover,where he will be looked upon toshoulder a hefty load of responsibility.

“Niko is the guy that’s making theadjustments and the calls,” saidRichardson. “He’s such an experi-enced player that he knows what cov-erage we want to check to as soon asthe offense lines up.”

Elsewhere, Hammer’s defensivebackfield mates must compensate forthe loss of an immeasurable sum ofgame-breaking ability.

“We lost a lot of playmakers,” saidRichardson. “One of my biggest con-cerns is, can we make up for that?Those guys are athletic enough to playback there, but what made us a gooddefense the last few years was that wecreated a lot of turnovers. So can wekeep that mentality?”

Sequoyah reloads for potential title run in 2012

Head coach: Brent Scott.2012 district: 3A-7.ADM: 343.0.2011 record: 7-3.Top returning players: Karter

Woodruff (LB, 6-2, 220, Sr.); BraydenScott (QB, 6-3, 215, Sr.); Niko Ham-mer (WR/DB, 5-10, 180, Sr.); GreydenElrod (OL/DL, 6-1, 220, Sr.); MvhayvLocust (LT, 6-7, 250, Sr.).

2012 scheduleDate OpponentAug. 31 @ OkemahSept. 7 @ BeggsSept. 14 Victory ChristianSept. 21 @ Locust Grove*Sept. 28 @ Keys*Oct. 5 Westville*Oct. 12 @ Sperry*Oct. 18 Jay*Oct. 25 @ Hilldale*Nov. 2 Lincoln Chr.** Denotes District 3A-7 games

––––––––––––––––––––––Ben Johnson

Press Sports Editor

Sequoyah Indians

Sequoyah quarterback Brayden Scott returns for his senior season in 2012.Photo courtesy of Jay Kennedy


With the exception of districtcupcakes Westville and LocustGrove, Sequoyah will find itselfamid a field of relatively unfamiliarfoes after moving to Class 3A,District 7.

The conference-swap shouldplay in the Indians favor in manyrespects, but it will also demand fre-quent use of the school bus, with sixroad games on the itinerary.

• At Okemah – The Panthers haveseen steady improvement since headcoach Joe Turner arrived in 2009,advancing into the second round ofthe playoffs a season ago. VYPETop 100 defensive end MichaelDavis (6-2, 200) headlines thegroup.

• At Beggs – The Indians handedBeggs its only regular season loss of2011 when the teams met in theopener. On the heels of that 22-pointshellacking, the Demons reeled off10 consecutive wins before bowingout in the second round of the play-offs.

• Victory Christian – VictoryChristian reeled off its most success-ful season in recent memory, withseven wins and a playoff appear-ance. The Conquerors will look toride the wave into 2011, despite theinherent complications associatedwith starting a freshman quarter-back, Keats Calhoun (6-2, 155).

• At Locust Grove – First-yearhead coach Matt Hennesy has hiswork cut out for him. The Pirateshave won only two games in the past

three season.• At Keys – Cougars head coach

Gary Willis returns for his 12th sea-son at the helm, with seven returningoffensive starters in tow. Of course,not among them is quarterback JakePhillips or running back ColtenDouillard.

• At Sperry – The Pirates aresquarely positioned in rebuildingmode. Sperry head coach RobertPark has yet to identify a starter atrunning back. That’s bad news for ateam that doesn’t pass.

• Westville – The Yellow Jacketsstumbled to 0-10 a season ago. Verylittle looks to change in 2012.

• Jay – The Bulldogs are, by mostaccounts, the wild card of 3A-7. Aplayoff team in 2011, Jay welcomesback senior quarterback Shai Jones.Jones piled up 2,581 all-purposeyards a season ago.

• At Hilldale – Hilldale is the firstof a two-part final, of sorts, forSequoyah. The Hornets ran to theClass 4A playoffs a season ago andreturn the bulk of that bunch in 2012,including senior running backJamaul Cullom (6-0, 200).

• Lincoln Christian – TheBulldogs begin their first year inClass 3A, after reaching the quarter-finals in 2010-’11, and rattling off 57wins over the past five seasons.VYPE 100 quarterback AustinGrauer (5-9, 175) returns for his sen-ior season.

— Kolby Paxton, Press StaffWriter

Sequoyah’s schedule: Agame-by-game breakdown

Despite moderate turnover, Brent Scott’s SequoyahIndians carry heavy expectations – and equally lofty aspi-rations – into the 2012 season.

The consensus top ranked team in Class 3A-7 returnssenior-laden group of impact players, led by quarterbackBrayden Scott and lineman Tanner Sheets. Of course, theIndians will also rely on a slew of unproven commoditiesto fill a handful of key vacancies.

Strengths• Quarterback: Senior “Cub” Scott is the premier sig-

nal caller in the state. He tossed for 2,270 yards and 26touchdowns in 2011. The team’s fastest player, Scott alsoran for 352 yards and seven scores. Relieving Scott istwo-way standout Ryan Helsley. “Helsley would start justabout anywhere else,” said Brent Scott. “We think he’s aguy that will go on to play quarterback at the next level.He’s a really talented kid.”

• Experience: The Indians start a senior at nearlyevery position. Scott is a four-year starter. Sheets andtight end Tyler Chaffin are three-year starters. As BrentScott put it, this is an “old” team, and a group that won’t

be easily rattled.

Weaknesses• Depth: At the top of the depth chart, Sequoyah is

supremely talented. The Indians have powerful runningbacks and hard-nosed linebackers; reliable wide receiversand an intelligent secondary; an experienced offensiveand defensive line. The problem is, their running backsand linebackers are the same players – and the same canbe said for the receivers and defensive backs, as well asthe linemen. A healthy Sequoyah football team is as dan-gerous as any in Class 3A, but it will need to stay healthy.

• Secondary: The new-look Indians secondary ischock-full of capable players, but they will be chargedwith the responsibility of replacing Zack Robinson, StuartPolk and school interception king, Sonny O’Field. Loneholdover, Niko Hammer, will quarterback the unit fromthe rover position. “Niko is the guy that’s making theadjustments and the calls,” said Richardson. “He’s suchan experienced player that he knows what coverage wewant to check to as soon as the offense lines up.”

— Kolby Paxton, Press Staff Writer

SHS’ strengths and weaknesses

Niko Hammer (25) will be an integral part of Sequoyah’s passing game in 2012.Photo courtesy of Justin Kennedy


Keys was fortunate to be two deepat nearly every position in 2011. TheCougars might not be provided thatluxury when the 2012 campaign starts.

With that said, Keys coach GaryWillis knows the biggest key to hisclub’s success this year will be simplystaying healthy.

“Key to making a run this year willbe depth,” he said. “We’re not realdeep. We get young real fast. We havea good senior core group and very fewjuniors. We get down to the sopho-mores and freshmen real quick.

“So, it’ll be very important to stayhealthy.”

The Cougars, coming off a 7-5 sea-son in 2011, hope to continue theirrecent run of playoffs berths, despitewelcoming in six new teams into

District 3A-7 this year.“Goal No. 1 is to get into the play-

offs,” said Willis, whose teams havehosted first-round playoff games eachof the past two seasons. “Winning thedistrict, that’s right there together.Those are always our main goals.”

If those are to be obtained, theCougars will rely heavily on its offen-sive line and senior quarterback.

Up front, the Cougars will deployBlake Maxey, Frank Walker, ChrisKelley and J.D. Daugherty.

“Our offensive line is gonna makeall the difference in the world,” Keysquarterback Trevor Eubanks said.“We’re gonna line up and get behindthat big offensive line. We feel likeBlake and Chris can dominate upfront.”

Eubanks takes over for JakePhillips, who passed for 2,400-plusyards and 23 touchdowns in 2011.

Luckily for Eubanks, he took somesnaps at quarterback during the latterstages of the 2011 campaign.

“It’s a bit different calling the shotson the offensive side, but I’m used tostepping up and being a leader,” saidEubanks, who led the Cougars with160 tackles at free safety last year.“Last year helped with knowing howit feels to play both sides [of the ball].I know I have to prepare myself men-tally and physically for that.”

The challenging aspect ofEubanks’ transition to quarterbackwill be the graduation of several play-makers from last season’s club.Christian Worthington and ColtenDouillard are gone at running back,and Jacky Walker, Cameron Parks andCordell Breuklander are absent atwide receiver.

Never fear, though, says Eubanks.“I think we’ll be fine on offense,”

Eubanks said.“We still haveplaymakers. Wehave Tyler

Blankenship (at wide receiver). And inthree weeks, we’ll have one of themost athletic guys in the state back torun the ball in Cody Cole.”

Until Cole returns, Jesse Haeberlewill handle the ball-carrying duties.

On defense, most of the offensiveline mates — if not all of them — willtake on key roles up front.

The issue, according to Eubanks,will be filling the void left byWorthington, Parks and Walker in thedefensive backfield.

“On defense, we’re solid on thefront line and at the linebacker posi-tion,” Eubanks said. “We have someholes in the secondary after losingthree-fourths of our DB’s, but we’vegot guys who are stepping up.”

Until those players solidify theirroles, Eubanks knows he might havesome added play-making responsibili-ties.

“I know I have to take on a bigrole,” Eubanks said, “in leading thedefense [and] making sure we’rewhere we need to be.”


Health, line play crucial for CougarsHead coach: Gary Willis.2012 district: 3A-7.ADM: 355.08.2011 record: 7-5.Top returning players: Blake

Maxey (OL/DL, 6-4, 330, Sr.); TylerBlankenship (WR/LB, 6-2, 200, Sr.);Trevor Eubanks (QB/FS, 5-11, 170,Sr.).

2012 scheduleDate OpponentAug. 31 @ Cl-SequoyahSept. 7 @ ChecotahSept. 14 EufaulaSept. 21 Westville*Sept. 28 Sequoyah*Oct. 5 VianOct. 12 @ Lincoln Chr.*Oct. 18 Hilldale*Oct. 26 @ Jay*Nov. 2 @ Locust Grove** Denotes District 3A-7 games

––––––––––––––––––––––Ben Johnson

Press Sports Editor

Keys Cougars

Keys’ offensive line, led by Blake Maxey (70), will be an important aspect of the Cougars’2012 season. Photo by Ben Johnson


Say goodbye to Beggs, Roland, Victory Christian andothers. Keys’ district has undergone a drastic renovation.

While the Cougars maintained their existence inDistrict 3A-7, all the other teams in the league are nownew to the fray.

Those making the move to 3A-7 include former 3A-6members, Westville, Locust Grove and Sequoyah.Hilldale and Jay drop down from 4A, and perennial 2Apower, Lincoln Christian, moves up a class.

“This is, hands down, the toughest district [on the eastside of the state,” Keys coach Gary Willis said. “Now, theBerryhill, Claremore-Sequoyah, Verdigris one (District3A-5) is getting there. But anytime you roll Sequoyah andLincoln Christian into one district, then it’s pretty brutal.”

The Cougars open the 2012 season with two straightroad contests, at Claremore-Sequoyah (Aug. 31) andChecotah (Sept. 7). Then, Keys begins an elongated homestand, save for one road game mixed in during the middleof October.

The Cougars will host Eufaula in a non-district gameon Sept. 14, followed by their 3A-7 opener againstWestville on Sept. 21 at Cougar Stadium.

Following the game against the Yellowjackets, Keys’schedule ramps up into high gear.

The Cougars will host country rival Sequoyah (Sept.28) followed by a non-district rivalry clash with Vian(Oct. 5). Then, it’s back to 3A-7 play at Lincoln Christian(Oct. 12) before closing out the home portion of theschedule on Oct. 18 against Hilldale.

“That’s going to be the toughest month that I’ve everycoached,” Willis said of the four-game stretch that beginswith the Sequoyah game. “It’ll be pretty brutal.”

The good news? Keys will enjoy the comforts of homefor but the Lincoln Christian during that four-game span.

“That helps,” Willis said. “You’ve got the four toughgames — counting Vian in a tough non-district game —you’ve got three of them at home. You always want toplay at home for those tough games.”

Keys’ schedule will round out with road trips to Jay(Oct. 26) and Locust Grove (Nov. 1).

With Sequoyah’s move to 3A-7, it ensures that Keyswill get to play for country bragging rights for each of thenext two seasons.

“It’s great for the kids and community when the teamsget after each other,” Willis said. “Those two games(including the Vian game), the superintendent probablyloves those because they’ll bring in a lot of money.”


Keys’ schedule amps up withopponents in District 3A-7

Keys took a big hit from graduationfollowing the 2011 season. Gone noware the likes of Jake Phillips, ColtenDouillard, Christian Worthington, JaseFisher and Joey Paden.

Luckily for the Cougars, playerson this year’s roster are ready to stepright in and contribute while othersreturn for the senior seasons at posi-tions of strength.

Below is a breakdown of potentialstrengths and weaknesses for theCougars in 2012:

Strengths• Offensive line: Keys is fortunate

that the offensive front was left nearlyintact following last year’s season.Returning is Blake Maxey to anchorthe line. Around him will be guys likeChris Kelley, Frank Walker, J.D.Daugherty and Mason Turman.

• Quarterback: Replacing a play-er like Phillips would be difficult invirtually any situation. Yet, theCougars gave Trevor Eubanks somelimited action at quarterback in 2011,and the experience factor may be a bigplus this season. Keys coach GaryWillis said Eubanks has improved somuch that quarterback may be the ulti-mate strength of the team this season.

• Special teams: Jacky Walker

routinely let loose some boomingpunts during his time on specialteams. But Keys’ JJ Ozturk should beable to fill Walker’s void, while main-taining his stronghold on place-kick-ing duties. When in the groove,Ozturk is a field-goal-kicking threatup to about 45 yards.

Weaknesses• Running back: Douillard and

Worthington gave the Cougars a lethalone-two punch in the back field lastseason. It’ll be tough for JesseHaeberle to replace them all on hisown. Haeberle will likely get the start-ing nod at tailback, but beyond himare some unproven ball carriers.

• Wide receiver: Cameron Parksand Cordell Breuklander gave theCougars a pair of consistent playmak-ers in 2011. Willis has hinted thatTyler Blankenship has good hands tocatch the ball, but it’ll be hard tobecome a lethal passing team if guyslike Trent Cox can’t catch the ball outof the back field.

• Cornerback: Douillard andWorthington were also constants in thedefensive secondary last season. Nowit’s up to Haeberle to fill their void atanother position. Having Eubanks atsafety, though, should help.

Cougars’ strengthsand weaknesses

Trevor Eubanks takes over at quarterback for Keys in 2012.Photo courtesy of Jay Kennedy


Let the venture down the path ofthe unknown commence.

Gone are the days of NortheasternState preparing for games in the LoneStar Conference. No longer is the slatemish-mashed full of teams just to forma cohesive schedule during a trickyyear as an independent.

No, those days are in the rear-viewmirror.

Welcome to the Mid-AmericaIntercollegiate Athletics Association,Northeastern State.

Prepare for the unknown.“We feel like we’ll have a better

team than we did a year ago,” NSUhead coach Kenny Evans said. “It maynot show in the W-and-L columns, wedon’t know. There are so many if’sand things in football that have to fallinto the right place.

“It’s exciting and I’m really look-

ing forward to it. The players are look-ing forward to it and looking forwardto competing against some of the bestteams at this level.”

NSU was a proud, card-carryingmember of the Lone Star Conferencefrom 1995 to 2011. Then, it toiled withindependence status for a year.

Now, it’s time for NSU to divehead first into the MIAA — a leagueknown across the Division II land-scape as powerful and influential.

NSU’s schedule could be describeas tortuous, grueling or impossible.

Luckily for the RiverHawks, theyventure into the new league farremoved from their 1-10 or 2-9 days.

Plus, they also employ JohnnyDeaton at quarterback.

“We’re probably going to be a lit-tle more two-dimensional [this year],”Evans said, referring to the pass-firstRiverHawks in 2011 who saw Deatonpost 2,520 yards and 26 touchdownson 162 of 311 completions.

“Johnny had proven he can get theball to his receivers down field, andthe offense starts with him.”

The junior gunslinger, who trans-ferred to NSU from Oklahoma Stateduring the summer before the 2011season, will man the huddle for a sec-ond straight season. And while hewon’t have the most prolific passcatcher in school history — TreyMcVay — he’ll still have plenty ofweapons at his disposal.

“Our receiving core is very talent-ed,” Evans said of a group thatincludes Montra Nelson, JahmaiColeman, Jermaine Sherman andChucky Bryant. “We feel like that’s askill position that we’re going to drop,even with the loss of Trey McVay. Itmay be by committee...but we feelreally good about what we’re doing.”

In an attempt to stay balanced onoffense, Deaton will rely on a the run-ning game, which involves the returnof Joel Rockmore and Terrance Dixon.

“John Ryzman is back and fresh-man Zack Simmons from LincolnChristian has been impressive,” Evanssaid of his backfield group, which willalso include fullback Nick Whitlow.“Skill positions we feel really goodabout.”

Of course, NSU’s offense won’t beable to find any traction without thehelp of its offensive line. Enter,Michael Bowie — a starter atOklahoma State before being dis-missed right before the opening of fallcamp — and a cast of newcomers thatwill replace five seniors from theRiverHawks’ line in 2011.

“The transfer that came in fromOklahoma State really gave us a bigboost,” Evans said of Bowie, the 6-foot-5, 320-poundleft tackle whostarted five gamesfor Oklahoma Statein 2011. “MichaelBowie has reallycome in, and it’seasy to see whythere are a lot ofNFL scouts that areinterested in him.”

Teaming upwith Bowie on thefront line (from leftguard to right tack-le) will be Chris

Webber, Ross Dvorak, JonathanBrown and Ethan James.

On defense, the RiverHawks willlean heavily on the their linebackersand defensive backs. Providing stabil-ity in the secondary will be cornerbackVernon Jones and free safety VictorJohnson.

“It could be the best overall sec-ondary we’ve had in the four previousyears that I’ve been here,” said Evans,who will also have Chandler Barr atthe other cornerback spot andMuskogee alum, Kyler Harris, atstrong safety.

“Vernon Jones is coming back forhis senior year, and he’s looked greatin the preseason. We feel real good atsafety with Victor Johnson, who start-ed three years ago at Oklahoma State.He suffered a knee injury, but he’srehabbed it and he’s in great condi-tion. I have to hold him back [in prac-tice] to keep him from hurting some-one on offense.”

Langston Jones — who led theRiverHawks with 93 tackles and 10tackles for loss — will return for hisjunior season at linebacker. Also in themiddle of the field will be Jack Grayand converted safety, CayleShambaugh.

“Langston Jones was the MVP ofthe Mineral Water Bowl,” Evans said.“And he’s come back even bigger thanhe was last year. He’s still just asactive.”

Up front on defense, NSU willcount on production from JamesMcGue at defensive end, where he’llreplace Travis Boswell from lastyear’s roster. Helping fill the voidalongside McGue will be BlakeDirteater, Alan Stroup, Yun Taala,

Kenny Garrett, Logan Andrews,Rowdy McCauley and ConnorAppelberg.

NSU’s special teams will consistof Dylan Beers handling place-kick-ing and punting duties. Daniel Bondwill back up Beers while formerplace-kicker, Drew Patton, nurses aninjury.


Deaton takes center stage for RiverHawks

Head coach: Kenny Evans.Conference: MIAA.Enrollment: 9,300.2011 record: 7-5.Top returning players: Langston

Jones (LB, 6-0, 205, Jr.); JohnnyDeaton (QB, 6-3, 220, Sr.); Joel Rock-more (RB, 5-7, 185, Soph.); Nick Whit-low (FB, 6-0, 230, Sr.); Jahmai Cole-man (WR, 6-2, 163, Sr.); VernonJones (CB, 5-11, 165, Sr.).

2012 scheduleDate OpponentAug. 30 Pittsburg StateSept. 8 @ Mo. SouthernSept. 15 @ WashburnSept. 22 Emporia St.Sept. 29 @ NW Mo. St.Oct. 6 Mo. WesternOct. 13 ByeOct. 20 Central MissouriOct. 27 @ SW BaptistNov. 3 LincolnNov. 10 @ Central Okla.* All games are MIAA games.

––––––––––––––––––––––Ben Johnson

Press Sports Editor

NortheasternState

RiverHawks

Johnny Deaton returns as NSU’s quarterback after setting multipleseason records in the passing game in 2011. Photo by Ben Johnson



Kenny Evans has seen some gruelingschedules during his coaching career. Butnone like what awaits him 2012.

The Mid-American IntercollegiateAthletics Association means business.

Of Northeastern State’s first seven oppo-nents, five are either ranked or receivingvotes in the American Football CoachesAssociation preseason poll.

“I was at North Texas playing OU, Texasand Louisiana State, which is pretty tough,”Evans said. “But [our schedule] is compara-ble to that type of situation. For me, it’s notunlike being at Louisiana Tech or NorthTexas, where you have to play the moneygames to fund your program.

“Here, we’re playing that type of compe-tition, but we’re not getting all that money.So it’s a little tougher.”

The RiverHawks, coming off a 7-5campaign as an independent in 2011, openthis year’s slate by hosting the reigningDivision II national champion, PittsburgState. After NSU plays the preseason No. 1Gorillas, it plays two roads games — at

Missouri Southern and at No. 20Washburn.

Emporia State State will travel toTahlequah on Sept. 22, NSU will head toNo. 3 Northwest Missouri State and theRiverHawks will return for two straighthome contests — vs. No. 18 MissouriWestern and Central Missouri, who is 31stwith 72 votes in the top 25 poll.

“Going into the MIAA — which mostpeople compare to the SEC of Division IIfootball — and opening against thedefending national champions, we’ll haveour hands full from the beginning,” Evanssaid. “And it doesn’t get any easier fromthere.”

The RiverHawks will play two of theirfinal three games on the road: at SouthwestBaptist (Mo.) on Oct. 27 and at rivalCentral Oklahoma on Nov. 10. NSU’shome finale will be Nov. 3 against Lincoln(Mo.).

“My expectations are high, and theyalways are,” Evans said. “Even when I tookthe job as a first-time head coach, my expec-tations were to win every game, and thatmindset hasn’t changed. Whether we do thator not is yet to be seen.”

Rough slate awaits NSU(Here’s a look ahead to each of

the RiverHawks’ opponents in2011 with last year’s record andtop returning players on each sideof the ball)

• Pittsburg State: 13-1(national champions)

Offense: John Brown — WR,61 catches, 1,216 yards, 12touchdowns. Defense: NateDreiling — LB, 139 tackles, 3sacks, 7 interceptions, 6 passbreak-ups.

• Missouri Southern: 3-7Offense: Landon Zerkel —

WR, 77 catches, 1,047 yards, 6touchdowns. Defense: BrianRodgers — DB, 87 tackles, 6tackles for loss, 3 INT’s.

• Washburn: 10-3 (Playoffs,secound round)

Offense: Sean McPherson —RB, 782 rushes, 736 yards, 6touchdowns. Defense: JahmilTaylor — LB, 112 tackles, 9.5tackles for loss, 4 sacks, 2 INT’s.

• Emporia State: 5-6Offense: Tyler Eckenrode —

QB, 229 of 368 passes complet-ed, 2,580 yards, 18 TD’s, 9INT’s. Defense: Ben Carlson —LB, 85 tackles, 6 tackles for loss,1 INT.

• Northwest Missouri State:11-3 (Playoffs, third round)

Offense: Trevor Adams —QB, 152 of 248 passes complet-ed, 2,202 yards, 21 TD’s, 11INT’s. Defense: DJ Gnader —LB, 100 tackles, 11 tackles forloss, 2.5 sacks, 1 INT.

• Missouri Western State: 9-3 (Playoffs, first round)

Offense: Michael Hill — RB,265 rushes, 1,305 yards, 8 TD’s.Defense: Ben Jackson — DB,67 tackles, 2 tackles for loss, 3INT’s.

• Central Missouri: 8-4(Kanza Bowl)

Offense: David Cannon —

TE, 60 catches, 810 yards, 9TD’s. Defense: Patrick Lewis —DB, 104 tackles, 2.5 tackles forloss, 1 INT.

• Southwest Baptist: 6-5Offense: Dan Connors —

QB, 184 of 290 passes complet-ed, 2,179 yards, 14 TD’s, 10INT’s. Defense: Zach Moore —LB, 96 tackles, 7.5 tackles forloss, 2 sacks, 1 INT.

• Lincoln: 1-10Offense: Corderious

Gregory — WR, 71 catches, 791yards, 5 TD’s. Defense: HermanHopson — FS, 75 tackles, 2INT’s.

• UCO: 2-9Offense: Josh Birmingham —

RB, 174 rushes, 882 yards, 7TD’s. Defense: Devoris Dozier— DB, 68 tackles, 5 INT’s

* Stats based on 2011 results––––––––––––––––––––––

Ben JohnsonPress Sports Editor

Scouting NSU’s 2012 opponents


The talent level may be as good as it’s everbeen at Northeastern State in 2012. It’s certainlythe best Kenny Evans has had to chose from dur-ing his five-year tenure at NSU.

Sure, the RiverHawks lost All-Americans incornerback Nate Robinson and wide receiverTrey McVay, but behind those guys are aptreplacements. Led by a quarterback (JohnnyDeaton) who is coming off a remarkable sopho-more campaign, the RiverHawks are loaded withplaymakers across the board.

Below is a breakdown of potential strengthsand weaknesses for the RiverHawks in 2012:

Strengths• Quarterback: It didn’t take long for Johnny

Deaton to supplant Kenny Davis as NSU’s start-ing quarterback in 2011. And once in charge,Deaton didn’t disappoint. He racked up 2,520yards and 26 touchdowns while completing 52.1percent (162 of 311) of his passes. Deaton didhave a heightened comfort level with McVay, whoset nearly every receiving record at NSU last sea-son. This year’s targets for Deaton will includeJahmai Coleman, Montra Nelson, JermaineSherman, Chucky Bryant and Gionni Harris.

• Secondary: It’s hard to fathom that the unitthat lost Robinson would once again be astrength this year. But it is. Vernon Jones,Robinson’s sidekick at cornerback last season,should ease into Robinson’s spot, while Jones’No. 2 status could be a little shaky early on. Butthere are plenty of candidates to choose from:Chandler Barr, Marcus Cotton, David Lewis andKahlil Mitchell. Safety is a bit more of a surething. Former Oklahoma State Cowboy, VictoryJohnson, will be the last line of defense at freesafety while former Muskogee standout, KylerHarris, will fill the strong safety position. Theword on both is they deliver hard hits first andask questions later.

• Linebacker: This could be the deepestposition — of quality — on the roster. LangstonJones (the “hawk” linebacker) led theRiverHawks with 93 tackles and 10 tackles for

loss in 2011. His backup, Donnie Fuston, hasreceived rave reviews during preseason camp.Along side Langston Jones will be Jack Gray —who had 47 tackles last season — at inside line-backer. Chris Dinkins, another OSU transfer,backs him up. Then, a polished safety a year ago,Cayle Shambaugh moves closer to the line at therover position. Shambaugh had 50 tackles, onesack and one interception in his return to foot-ball, after originally signing with the Universityof Oklahoma to play baseball.

Weaknesses• Running back: The question has persisted

for a while now: When is NSU going to developa running game? For years, the RiverHawkshave struggled to run the ball, and even theemerge of Joel Rockmore and Terrance Dixondidn’t change that in 2011. Neither back ran formore than 500 yards in 2011, and both are backthis season. The RiverHawks ended up averag-ing 149.4 rushing yards per game last season,while their opponents were close to 200 at 190.8per contest.

• Offensive line: Thank heavens for MichaelBowie. The Oklahoma State transfer, who start-ed five games for the Cowboys last season,transferred to NSU to anchor the RiverHawks’line on the left side. The rest still — other thanRoss Dvorak at center — is a question mark.Ethan James (right tackle), Jonathan Brown(right guard) and Chris Webber (left guard) areatop the depth chart at their respective positions.Problem is all are sophomores and have very lit-tle experience.

• Special teams: NSU replaces both of itskicking specialists in 2012. Dylan Beers is slatedto take over for punter Cody Lenz — who lastyear averaged 39.1 yards per punt, with 13 insidethe 20-yard line — and kicker Drew Patton, whois still with NSU, just nowhere to be found on thedepth chart. If the workload becomes to much tobare, Daniel Bond is listed as Beers’ backup asthe place kicker.


Northeastern State’s strengths and weaknesses

Jermaine Sherman (87) leads a talented and deep wide-receiving crew in 2012.Photo courtesy of NSU Athletics


By GREG HOLBIRDPress Special Writer

Prior to the start of the 2011 foot-ball season there was nothing excitingabout the Hulbert Riders.

The team had a combined threewins in three seasons.

During the summer months lead-ing to last season things were chang-ing. Mitchell Crittenden arrived inMay and took over the head-coachingreigns. He settled into the head coach-ing job over the summer and rehabili-tated the offense.

“I can tell you, we had some suc-cess for the first time in a while,”Crittenden said. “When you come intoa new job, the general procedure is ittakes about three years to make theplayoffs. That is what you’re shootingfor.”

That new offense is something theplayers and coaches attribute to lastseason’s four wins and a trip to theplayoffs.

“We’re not used to losing any-

more. We know how to win now,” saidjunior Brandon Thompson, whohelped lead the Riders to a 4-6 cam-paign in 2011.

Along with the new offense,Crittenden introduced new expecta-tions of hard work and positivity onand off the field.

“Coach has given us discipline.Guys are no longer horsing around;they are serious about working hardon the field and by getting an educa-tion,” said senior quarterbackChristian Vance.

One year after the team welcomednew coaches that brought some posi-tive changes, they move up from ClassA to 2A. The move brings strongercompetition and teams Hulbert play-ers are not used to seeing on the otherside of the ball.

“There’s not much difference in2A and A,” said Crittenden. “Now thereal good teams, there’s a big differ-ence. You look at playing someonelike Vian — they’re a long way fromwhere we are going to have to get.”

The HulbertRiders begin dis-trict play with agame Sept. 21against Colcord.Among fans,coaches, or players,there is no clearconsensus of wherethe teams in district2A-8 will end up.Last season’s domi-nate team in 2A-8,Adair, has movedto District 2A-7,leaving the fieldopen. The coachesand players didfocus on two teamsthey would have tobeat to be the bestthis season.

Commerce andKansas are two ofthe teams expectedto be at the top ofthe district. Hulbertwill face Commercein the middle of theschedule, Oct. 5,and Kansas towardthe end on Oct. 26.

This will give Coach Crittenden andhis players five games to prepare andmake adjustments.

“Much of people’s opinions of usis our past, and a lot of the polls arebased on what those teams have donein the past,” said Crittenden. “A lot ofthe teams they have ranked high areyoung this year. It doesn’t mean theywon’t be good. But they will have alearning curve as well.”

In 2011, Hulbert had nine fresh-men and seven sophomores on theteam. This season Hulbert is an older,more experienced team. Returning atquarterback is Vance.

Last season, blocking for Vancewas a freshman offensive line. Thisyear he will stand behind a group ofsophomores with a season of experi-ence. Vance will be passing the ball tosenior wide receivers, Spenser Fryeand Damien Garza.

“Honestly, I think we’re a legiti-

mate playoff team,” Crittenden said.“Barring injuries and any outsideinfluence, I think we can make a play-off run.”

As a more experienced team takesthe field, there will be an experiencedcoaching staff on the sidelines.Among the coaches is BruceBlankenship, a former player atOklahoma State University who wenton to play for the San Francisco 49ersin the NFL.

“I know the consensus from thecoaching staff is that this is a funbunch to coach,” Crittenden said. “I’mexcited.”

The Hulbert Riders football teamwill seek revenge in Week 1 againstYale High School. After that, keygames will be back-to-back road tripsto Wyandotte and Commerce inWeeks 5 and 6. The Riders will closeout the home porition of their scheduleon Nov. 1 against Ketchum.

Head coach: Mitchell Crittenden.2012 district: 2A-8.ADM: 190.70.2011 record: 4-6.Top returning players: Christian

Vance (QB/DB, 6-1, 175, Sr.);Spenser Frye (WR/DB, 6-0, 170, Sr.);Brandon Thompson (LB, 6-0, 190, Jr.).

2012 scheduleDate OpponentAug. 31 @ YaleSept. 7 WarnerSept. 14 KieferSept. 21 @ Colcord*Sept. 28 @ Wyandotte*Oct. 5 @ Commerce*Oct. 12 Salina*Oct. 19 @ Quapaw*Oct. 26 @ Kansas*Nov. 2 Ketchum** Denotes District 2A-8 games

––––––––––––––––––––––Ben Johnson

Press Sports Editor

Hulbert Riders

Riders look to build off last year’s success


By STEPHEN HAWKINSAssociated Press

The Big 12 Conference has comeback strong after two straight sum-mers of uncertainty about its future.

Find another league that has everfeatured three reigning conferencechampions like the Big 12 will havethis season. It has its own defendingchamp in Oklahoma State and bothnewcomers — TCU from theMountain West and West Virginia fromthe Big East — are coming off titles.

Six of the current teams won atleast 10 games last season. There is anew commissioner (former Stanfordathletic director Bob Bowlsby) and anew alignment with the powerhouseSEC, which has won the last sixnational championships since Texas’title, for a future bowl game to matchthe champions of the two leagues.

“I think it’s fair to say our league,when you add West Virginia and TCU,two teams coming off bowl wins, tworanked football teams, you put themwith the rest of what we’ve been doinghere in the Big 12, that our league isevery bit as strong as it’s ever been, ifnot stronger,” Oklahoma coach BobStoops said. “So it will be a challeng-ing year.”

Oklahoma won seven Big 12 titlesin an 11-year span before last season,when the league dropped from 12 to10 teams and scrapped divisional playfor a round-robin schedule.

The Sooners, with quarterbackLandry Jones back for his senior sea-son and already with 37 starts, is stillconsidered a league favorite. Theirschedule includes road games againstthe two new teams that replacedMissouri and Texas A&M, now in theSEC.

TCU has won 24 consecutive con-ference games, having won three con-secutive outright Mountain West titlessince its last league loss in November2008. They also won the Rose Bowl inan undefeated season two years ago.

West Virginia won or shared theBig East title six times since 2003, andhad a record-shattering 70-33 winover Clemson in the Orange Bowl inJanuary that made the Mountaineers3-0 in BCS games. Their 4,000-yardpassing quarterback Geno Smith gottabbed as the Big 12 preseason offen-

sive player of the year over Jones.“What’s awesome about the Big 12

as opposed to where we were last yearis just the national exposure,” saidWest Virginia coach Dana Holgorsen,who knows that well after nearly adecade in the Big 12. “And it’s goingto be West Coast to East Coast.”

An overall look at the Big 12:• OKLAHOMAKey players: QB Landry Jones,

DB Demontre Hurst, OL Gabe Ikard.Returning starters: 7 offense, 8defense.

Notes: Heisman Trophy hopefulJones has 93 career passing touch-downs, and has thrown for 9,181 yardsthe last two seasons. The Sooners alsohave short-yardage running quarter-back Blake Bell, who ran for 13 TDsas a freshman last year. ... Coming off33rd 10-win season, more than anyother team. ... Play both TCU andWest Virginia on the road.

• WEST VIRGINIAKey players: QB Geno Smith,

WR Tavon Austin, C Joe Madsen, DLWill Clarke. Returning starters: 9offense, 7 defense.

Notes: Mountaineers make Big 12debut coming off first 10-win seasonsince 2007. ... Before becoming WestVirginia head coach last season, DanaHolgorsen spent nine of the previous11 seasons as a Big 12 assistant coach,eight years at Texas Tech and one asOklahoma State’s offensive coordina-tor. ... Smith, going into his third sea-son as the starter, averaged 337.3yards passing per game last season,which would have been third in Big 12last season. ... Austin had 101 catcheslast year. ... West Virginia is 9-4against current Big 12 teams.

• KANSAS STATEKey players: QB Collin Klein, LB

Arthur Brown, LB Tre Walker, DB TyZimmerman. Returning starters: 8offense, 6 defense.

Notes: Klein matched Big 12overall record and FBS mark forquarterbacks with 27 rushing TDs lastseason. ... Kansas State won 11 gamessix times during a seven-year span incoach Bill Snyder’s first tenure. Theywon 10 games last year, in Snyder’sthird season back from his three-yearretirement. Wildcats swept the Big12’s four Texas teams last year

(including departed Texas A&M infour overtimes), but lost to bothOklahoma schools.

• TCUKey players: QB Casey Pachall,

OL Blaize Foltz, DE StanslyMaponga, WR Josh Boyce, LB KennyCain, CB Jason Verrett. Returningstarters: 6 offense, 5 defense.

Notes: Horned Frogs haven’t lost aconference game since November2008, winning the last three MountainWest titles outright. ... Only FBS teamto win at least 11 games in six of lastseven seasons. ... Coach GaryPatterson has 109 wins, tied withDutch Meyer for most in school histo-ry. ... Averaged 440 yards, 41 pointsgame last season. Return starting QB,two of three top rushers and three offour top receivers.

• TEXASKey Players: RB Malcolm Brown,

DE Jackson Jeffcoat, DL Alex Okafor,DB Kenny Vaccaro, CB CarringtonByndom, LB Jordan Hicks. Returningstarters: 9 offense, 7 defense.

Notes: Since 13-1 record in 2009season that ended with loss in BCSnational championship game,Longhorns have won a combined 13games the past two years. Before therecent slide, Texas had nine consecutiveseasons with at least 10 wins and hadnever won fewer than nine games undercoach Mack Brown. ... Texas againgoes into the season unsettled on a start-ing quarterback. Junior Case McCoyand sophomore David Ash both startedgames last season. ... The logo on thefront cover of the media guide is RISE(Relentless/Intensity/Swagger/Emotion), representing the team’s theme and

created by players.• OKLAHOMA STATEKey players: OL Lane Taylor, RB

Joseph Randle, DB Brodrick Brown,DE Cooper Bassett. Returningstarters: 8 offense, 8 defense.

Notes: After winning first Big 12title, Cowboys have eight offensivestarters back. But missing are twofirst-round picks, quarterbackBrandon Weeden (4,727 yards passingand 37 TDs) and receiver JustinBlackmon (122 catches, 1,522 yards,18 TDs). ... Oklahoma State has won41 games the past four years. ... CoachMike Gundy tabbed true freshmanWes Lunt, who was in school forspring drills, as the starting quarter-back. ... Junior RBs Jeremy Smith andJoseph Randle combined to rush for1,862 yards and 33 TDs last season.

• BAYLORKey Players: QB Nick Florence,

OL Ivory Wade, NB Ahmad Dixon,WR Terrence Williams. Returningstarters: 6 offense, 8 defense.

Notes: Baylor enters the seasonwith a six-game winning streak, third-lonzgest among FBS teams (NorthIllinois 9, TCU 8). ... After winning 10games to match a school record, theBears lost some big playmakers:Heisman Trophy quarterback RobertGriffin III, receiver Kendall Wrightand running back Terrance Ganaway.... Williams last season had 59 catchesfor 957 yards and 11 TDs, includingthe game-winner with 8 seconds leftagainst Oklahoma.

• IOWA STATEKey Players: LB Jake Knott, LB

A.J. Klein, RB James White.Returning starters: 7 offense, 5

defenseNotes: Next win for Cyclones will

be No. 500 in program history. Thereare also 595 losses and 46 ties. ... IowaState upset Oklahoma State in two OTslast November, likely costing theCowboys a BCS championship gameberth. The Cyclones then lost their lastthree games, including their bowl gameat Yankee Stadium.

• TEXAS TECHKey Players: QB Seth Doege, WR

Eric Ward, S Terrance Bullitt.Returning starters: 8 offense, 6defense.

Notes: After unexpected 41-38win at Oklahoma to end the Sooners’39-game home winning streak, RedRaiders lost their last five games tofinish 5-7. That ended a streak of 16consecutive winning seasons. ....Texas Tech has third defensive coordi-nator, and third different scheme, inthree seasons. The new coordinator isArt Kaufman, who has been on coachTommy Tuberville’s staffs in the past.... Doege, who threw for 4,004 yardsand 28 TDs last season, gets back histop three receivers, who accounted for1,987 yards and 23 TDs.

• KANSASKey Players: QB Dayne Crist, LT

Tanner Hawkinson, DE TobenOpurum. Returning starters: 7offense, 6 defense.

Notes: Jayhawks have won onlytwo Big 12 games the last three sea-sons. ... Charlie Weis takes over ashead coach and brought NFL veterancoach Dave Campo along as his defen-sive coordinator. ... Crist graduatedfrom Notre Dame and then transferredto Kansas to join Weis.

Big 12 back strong with 3 reigning league champs

Oklahoma State fans celebrated on the field following the Cowboys’ blowout victory over Oklahoma in theBedlam matchup last December. With the win, the Cowboys claimed the Big 12 Conference regular seasontitle. Photo courtesy of Jerry Laizure/CNHI

BY JEFF LATZKEAssociated Press

NORMAN — After a season whenthe defense just couldn’t cut it in thebiggest games, Oklahoma is hoping ablast from the past can return the pro-gram to a championship level.

Mike Stoops is back as defensivecoordinator after seven years away.During his first stint with the Sooners,they were among the nation’s top 10 indefense four straight years, won anational title and played for another.

It’s been nothing like that lately,with Oklahoma failing to make the top50 three of the past four years andfalling flat in losses to Texas Tech,Baylor and Oklahoma State a year agothat submarined a season that startedwith national title hopes and a presea-son No. 1 ranking.

“You hope they want revenge.That’s what I say: It’s redemptiontime,” Stoops said. “We’ll see whatthese guys are about. When someonebeats you up like that, it’s not fun andyou’ve got to respond. (If you don’t),then our issues are deeper than Ithought they would be. You’ve got totake it personal and come out fighting,and I think we will.”

Some of the defensive failings ayear ago were of historic proportionsat Oklahoma. Robert Griffin IIIlaunched his Heisman Trophy cam-paign by throwing for 479 yards asBaylor racked up the most yards everallowed by the Sooners — 616 — inthe Bears’ first win in the series.

Texas Tech’s Seth Doege had 441yards passing while endingOklahoma’s best-in-the-nation 39-game home winning streak. And

Oklahoma State romped its way to a44-10 victory, ending an eight-gamelosing streak in the Bedlam rivalry.

Put together, it was a humblingstretch for Oklahoma as coach BobStoops no longer felt his team could

hang its hat on defense. The result wasa rare shake-up in his coaching staff.Secondary coach Willie Martinezresigned and Brent Venables, who hadbeen on Stoops’ staff all 13 of hisyears in Norman, left to lead

Clemson’s defense.The return of

Mike Stoops, whohad been fired inthe middle of hiseighth season asArizona’s headcoach, immediatelybrought back thebuzz that theSooners couldreturn to their glorydays of a decadeago — includingthe 2000 nationalchampionship.

“All that I have said is, ‘Mike has-n’t made a play in a long time. He’sway too old to be out there makingplays,’” Bob Stoops said. “Ultimately,the players still have to be the onesthat are in position to make plays. ...But I’m encouraged in the way Mikecontinues to work with our staff, thedirection he gives to the players on thefield. I believe that will make a differ-ence.

“I believe they’ll improve, andthey should, too, being a year olderand having some pride in that whenwe broke down a year ago that theyought to take that to heart and hope-fully get back the defensive reputationlike we’re used to having.”

Mike Stoops has different reasonsto look for redemption. After someearly success, getting the Wildcats ashigh as the No. 2 ranking, Stoops was

let go after losing 10 outof 11 games. So, whenSooners fans ask himabout making amendsfor last season’s porousdefense, he has some-thing else to say.

“I tell them, ‘Youdon’t think I wantredemption, too?’” hesaid. “I didn’t all of asudden become a badcoach. A lot of the mediain Arizona may think so,but I was offered about10 different jobs. It’spersonal for me, too.”

While the offensewill have Landry Jonesback for his fourth sea-son as the starting quar-terback, the defense lostthree players — line-backer Travis Lewis anddefensive ends RonnellLewis and FrankAlexander — to theNFL. Tony Jefferson,once primarily used as anickel back, will shift tostrong safety where hecan be a quarterback ofthe defense.Cornerbacks AaronColvin and DemontreHurst both return from asecondary that boastedabout being “sharks”

early last season before getting eatenalive late.

Linebackers Tom Wort and CoreyNelson and defensive tackles CaseyWalker, Jamarkus McFarland andStacy McGee will also bring backexperience in the heart of the defense.

Stoops is changing the defensiveschemes, assigning one cornerback tothe left side of the field and one to theright instead of based on which hashmark the ball is placed on. And thesystem will be simplified against theno-huddle, spread offenses all over theBig 12.

“He’s not going to have us think somuch when it’s time for play-calling,for schemes and stuff,” Jefferson said.“He just wants us to play ball. Wehave the athletes. He knows that and alot of people know that.”


Sooners, Stoops out for redemption in 2012

Landry Jones returns for his seniors season as Oklahoma’s quarterback in 2012. Jones will likely become OU’s all-timeleading passer before the 2012 season is done. Photo courtesy of Jerry Laizure/CNHI

By JASON ELMQUISTCNHI News Service

DALLAS — After years of tryingto become the best, the OklahomaState football team now takes on a dif-ferent. Defending the title of being thebest.

With the Cowboys heading into the2012 season as the reigning Big 12Conference champions, the pressure ison to stay the course and attempt torepeat. Easier said than done whenyou lose two first round draft picks onoffense and for possibly the first timein history a conference opens the sea-son with three defending conferencechampions.

“The mindset hasn’t changed at all.We want to take a step further, even,”OSU offensive lineman ParkerGraham said. “A lot of people don’tthink we are going to do much. Butyou can ask any of our guys and wewant to get back to being the Big 12champions again and also going fur-ther than the Fiesta Bowl — and go toa National Championship game.That’s all we’re striving for.”

With last year’s Cowboy squadknown for it’s high-scoring offense,the defense was regularly shot downdespite leading the nation in take-aways. This year, Gundy expects thedefense to be the catalyst for hisCowboys.

“I enjoyed watching our defensewith their athleticism and speed. Andwe were able to put players in therethat are young,” Gundy said. “And wedidn’t have as much drop-off as wewould have had three, four years ago.And we have recruited toward somedepth on defense and speed.

“We’re hoping that it’s going towork out well for us. But we feel bet-ter now, or I feel better now, than Ihave about our defense since I’ve beenthe head coach.”

And the leaders of the defense,such as cornerbacks Brodrick Brownand Justin Gilbert; linebackers AlexElkins, Shaun Lewis and CalebLavey; and defensive end CooperBassett, the defense is in good handsheading into the season.

“Us upperclassmen know how towin. We won last year, we’ve won thelast couple of years,” Bassett said. “Sowe have to translate our knowledge of

what it takes to all these young guys,who are going to need to step up andbe playmakers for us this year.”

With the departure of starting quar-terback Brandon Weeden and two-time Fred Biletnikoff Award winnerJustin Blackmon, the Cowboys mustrely on somebody else on the offen-sive side to be their top skill player.Entire running back Joseph Randle.

“Joseph has done very well for us.And he’s been durable,” Gundy said.“Not only a good runner inside butoutside. He’s been a good receiver.

“He pass blocks well. Between

him and Jeremy(Smith), you know,18 to 1,900 yardsand over 30 touch-downs. But Josephhas kind of estab-lished himself as adominant back inthis league.”

Dominant forsure.

Randle wasnamed to thisyear’s preseasonAll-Big 12 team

after rushing for 1,216 yards and 24touchdowns in 2011 — finishing inthe top five of both categories amongBig 12 running backs. Randle wasresponsible for 12 points per game lastseason, second in the league to onlyKansas State quarterback CollinKlein.

“It’s a quarterback-friendly leagueand football is changing to a quarter-back game. The quarterback is theman and you just try to be helpful tothe quarterback,” Randle said, “bybeing able to block, being able to be agood check-down ... and also beingable to run the ball.”

While Randle will help the pres-sure put on true freshman quarterbackWes Lunt, another way the rookie QBcould be helped in his maturationprocess is if OSU can produce anotherwide receiver to follow in the steps ofDez Bryant and Justin Blackmon.

“I’m not sure that I’m ready tocommit to one of these guys being afirst-round pick. They’re so few andfar between,” Gundy said of hisreceiving corps. “The comparison Iwould make is years ago we talkedabout losing Kendall Hunter, and I feltthat Jeremy Smith and Joseph Randleas a pair needed to combine and giveus what Kendall did. And those guyshave been able to do that.

“We want three or four of ourreceivers this year to give us what aJustin Blackmon gave us this last year.And so that will be our goal is for Westo be able to develop and delegate theball to the guys that can make theplays. But it is very difficult to replacea Justin Blackmon.”

— Jason Elmquist is sports editorfor The Stillwater NewsPress.


Cowboys embark on post-Big 12 title season

Quinn Sharp (right) figures to be one of the best special teams players in the nation in 2012. Sharp willhandle place-kicking and punting duties for OSU in ‘12. Photo courtesy of Chris Day/CNHI


Mike Stoops, Oklahoma defensivecoordinator

Bob Stoops bringing his younger brotherback to the staff was one of the biggest coor-dinator hires in college football. During hisfirst five seasons in Norman, Stoops’ defens-es were among the best in the country givingup an average of just 15.6 points per gameduring his initial run as defensive coordina-tor from 1999-2003. The Big 12 offenseshave transformed in the eight years sincehe’s been away. The fans are excited. IfStoops is able to solidify a shaky secondary,they’ll become exhilarated.

Joe Deforest, West Virginia co-defen-sive coordinator

Deforest was safeties and special teamscoordinator at Oklahoma State beforereuniting with Dana Holgorsen at WestVirginia. The Mountaineers’ defense needssome help and Deforest has experiencegoing against Big 12 offenses. If WestVirginia can boost that side of the ball, it willcontend for the Big 12 title in its first season.

Art Kaufman, Texas Tech defensivecoordinator

Kaufman is the third defensive coordina-

tor in three years. Head coach TommyTuberville needs something to change as hisseat gets hotter and hotter. What Kaufmanhas is experience. He came to Texas Techfrom North Carolina and was Tuberville’sdefensive coordinator at Ole Miss.

Dave Campo,Kansas defensive coordi-nator

The former Dallas Cowboys head coachhas 23 years of NFL experience. The ques-tion is: can he handle the up-tempo offensesthe Jayhawks will regularly face in the Big12? What Campo has going for him is low-ered expectations. The Jayhawks couldn’tstop anybody last season. Holding teamsunder 45 points will be an improvement.

Charlie Weis, Kansas headcoach/offensive coordinator

Weis is one of the few Big 12 headcoaches that will call plays. His stint atNotre Dame left questions about his abilityas a head coach, but those three Super Bowlrings he won as the New England Patriotsoffensive coordinator showed he can com-mand a pro-style offense.

— John Shinn, CNHI News Service

Top 5 Big 12 coordinatorsto keep an eye on in 2012


DALLAS — With many of the teams aroundthe Big 12 Conference bringing back a solidstarting quarterback, Texas is a team that bringsback a pair of QBs — along with the headache ofa quarterback controversy.

“Last year at this time I sat here and we hadfour. And there was a lot of concern about tryingto get four guys prepared for a new offense,”Texas coach Mack Brown joked at the Big 12Football Media Days in Dallas. “So at the sametime Garrett Gilbert gets hurt in the second ball-game, David Ash steps up as a true freshman,Case McCoy jumps in, and Connor Wood trans-fers, so it was all over the place.

“What we have done now, we have two olderguys that have been through a year with BryanHarsin and Major Applewhite offense. They bothwon significant games — Case against A&M inCollege Station at the end of the year, David Ash inthe Bowl game against Cal. So we’re coming in at amuch better place this year than we were last year.”

The uncertainty behind the line is taking it’stoll on the big men in the trenches.

“It has it’s challenges, but at the same time, Isee how hard those guys work day in and day out

and I really, really want to see one pull awayfrom the other,” junior offensive lineman MasonWalters said. “I don’t want it to be a flip of thecoin decision, I want something to happen whereit is separate and somebody comes out on top.”

With uncertainty at the quarterback positionisn’t the only concern surrounding Brown’ssquad. The Texas coach is concerned about a lackof leadership on the team.

“We don’t have that senior leadership. Weonly have two seniors that would start today ondefense, and we probably have two seniors thatwill start on offense,” Brown said. “So it will stillbe a really young football team so the leadershipis going to have to come from within with someof the younger guys.”

Fortunately for whomever may be at the quar-terback position, he will have a solid threat in thebackfield with him. Sophomore Malcolm Brownreturns after a freshman campaign in which herushed for 742 yards and five touchdowns.

“I think what we’ll do is we’ll try to be bal-anced. We’ll play to our confidence. We’ll playto the guys that are performing the best and mak-ing the plays...” Brown said. “We feel like to winour league, which is what we want to do, we’vegot to be balanced and we’ve got to be able tothrow it as well as run it.

Texas still looking for a QBTexas Tech went from the highest of highs

to lowest of lows in the span of one week lastseason. And memory still lingers.

After upsetting Oklahoma in Norman to setthemselves up with a 5-2 record, the RedRaiders went winless down the stretch to finish5-7 — with only one game, a 31-27 loss atMissouri, finishing within three touchdowns oftheir opponents.

“This is a fun sport. Sometimes you make ittougher than what it is. A lot of times some ofthe other teams have something to say abouthow good you are,” Texas Tech coach TommyTuberville said.

Tuberville attributed the injury bug as alarge reason for the struggling season. The RedRaiders lost their starting running back EricStephens in the fifth game of the season in a45-40 loss to Texas A&M.

“He’s much better. I’d say he’s probably 80percent. Eric is our running back last year that he

was off and having a great season,” Tubervillesaid. “We were hoping to have a thousand-yardseason out of him. And he was looking verygood. ... It wasn’t just a knee injury, it was a leginjury. Total replacement. It was one of thosethat you hate to even think about.”

In the third-to-last game of the season,Texas Tech then lost their leading receiverAlex Torres for the remainder of the year in theloss to Missouri.

“Had two big catches and touchdowns ver-sus Oklahoma, and then had a couple moregood games. And then at the Missouri game onthe turf they had up there, which was not con-ducive really to being safe, we lost him andtwo other guys to knee injuries,” Tubervillesaid. But he’s recuperated. He still has a littlelimp in his run. I noticed that the other day.”

A healthy Torres would be beneficial forsenior quarterback Seth Doege

— Jason Elmquist, CNHI News Service

Tech hoping to bounce back


One thing the Big 12 Conference isn’t short of thisseason is quarterbacks. Be in talented quarterbacks, orquarterback controversies.

For Iowa State, it’s the latter of the two.The Cyclones head into the 2012 campaign never bet-

ter off than the end of the 2011 year, when Jared Barnettand Steele Jantz couldn’t truly claim the right to be QB1.

“We most definitely need better play from the quarter-back position if we’re going to become a better footballteam, and namely in the area of accuracy,” Iowa Statecoach Paul Rhoads. “Our quarterbacks completed, Ithink, 51 percent of their passes is all last year. We threwtoo many to the wrong?colored jersey. If we’re going tobe a better offensive football team, which is very impor-tant in this league to be a better football team, it’s goingto take better quarterback play.”

Heading into the season, Jantz will get the nod as thestarter — for now.

While the quarterback position could turn into a three-ring circus, the linebacker position for the defense is any-thing but. Iowa State returns two of the best linebackersin the conference with A.J. Klein, a Big 12 co-defensiveplayer of the year last season, and Jake Knott. Both line-backers earned a spot on the preseason All-Big 12 team— leaving Kansas State’s Arthur Brown as the only non-Cyclone linebacker on the preseason list.

“They’re prototypes. They’re 6-foot-2, 6-3, 245

pounds,” Rhoads said. “They can run and they’re intelli-gent and they are tough, and the expectations are high forgood reason.”

It’s that type of talent in the middle of the defense thatwill be needed to help stabilize the team if the questionscontinue to swirl around the quarterback position.

“It’s huge. Me and Jake have been here together a longtime,” Klein said. “... As far as the linebacker position,that’s the quarterback of the defense. We have to be theones to be the vocalleaders and pusheverybody elsearound us.”

As for carryingover the success oflast season, theCyclones havealready seen that inthe form of recruiting.

When one team ishurt by a loss, theother will see posi-tives. And that’s beenthe case for IowaState since toppingOklahoma State —which hurt theCowboys’ chances ata shot in the BCS titlegame.



How does one replace a HeismanTrophy quarterback?

That’s what Baylor football coachArt Briles must figure out this yearwith the departure of Robert GriffinIII, who was drafted second overall inthe NFL Draft.

“How do you adjust to not havingthe best player football in the UnitedStates of America last year at the col-legiate level? That’s inspiration, okay?That’s the thing that inspires us,”Briles said. “That’s the thing thatmakes our guys come together andfight for each other and work to provethemselves, because we’re in theproving business.”

While Briles must figure out howto replace that type of talent, it will bethe duty of Griffin’s predecessor, NickFlorence, to fill the spot left by Griffin.

“I think for me, it’s been an honorand a privilege to be under him. I’velearned a lot,” Florence said. “But ulti-mately, all we want as football playersis a chance to play. So I get my oppor-tunity now — it just happens to bebehind the Heisman Trophy winner.I’m getting a chance to play collegefootball and that’s what I’m excitedabout.”

It has to help a player in that typeof situation have the full support of hiscoaching staff.

“I have a tremendous amount ofconfidence in the passion, the energy,the drive, the fearlessness that he’sgoing to bring to the table for us,because I know him from inside outand I know how he feels. I know howhe thinks, and I think I know how heperforms,” Briles said.

“The thing he’s gotta do is staywithin himself and not get caught upin listening to anybody else or any-thing else and staying focused in themoment, focused in the situation.”

Unfortunately, Florence won’thave the pleasure of having the sametalented targets had in his Heisman-winning campaign.

Baylor’s top wide receiver,Kendall Wright joined Griffin as afirst-round draft pick back in thespring. Wright led the rest of thereceiving corps by 700 yards with 108catches for 1,663 yards and 14 touch-downs.

“We had five guys drafted off theoffensive side of the ball last year,which is the most out of any universi-ty over the last 30 years,” Briles said.“So we’ve got some holes to fill. Weunderstand that.”

The Bears do return, however, thesecond and third options at receiver—Terrance Williams and Tevin Reese.Williams had 59 catches for 957 yardsand 11 touchdowns, while Reesehauled in 51 for 877 and seven touch-downs.

Bears move on withHeismen quarterbackBy JASON ELMQUIST

CNHI News Service

Texas Christian University isfinally getting the opportunity it’sbeen chomping at the bit to get.

No longer are the Horned Frogspotential BCS busters, but aiming toBCS contenders as members of aBCS affiliated conference for thefirst time.

“Our goal has always been to wina conference championship no matterwhat — if you look in our pyramid,no matter what our league is,” TCUcoach Gary Patterson said. “Andthat’s going to be our strive in thisleague to do so also — and alsosomeday play for a national champi-onship.”

While in the past Patterson wasable to use the approach of we’re theunderdogs going up against BCSteams, when facing the likes ofTexas-rival Baylor. He said he does-

n’t plan to really change much nowthat TCU has the same footing as aBCS conference program.

“You’re still playing the samefootball team. It doesn’t matter whatlogo’s on your jersey,” Pattersonsaid.

TCU, which closed out its time asa member of the Mountain West bywinning the conference crown, returna quarterback in junior Casey Pachallwho finished third in his conference— which included a pair of proficientpassers in Kellen Moore and RyanLindley — with 2,921 yards passing.He also had 25 touchdowns to justseven interceptions.

They also return a pair of runningbacks in Ed Wesley and WaymonJames who combined for over 1,500yards on the ground and 12 touch-downs. Pachall’s top target from ayear ago — Josh Boyce, who had 61catches for 998 yards and nine touch-downs — returns for his junior sea-

son.The Big 12 wasn’t very gracious

to its new members, however. TheHorned Frogs have a loaded sched-ule down the back stretch — playingat Oklahoma State and WestVirginia, hosting Kansas State, trav-eling to Texas and host conference-favorite Oklahoma to end the sea-son.

“Everybody keeps talking aboutall the games tough at the end. I’vealways approached it, I think startingfrom the beginning, obviously ifyou’re going to struggle with the oneAA school coming in your place andyou got a chance to open a new sta-dium, break a record, then you’regoing to probably struggle the rest ofthe year,” Patterson said.

“I think starting even withKansas, I think all the way through it,each one of those games poses aproblem and we should approach itlike that.”

Horned Frogs enter Big 12 fray

Cyclones juggling QB’s this season



Going into last season, the Kansas State foot-ball team was picked to finish eighth in the Big 12Conference, making their second place finish inthe league standings all the more impressive.

But the leap wasn’t enough to have any simi-lar expectations this year as the Wildcats werepicked to finish sixth.

“I think you look back at last season and wemoved up maybe six slots. I just hope that we cando something similar to that,” K-State coach BillSnyder said. “... Do we perform better as,quote/unquote, underdogs? That I don’t know. Ihaven’t seen any statistics in that regard. Lastyear obviously we played reasonably well inthose circumstances.”

One thing going for the Wildcats is the returnof starting quarterback Collin Klein. The bruising6-foot-5, 226-pound quarterback rushed for 1,141yards (most of any Big 12 quarterback, includingHeisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III) and27 touchdowns — which led the conference —last season.

His passing, however, wasn’t as impressive.Klein completed 57.3 percent of his passes —second-worst in the conference behind Texas’

Davis Ash, who split time with Case McCoy —with just 147.5 yards per game. His 13 passingtouchdowns were only better than the two Texasquarterbacks, while he also threw six intercep-tions.

“Believe it or not, it’s not my modus operandito place expectations on young guys in regards totheir performance level,” Snyder said. “Collin is awonderful young person. He has made tremen-dous improvement during his time in the pro-gram. And it’s happened because of the quality ofperson that Collin is.”

It’s their defense, however, that will needsome shoring up. K-State gave up 27.9 points pergame with the number jumping to 33.7 in Big 12Conference contests.

Going in Kansas State’s favor is the return ofspecial teams returner Tyler Lockett, who hasbeen nursing a hamstring injury. The Booker T.Washington product was named the preseason All-Big 12 team for punt returning. Lockett was theBig 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year and a con-sensus All-American return specialist last year.

“Tyler participated in the first 14 days of prac-tice, didn’t participate in the spring game becauseof a hamstring, not seriously injured, but we did-n’t want to take any chances in that ballgame,”Snyder said.

Klein returns to lead Wildcats


DALLAS — What better way to join a new conference than as the conference champion ofyour former league and bringing in an electric quarterback — which many picked as the topoffensive player in either league?

What a way to return to the Big 12 Conference Dana Holgorsen.The once Texas Tech and Oklahoma State coordinator finds himself sitting pretty as the

head coach of the West Virginia Mountaineers, who join the Big 12 with visions of battlingOklahoma for conference supremacy — especially with the preseason All-Big 12 OffensivePlayer of the Year in quarterback Geno Smith, along with Tavon Austin, who made the All-Big12 team as a wide receiver and a punt returner.

“Well, it sounds like everybody in the room thinks that we’re pretty good, or that Geno ispretty good. It’s a compliment to Geno,” Holgorsen said at the Big 12 Football Media Days inJuly. “... Tavon is potentially one of the more dynamic guys I’ve been around. So he’s got achance to be good.”

For Smith, the opportunity to join a conference that has a budding notoriety for quarterbacks— including three drafted in the first round of the latest NFL Draft — and a tradition of staunchdefenses is appealing.

“There’s a lot of speed on defense, for obvious reasons with high-octane offenses. You’vegot linebackers who run 4.3 and could possibly be safeties, D-linemen who could possibly belinebackers for reasons we all understand,” Smith said. “... I think it will make me a better NFLprospect. But I don’t think it does much for my game. I play the same way each game. MaybeI’ll feel a difference, maybe it won’t. But it won’t affect my game.”

Last season, while playing in the Big East Conference, Smith had a 65.8 completion per-centage, throwing for 4,385 yards — an average of 337.3 yards per game, which ranked fifthin the country — with 31 passing touchdowns.

“He progressed and he’s got a chance to be pretty good. He stacks up with a lot of the otherguys I’ve had in the past,” Holgorsen said. “Ultimately it’s how many games you win and himgoing into his senior year. He’s going to be remembered for how many games you win.”

Austin finished as Smith’s top target with 101 catches for 1,186 yards and eight touch-downs. Austin also ran the ball 16 times for 182 yards and a touchdown. As a kick returner, heaveraged 26.1 yards per return with two touchdowns.

Holgorsen returns to the Big 12 in his first head coaching capacity. But he said his first yearat the helm of the program wasn’t too terrible different than his approach as an offensive coor-dinator.

“Offensively, as a coordinator, you view yourself as the head coach of one-half of the ball.And that’s what your job is and that’s what your focus is. As the head coach, you’ve got thewhole team,” Holgorsen said. “So the day I got announced as the head coach, my first objec-tive was to sit down and get to know the defensive guys.

“You gotta get to know them. You’ve got to figure out what makes them tick. And you’renot just talking to half the squad. You’re talking to the entire squad.”

Holgorsen, Mountaineersready to test Big 12 waters

By JOHN MARSHALLAssociated Press

College football is in for some big and, somesay, much-needed changes with the switch to afour-team playoff.

Before we get to that, there’s still a couplemore seasons under the current system; the play-offs don’t begin until 2014.

And this one will be worth watching.There’s plenty of interesting story lines, from

Penn State trying to rebuild in the wake of theJerry Sandusky child sex-abuse scandal to UrbanMeyer’s return to coaching with Ohio State.

There’s no shortage of great players, either.Southern California quarterback Matt

Barkley skipped the NFL for the chance at anational title, Michigan’s Denard Robinson is ablur even without his shoelaces tied andWisconsin’s Montee Ball is like trying to tacklea wrecking ball.

Great teams? Could be a few of those, too.USC, LSU, Alabama, Oklahoma, Oregon — theBCS could be under a lot of strain this seasonwith those teams all bidding for No. 1.

So to get you ready, we’ve got a rundown ofsome of the things to watch out for this season.

Enjoy.

Top teamsUSC: Barkley is back. So is his top target,

Robert Woods. Former Penn State running backSilas Redd was a nice addition. Postseason eligi-ble again, the Trojans aren’t aiming for just anybowl; they want a trip to Miami and nationalchampionship.

Alabama: The Crimson Tide have won two ofthe past three national championships. They fig-ure to be contenders for another.

LSU: The Honey Badger is gone. All thoseother NFL prospects — such as defensive endSam Montgomery and safety Eric Reid —should keep the Tigers from missing him.

Oklahoma: The Sooners have a record-settingQB in Landry Jones, a brick wall of an offensiveline and with the return of Mike Stoops, Bob’sfeisty little brother, they should be good ondefense, too.

Oregon: LaMichael James and DarronThomas are gone? Big deal. The Ducks haveplenty of other players who can fly in those newwinged unis.

Keep an eye onArkansas: QB Tyler Wilson and RB Knile

Davis are back, coach John L. Smith has calmedthe storm after Bobby Petrino’s motorcycle crashand subsequent firing. All Arkansas has to donow is get by Alabama and LSU — its only two

losses a year ago — which isn’t as farfetched asyou might think. Both visit the Natural state, oneearly (Alabama on Sept. 15) the other late (LSUthe day after Thanksgiving)

Florida State: The Seminoles’ return toprominence has been rumored for years. Undercoach Jimbo Fisher, it may actually happen thisseason.

Wisconsin: The Badgers are hungry afterconsecutive Rose Bowl losses and they haveBall, one of the nation’s best running backs.

Michigan State: Behind RB Le’Veon Bell,the Spartans could be on the verge of breaking aRose Bowl drought that goes back to 1988.

Texas: Mack Brown’s crew appears to beheaded back to the big stage behind a helmet-rat-tling defense.

West Virginia: The Mountaineers could maketheir first season in the Big 12 championshipworthy.

Top playersBarkley, USC: Projected as a high NFL draft

pick, Barkley became an instant HeismanTrophy front-runner when he announced he wascoming back for his senior season.

Ball, Wisconsin: The Badgers’ star runningback changed the pronunciation of his namefrom Mon-tee to Mon-tay. Whatever you callhim, dude’s good.

Robinson, Michigan: The Wolverines’ elec-tric quarterback has churned out more than 8,000yards in his career, most of those the past twoseasons. Imagine what he could do if he tied hisshoes.

Geno Smith, West Virginia: TheMountaineers’ QB set multiple school records asa junior and more could be on the way in his finalseason in Morgantown.

Barkevious Mingo, LSU: Been known totrain wreck offensive linemen.

Jones, Oklahoma: He’s been around sinceBarry Switzer was coach. OK, maybe not thatlong, but the four-year starter will leave as themost prolific passer in OU history.

De’Anthony Thomas, Oregon: Spectacular asa freshman last season and will likely get moretouches this season now that James is in the NFL.

Marcus Lattimore, South Carolina: Backfrom a torn ACL last season, he should be one ofthe nation’s top running backs this year.

Big gamesSept. 1, Michigan vs. Alabama at Cowboys

Stadium, Arlington, TexasThe annual opener at Jerry Jones’ funhouse

has had some great matchups in the past. Thisone could be the best of the bunch.

Sept. 15, Alabama at Arkansas

Winner could get the inside track on a nation-al-title run.

Sept. 22, Michigan at Notre DameLast season’s epic finish makes this a must-

watch.Oct. 13, Oklahoma vs. Texas in DallasThe Red River rivalry continues after all the

conference shuffling and could become epicagain with these two teams on the rise.

Oct. 27, Notre Dame at OklahomaA rare meeting between power programs.Nov. 3, Alabama at LSUWe may not get sucked into calling it the

Game of the Century again, but it still figures tohave national-title implications.

Nov. 3, Oregon at USCTriple digits in combined points is a possibil-

ity with all those playmakers on the field.Nov. 24, Michigan at Ohio StateMeyer is running the Buckeyes and Michigan

appears to be back. This rivalry could be heatingback up.

The new guysThere was quite a bit of turnover in the coach-

ing ranks over the offseason, with some pretty bignames landing in new places. Here’s a few:

• Bob Davie, New Mexico. Away fromcoaching for a decade, Davie tries to turn arounda program plagued by embarrassments on andoff the field under Mike Locksley.

• Todd Graham, Arizona State. The fast-talk-ing Texan has done everything right in Tempe sofar, soothing concerns about bouncing aroundwhile building excitement for the program. Allthat’s left is to win some games.

• Mike Leach, Washington State. His offens-es are always entertaining. So’s his mouth.

• Meyer, Ohio State. Burned out no more, thetwo-time national champion coach returns to thesideline with one of the country’s premier pro-grams — and too many references to an Urbanrenewal.

• Bill O’Brien, Penn State. The former o-coordinator of the New England Patriots mighthave the toughest job in the country.

• Rich Rodriguez, Arizona. RichRod’s three-year run at Michigan didn’t go so well, but hehas Tucson buzzing about football again with hissuped-up offense.

• Smith, Arkansas. The Razorbacks neededsomeone to smooth over the ugliness of BobbyPetrino’s firing. The even-keel Smith should be agood fit.


Guide to the 2012 college football season

Tahlequah Daily Press 2012 Football Preview ... Sunday, Aug. 29, 2010

2012 football preview

Documents

Transcript of 2012 football preview