10 takeaways for the rest of the conference from Big 12 Media Days

This past week brought the Big 12's annual Football Media Days, and plenty was gleaned about all 16 programs within the conference. While we previously shared our 10 takeaways for Arizona State after the event, and Andrew Hayslett ranked the conference, here are 10 key takeaways concerning the rest of the conference.

1. The quarterback talent is loaded

The Big 12 is hardly short on quarterback talent this year, and that was a central part of the marketing materials during their Football Media Days. There are nine quarterbacks who return from last year that threw for at least 2,400 passing yards.

Sam Leavitt headlines the bunch, frequently mentioned as a Heisman candidate and voted the Big 12 Preseason Offensive Player of the Year, but he's hardly the only one. Kansas State's Avery Johnson is also garnering some Heisman buzz.

Baylor's Sawyer Robertson, TCU's Josh Hoover, Iowa State's Rocco Becht, and Texas Tech's Behren Morton have all flashed elite potential at one time or another and all figure onto a list of guys who could catapult themselves into the Heisman conversation. Kansas' Jalon Daniels, Arizona's noagh Fifita, and Cincinnati's Brendan Sorsby are all coming off down years but have shown great potential as well.

Then there's the new faces.

Devon Dampier was a one-man show for New Mexico last year and figures to put up big numbers with a better supporting cast at Utah, while West Virginia's Nicco Marchiol went 2-0 as a starter last year and is primed to break out with Rich Rodriguez calling plays. Colorado brought in Liberty transfer Kaidon Salter, alongside 4-star true freshman Julian Lewis, and Houston landed former Texas A&M starter Conner Weigman in the transfer portal.

The Big 12 has always been known for high-scoring offenses, but this might be their best year yet in that regard just based on the quarterback talent that will be suiting up on Saturdays.

2. Conference confidence is at an all-time high

It's not a surprise that much of the Big 12 Football Media Days focused on how good the Big 12 is doing. Commissioner Brett Yormark gave an opening statement that highlighted the long list of champions the conference had last year across multiple sports, and once again declared that his conference will be the deepest in football.

Yormark wasn't the only one drinking the Kool-Aid, though. Multiple coaches expressed their admiration for Yormark and the Big 12 across the two-day event.

Kenny Dillingham explained how the Big 12 perfectly aligns with their recruiting strategies; Mike Gundy called Yormark the best commissioner in college football; Deion Sanders professed his love for Yormark so many different ways that one member of the media behind me jokingly whispered "Do you think Prime likes Brett?"

For the first time since Yormark became the commissioner, the Big 12 is standing pat with regards to adding or subtracting member schools, but that's only because the conference is in a great spot with its current roster. That belief is shared by all the coaches who were in attendance.

3. Texas Tech is reloaded and ready to compete

The Red Raiders have been getting hyped up ever since Joey McGuire's first season as head coach in Lubbock. The Texas High School Football legend went 8-5 in his debut season, and looked poised to dominate the Big 12. But he followed it up with a 7-6 season and then 8-5 last year, both respectable finishes but hardly meeting expectations.

This year should be different. McGuire has two new coordinators, poaching Mack Leftwich from Texas State to run the offense and stealing Shiel Wood from conference foe Houston to rebuild a leaky defense from last year. On top of it all, Texas Tech once again spent big money in NIL, fielding the second-ranked transfer class in the nation.

The Red Raiders brought in 21 transfers, and 14 of them were rated as 4-star transfer prospects. That all comes in an effort to build around Behren Morton as he enters his final season at Texas Tech. McGuire feels confident in his new-look roster, and he is aiming squarely for the Big 12 title game as a result.

4. Kansas State expects big things from Avery Johnson

This time last year, Avery Johnson was expected to cement himself as the next great quarterback of the Big 12. While it wasn't a terrible season, Johnson also didn't light the world on fire, completing just 58.3% of his passes and throwing 10 picks.

Now, though, Johnson has a year of play under his belt. He also has a new play-caller, as last year's co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Matt Wells will call the offense in 2025. Head coach Chris Klieman spoke glowingly about Wells and the impact he's going to have on Johnson this year:

"I think Coach Wells is one of the best quarterback coaches and offensive minds in our game, and has been that way for a long time. Now, he's with Matt for a second full season, Matt's calling the plays, so you get that camaraderie between the quarterback and the quarterback coach."

With Wells in charge of the offense now, and Johnson getting more comfortable in the scheme, Kansas State has high expectations for their talented quarterback.

5. BYU can't escape uncertainty under center

On the flip side, BYU has a quarterback problem. Their starter from last year, Jake Retzlaff, figured to keep the Cougars in contention for the Big 12 title after finishing in a four-way tie for first last season. However, off-field allegations and an Honor Code violation have led to Retzlaff entering the transfer portal.

Head coach Kalani Sitake declined to confirm that Retzlaff wouldn't be with the team this season, but the wide spread belief is that he won't be playing for BYU this year. That leaves a three-way competition for the position between Bear Bachmeier, McCae Hillstead, and Treyson Bourguet, none of whom have ever taken a snap for the program.

A month ago, Sitake had his program positioned to be one of the frontrunners in a crowded Big 12, but the sudden uncertainty at quarterback makes it harder to believe in them. Sitake has a very short timeframe in which to evaluate these three passers and pick a new starter, casting serious doubt on BYU's ability to contend this season.

6. Willie Fritz has great expectations for Houston

Willie Fritz is a turnaround master. Across his 32 seasons as a head coach, Fritz has surpassed six wins in his first year with a program just once, but he's also 251-129 for his career, so you do the math.

His first season at Houston was predictably poor, going 4-8, but the Cougars have a lot of reasons for optimism. For starters, Fritz welcomed back Slade Nagle as his offensive coordinator; he and Nagle were together at Tulane all eight seasons. On top of that, Houston built out their depth via the transfer portal, notably adding former Texas A&M starting quarterback Conner Weigman.

Fritz is a proven winner at every level, and the combination of him and Nagle is particularly effective. Don't be surprised if Houston ends up having a season very similar to that of Arizona State last year.

7. Stillwater, we have a problem

Oklahoma State head coach Mike Gundy is known for his gruff, brutally honest demeanor, and this week was no different.

After enduring his first losing season since 2005, his first year on the job, Gundy overhauled nearly his entire coaching staff. During the Q&A portion, Gundy spoke candidly about how his new staff is recruiting harder than any staff he's ever had, a stunning admission.

Perhaps more stunning were Gundy's comments about his roster. He noted that none of the quarterbacks on their roster have played a down for the Cowboys, and was unafraid to admit he doesn't know yet who most of his starters will be.

Expectations aren't very high for Oklahoma State this year, and this surely doesn't help. Gundy has often had his best seasons when people least expect it, but it sounds as if even Gundy isn't expecting anything in 2025.

8. Coaches have thoughts about changes to CFP

The College Football Playoff is about to change. Expansion is a guarantee, though commissioners and athletics directors across the nation differ on how to do it. The most popular format is expanding to 16 teams using a 5+11 model, which would include automatic qualifiers for the five highest ranked conference champions and then 11 at-large teams.

Commissioner Yormark has been vocal about his support for the 5+11 model, and he doubled down on it at the Big 12 Media Days.

Some of the coaches have their own opinions, too.

Kansas State's Chris Klieman has been in this position before, winning four national championships in the FCS. When asked his perspective on playoff expansion given his experience with the FCS playoff system, Klieman endorsed Yormark's idea but had a specific suggestion to cut down on wear and tear.

BYU head coach Kalani Sitake offered a different take. His idea was to address the issue of strength of schedule by having each Power 4 conference agree to schedule one game against each other per team in the non-conference portion of the season.

Sitake didn't get much support from his fellow coaches on the idea, but it's clear the coaches are feeling antsy about the changes the playoff system is about to undergo.

9. Brent Brennan thinks he's figured it out

Brent Brennan was long one of the darlings of Group of 5 football. He provided San Jose State with much-needed stability, with three 7-win seasons in his final four years there after a really tough rebuilding effort.

Expectations were higher in his first year at Arizona, taking over a 10-win team that returned its dynamic duo of quarterback Noah Fifita and wide receiver Tetairoa McMillan. But things went horribly, with the Wildcats winning just four games and replacing all three coordinators at the end of the year.

McMillan is in the NFL now, but Fifita remains, and Brennan feels confident going into Year 2. Almost all of his responses to media questions started with heaping all of the blame onto himself, especially when it came to his quarterback's disappointing season.

He has an offensive coordinator who's had success at the Group of 5 level and a defensive coordinator who parlayed a successful run at Arizona State into a head coaching job, a better duo than last year's coordinators who were both pushing 65 years of age with minimal play-calling experience.

Brennan feels that he's figured things out now, and even admitted he spent too much of last season trying to endear himself to the fan base rather than build the program. Will it translate to on-field results? The Wildcats head coach certainly seems to think so.

10. Utah's future is secure

Kyle Whittingham, the second-longest tenured head coach in college football who will turn 66 this season, summoned Michael Jordan in announcing his return for the 2025 season amid rumors he might retire.

While Whittingham surely would have retired after a good season, sending off quarterback Cam Rising a winner while ushering in the era of Big 12 football in Salt Lake City, things didn't go well at all. Rising was once again injured, leading to his retirement from football, and Whittingham suffered his first losing season 2013, Utah's third year after moving up to the Pac 12.

There have been quite a few changes since then.

Whittingham hired New Mexico offensive coordinator Jason Beck, who promptly brought impressive dual threat quarterback Devon Dampier with him in the transfer portal. And defensive coordinator Morgan Scalley is once again the head coach in waiting, Whittingham noted, even going so far as to share that Scalley had a hand in selecting Beck.

While much of the immediate focus at Big 12 Football Media Days was on how Utah can be better in 2025 with more stability on offense, Whittingham also talked up Scalley and how well-prepared he will be to take over the Utes whenever Whittingham does choose to retire.

That's not much of a surprise, given that Scalley played at Utah when Whittingham was his defensive coordinator and has only ever coached under Whittingham. The Utes are determined to get back to their winning ways in 2025, but they also feel as if their future is secure.