Dynasty Scouts Conference Review: Big 12

It was a big week in the Big 12, with both unbeatens (Baylor and West Virginia) being toppled, leaving the league hopeless for a playoff berth and cementing Oklahoma as heavy league favorites over the season’s final month.  The Sooners close with Baylor, West Virginia, and Oklahoma State – arguably the league’s second through fourth best teams – but Bob Stoops’ bunch are rolling after non-conference losses to Houston to Ohio State, albeit against uninspiring competition.  At the very least, it appears Oklahoma is the cream of the crop in a watered-down league.  While the elite teams are absent, the elite talent is not and the week which was is evaluated below.

Premier Conference Performers

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RB D’onta Foreman, Texas Longhorns

32 carries for 250 yards and two touchdowns

It continues to be a dominant season for D’onta Foreman.  He’s assumed even more work following the (likely) season-ending injury to Chris Warren and has shown he is capable of carrying an offense.  Against Baylor, he continuously gashed the defense for huge gains and is now up to 1,105 yards and ten touchdowns on the season.  He’s recently stated his plan is to return to Austin for his senior season, though it is the company line for many players with eligibility left at this time of year.  He’s worked himself into the day two mix for the NFL Draft and looks like a potential bellcow at the next level.

QB Jesse Ertz, Kansas State Wildcats

18/28 for 151 yards and one touchdown; nine carries for 106 yards

This is the first time I have touched on a Kansas State player in this weekly recap.  Bill Snyder is a legend, but there are no Tyler Locketts on this version of the Wildcats.  Quarterback Jesse Ertz, however, has become an effective if unspectacular dual-threat quarterback in Manhattan; he’s no Michael Bishop but he is steering his program towards bowl-eligibility.  There’s no NFL future here, but he gets ink for at least one week.

QB Mason Rudolph, Oklahoma State Cowboys

26/36 for 273 yards, three touchdowns and zero interceptions

After being listed as a falling player no more than a month ago, Mason Rudolph has strung together a string of positive games and is joining Mitch Trubisky as appealing quarterback options in the second-tier.  While his game does not jump out at you in any facet, he does a lot of things well and has made some big-time throws as the Cowboys remain in the Big 12 title hunt.  Most importantly, his game has improved each season, with everything from arm strength to ball placement to poise in the pocket being noticeably better as he progresses in his development.  I’m expecting Rudolph to return for his senior season and potentially flirt with round one in 2018, but momentum could lead to him declaring and joining a mediocre quarterback class.

Rising Players

RB Sewo Olonilua, TCU Horned Frogs

Seven carries for 48 yards

Kyle Hicks looks very questionable for this weekend, which could pave the way for Selo Olonilua to announce himself to the Big 12.  The mammoth running back (6’3”, 225) with humble roots (he’s from Humble, Texas – try the veal) has a golden opportunity to emerge as a bigger factor for a TCU offense which has stumbled a bit recently.  At what has become Transfer U, playing time has been few and far between for young players, but after leading the Horned Frogs in rushing this past weekend looking every bit the part of being a man amongst boys physically, Olonilua should touch the ball 15-20 times and give us a larger sample size displaying what he can do.  We’ve seen major contributions from some lesser known freshman (as of August) freshmen runners this season and Olonilua could be the next in line to leave his impression on the devy community. 

RB Terence Williams, Baylor Bears

24 carries for 180 yards and one touchdown

Another big bodied runner making noise in the conference is Terence Williams, who despite having a back-up tag is the best NFL prospect in the Baylor backfield.  Not to be confused with former Baylor receiver Terrance Williams, this Williams has quickness near the line of scrimmage which belies his size and can be a terror to bring down in the open field when he gets up to full speed.  He’s now gone over 100 yards in two of his past three games and is poised to put up some monster numbers with Shock Linwood moving on and Johnny Jefferson being a major question mark.  I am not sure how bullish I am on him as a long-term NFL prospect but he certainly merits mention during his sophomore season, especially once we get a look at him as he gets extended work.

Freshman Spotlight

RB Abdul Adams, Oklahoma Sooners

13 carries for 91 yards

Taking advantage of an injury to Samaje Perine, Abdul Adams stepped in against a hopeless Kansas team and paced the Sooners in rushing with 91 yards on 13 carries.  Whereas Perine is known for his brute power and fellow backfield star Joe Mixon is known for his premier athleticism (though both those guys are balanced runners) Adams falls somewhere in-between; he’s a 5’10”, 205 pound slasher who displays excellent long speed along with ample power.  While Kansas is some of the worst competition around and would struggle in any of the nation’s conferences, there is still plenty to be gleaned from this performance.  Any true freshman who shows they can play deserves notice, and Adams has shown he can fill in admirably for one of the nation’s best runners.  Even as Perine returns from a hamstring injury, Adams should continue to mix in the Oklahoma backfield and give the Sooners an argument for having the deepest backfield in college football.

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