milesl
11/19/2010, 01:22 PM
http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/18/2450809/heres-the-best-of-big-12-football.html
Good articles, but several of you will wince over some of his choices. But Blair Kerkhoff is a pretty good writer for the Kansas City Star. Here is some highlights if you don't want to read the whole thing.
KERKHOFF ’S BEST OF Big 12
•Best offensive play: Eric Crouch’s touchdown catch against Oklahoma in 2001. That play was worth a Heisman.
•Best defensive play: Oklahoma safety Roy Williams went “Superman” to knock the ball lose from Texas quarterback Chris Simms (right) and into the arms of Teddy Lehman for a touchdown.
•Best celebration: Three times Texas Tech fans rushed the field, the first after Michael Crabtree’s catch and tightrope into the end zone that beat Texas in 2009.
•Biggest upset: Oklahoma State over Oklahoma in 2001. The Sooners were 28-point favorites.
•Best coach: Stoops narrowly over Brown.
KERKHOFF’S All-time team
•QB Vince Young, Texas
•RB Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma
•RB Ricky Williams, Texas
•TE Chase Coffman, Missouri
•WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech
•WR Jeremy Maclin, Missouri
•OL Duke Robinson, Oklahoma
•OL Leonard Davis, Texas
•OL Russell Okung, Oklahoma State
•OL Aaron Taylor, Nebraska
•OL Jammal Brown, Oklahoma
•K Mason Crosby, Colorado
•All-Purpose: Darren Sproles, Kansas State
•DL Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
•DL Grant Wistrom, Nebraska
•DL Brian Orakpo, Texas
•DL Tommie Harris, Oklahoma
•LB Dat Nguyen, Texas A&M
•LB Derrick Johnson, Texas
•LB Rocky Calmus, Oklahoma
•DB Terrence Newman, Kansas State
•DB Roy Williams, Oklahoma
•DB Mike Brown, Nebraska
•DB Derrick Strait, Oklahoma
•P Daniel Sepulveda, Baylor
•Returner: Wes Welker, Texas Tech
Here is the rest of the article:
Crystal is the traditional 15th anniversary gift, but we can’t offer that kind of clarity when selecting an all-time Big 12 football team.
There have been too many great players from what has been one of the nation’s top two or three conferences, but identifying the best offensive and defensive forces — a quarterback and lineman — were easy calls for me.
We’re doing this because the conference in its present form will pass into the record book with the conclusion of the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 4. Nebraska and Colorado are moving on, nobody is moving in, things will be different, and this seems like the right time for a period team.
Measuring talent from different eras is full of risks. It’s human nature to favor the more recent vintage — and age robs the memory. The image of Michael Crabtree is fresher than that of Rashaun Woods. Adrian Peterson is easier to recall than Ahman Green.
All I can say is that an effort was made to be inclusive, and the Big 12’s trends were part of this effort. If we split the timeline in half, defense would be the theme of the first half, offense the second. The team reflects that.
Not surprisingly, teams with the most victories in Big 12 history — Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska — had the largest representation. And more South players suit up than those from the North. Given the South Division’s dominance since Mack Brown and Bob Stoops were hired, that shouldn’t come as a shocker.
Among those not named on my team were some of the best in conference history, players like Kansas cornerback Aquib Talib, Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel and Kansas State kicker Martin Gramatica.
Some Heisman Trophy and other major individual award winners and the only overall top draft pick from the Big 12 are running with the twos on this team. Sorry, there just wasn’t enough room for guys like Eric Crouch, Teddy Lehman and Sam Bradford.
My defensive MVP? Nebraska’s tackle Ndamukong Suh stands above a handful of dominant defenders like Grant Wistrom, Dat Nyguen, Rocky Calmus and Roy Williams.
Suh wasn’t wearing great when he got to Lincoln, but by the time he left the league hadn’t seen anything quite like him. As a junior, he led the Cornhuskers in sacks and was the co-leader in interceptions.
The guy was so good he changed the course of two seasons with one tackle. Suh’s first-quarter sack of MU quarterback Blaine Gabbert in last year’s conference opener resulted in a high ankle sprain for Gabbert that limited his effectiveness for the rest of the season. The Huskers passed up the Tigers that night and went on to take the division.
Highlight-reel defenders are tougher to come by because cameras dig the playmakers, and nobody in Big 12 history filled a screen quite like Texas quarterback Vince Young.
Young was at his best after a play broke down. He ad-libbed the Longhorns past Kansas on a fourth-and-18 scramble for a first down and led his club on a touchdown rampage to overcome a 35-7 deficit and beat Oklahoma State.
That would have been enough to be considered among the all-time greats. But Young went to the top by turning in one of the greatest performances in a championship game of any sport when he piled up 467 total yards, the final 9 on fourth down with 19 seconds remaining for the game-winner in the 2005 title-game triumph over Southern California.
Young never won a Heisman but may have been the most overwhelming hindsight Heisman winner in the game’s history.
Hey, Suh didn’t win one, either. But on my ballot, there were no greater players in the conference’s 12-team era.
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/18/2450809/heres-the-best-of-big-12-football.html#ixzz15knTfCDq
Good articles, but several of you will wince over some of his choices. But Blair Kerkhoff is a pretty good writer for the Kansas City Star. Here is some highlights if you don't want to read the whole thing.
KERKHOFF ’S BEST OF Big 12
•Best offensive play: Eric Crouch’s touchdown catch against Oklahoma in 2001. That play was worth a Heisman.
•Best defensive play: Oklahoma safety Roy Williams went “Superman” to knock the ball lose from Texas quarterback Chris Simms (right) and into the arms of Teddy Lehman for a touchdown.
•Best celebration: Three times Texas Tech fans rushed the field, the first after Michael Crabtree’s catch and tightrope into the end zone that beat Texas in 2009.
•Biggest upset: Oklahoma State over Oklahoma in 2001. The Sooners were 28-point favorites.
•Best coach: Stoops narrowly over Brown.
KERKHOFF’S All-time team
•QB Vince Young, Texas
•RB Adrian Peterson, Oklahoma
•RB Ricky Williams, Texas
•TE Chase Coffman, Missouri
•WR Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech
•WR Jeremy Maclin, Missouri
•OL Duke Robinson, Oklahoma
•OL Leonard Davis, Texas
•OL Russell Okung, Oklahoma State
•OL Aaron Taylor, Nebraska
•OL Jammal Brown, Oklahoma
•K Mason Crosby, Colorado
•All-Purpose: Darren Sproles, Kansas State
•DL Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska
•DL Grant Wistrom, Nebraska
•DL Brian Orakpo, Texas
•DL Tommie Harris, Oklahoma
•LB Dat Nguyen, Texas A&M
•LB Derrick Johnson, Texas
•LB Rocky Calmus, Oklahoma
•DB Terrence Newman, Kansas State
•DB Roy Williams, Oklahoma
•DB Mike Brown, Nebraska
•DB Derrick Strait, Oklahoma
•P Daniel Sepulveda, Baylor
•Returner: Wes Welker, Texas Tech
Here is the rest of the article:
Crystal is the traditional 15th anniversary gift, but we can’t offer that kind of clarity when selecting an all-time Big 12 football team.
There have been too many great players from what has been one of the nation’s top two or three conferences, but identifying the best offensive and defensive forces — a quarterback and lineman — were easy calls for me.
We’re doing this because the conference in its present form will pass into the record book with the conclusion of the Big 12 championship game on Dec. 4. Nebraska and Colorado are moving on, nobody is moving in, things will be different, and this seems like the right time for a period team.
Measuring talent from different eras is full of risks. It’s human nature to favor the more recent vintage — and age robs the memory. The image of Michael Crabtree is fresher than that of Rashaun Woods. Adrian Peterson is easier to recall than Ahman Green.
All I can say is that an effort was made to be inclusive, and the Big 12’s trends were part of this effort. If we split the timeline in half, defense would be the theme of the first half, offense the second. The team reflects that.
Not surprisingly, teams with the most victories in Big 12 history — Texas, Oklahoma and Nebraska — had the largest representation. And more South players suit up than those from the North. Given the South Division’s dominance since Mack Brown and Bob Stoops were hired, that shouldn’t come as a shocker.
Among those not named on my team were some of the best in conference history, players like Kansas cornerback Aquib Talib, Missouri quarterback Chase Daniel and Kansas State kicker Martin Gramatica.
Some Heisman Trophy and other major individual award winners and the only overall top draft pick from the Big 12 are running with the twos on this team. Sorry, there just wasn’t enough room for guys like Eric Crouch, Teddy Lehman and Sam Bradford.
My defensive MVP? Nebraska’s tackle Ndamukong Suh stands above a handful of dominant defenders like Grant Wistrom, Dat Nyguen, Rocky Calmus and Roy Williams.
Suh wasn’t wearing great when he got to Lincoln, but by the time he left the league hadn’t seen anything quite like him. As a junior, he led the Cornhuskers in sacks and was the co-leader in interceptions.
The guy was so good he changed the course of two seasons with one tackle. Suh’s first-quarter sack of MU quarterback Blaine Gabbert in last year’s conference opener resulted in a high ankle sprain for Gabbert that limited his effectiveness for the rest of the season. The Huskers passed up the Tigers that night and went on to take the division.
Highlight-reel defenders are tougher to come by because cameras dig the playmakers, and nobody in Big 12 history filled a screen quite like Texas quarterback Vince Young.
Young was at his best after a play broke down. He ad-libbed the Longhorns past Kansas on a fourth-and-18 scramble for a first down and led his club on a touchdown rampage to overcome a 35-7 deficit and beat Oklahoma State.
That would have been enough to be considered among the all-time greats. But Young went to the top by turning in one of the greatest performances in a championship game of any sport when he piled up 467 total yards, the final 9 on fourth down with 19 seconds remaining for the game-winner in the 2005 title-game triumph over Southern California.
Young never won a Heisman but may have been the most overwhelming hindsight Heisman winner in the game’s history.
Hey, Suh didn’t win one, either. But on my ballot, there were no greater players in the conference’s 12-team era.
Read more: http://www.kansascity.com/2010/11/18/2450809/heres-the-best-of-big-12-football.html#ixzz15knTfCDq