2008 Big 12 Spring Dates and Needs

The Big 12 looks to be a strong conference next year with Oklahoma and Missouri being the early favorites to win the conference. Texas has a lot of holes to fill, but they still have the potential to be dangerous. Kansas is going to take a step back after their phenomenal season last year, while Texas Tech, Oklahoma State, and Colorado have the potential play the surprise team in the Big 12 for next season. Big 12 South Oklahoma Spring Practice Begins - March 5 Spring Practice Ends - April 12 with their squad scrimmage that day. The Sooners plan on contending for another Big 12 title, if not a National Title but they did lost some key components to the draft. Wide receiver Malcolm Kelly, linebacker Curtis Lofton and cornerback Reggie Smith all left for the draft early and left some holes that the Sooners will have to fill. On defense, via graduation or early departure, the Sooners have to replace both corners and could have 3 new linebackers. If you so happened to watch the Fiesta Bowl, you will also notice that they might want to work on their offensive line a bit. Texas Spring Practice Begins - February 22 Spring Practice Ends - March 29 with their squad scrimmage that day. Running back Jamaal Charles left early for the NFL, so the first priority for the Longhorns will be finding a feature back. Also, Colt McCoy has to work on protecting the ball, if Texas wants to contend for a title he must cut down on the interceptions. Plus on defense they will need to find two new horses to man up the middle of the defensive line and new defensive coordinator Will Muschamp will be installing a new, more aggressive system. Texas Tech Spring Practice Begins - March 23 Spring Practice Ends - April 19 with their squad scrimmage that day. The Red Raiders return 19 starters from their team last year but are in need of a tailback. As I wrote in the ITB Mailbag, this team could be one of the surprise teams in the country, but they need to work on their defense. Everyone knows that with Graham Harrell and Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech will score points, but now it is up to the defense to hold their end of the bargain. Texas A&M Spring Practice Begins - March 23 Spring Practice Ends - April 19 with their squad scrimmage that day. New head coach Mike Sherman will be installing a new offense for the Aggies, one that is not so run oriented. He will have to fill the hole left by tight end Martellus Bennett, who could have benefited by playing in a more balanced offense, but chose to leave for the draft. It will be up to Stephen McGee to step up to the plate and show he is not just a running quarterback. Baylor Spring Practice Begins - March 3 Spring Practice Ends - April 5 with their squad scrimmage that day. New head coach Art Briles has an idea to make the Baylor Bears into a high powered offense, but the only problem is that they need the talent to run it. Their defense needs improving too! Oklahoma State Spring Practice Begins - March 3 Spring Practice Ends - April 12 with their squad scrimmage that day. I look at the Cowboys a lot like I look at Texas Tech, if this team had an average defense they would be dangerous. Zac Robinson returns at quarterback but with the graduation of Dantrell Savage, Oklahoma State will have to find a new running back between Kendall Hunter and Keith Toston. Dez Bryant is their leading returning receiver with only 622 yards, so finding more playmakers at that position will help. Big 12 North Missouri Spring Practice Begins - March 11 Spring Practice Ends - April 19 with their squad scrimmage that day. The Tigers have three holes to fill since tight end Martin Rucker, tailback Tony Temple and wide receiver Will Franklin are all gone. Their first step will be to find a running back because there will be teams that will be able to slow down Chase, and the Tigers will go further if they have a decent back running the ball. Wide receiver Jeremy Maclin is back and is expected to be the go to guy. Defensively, Missouri looks solid and in my opinion, is the team to beat in the Big 12 right now. Kansas Spring Practice Begins - March 12 Spring Practice Ends - April 12 with their squad scrimmage that day. Can we expect Kansas to repeat last year? Probably not, but the drop off won't be that steep. The Jayhawks need to fill some holes at cornerback (Aqib Talib), defensive tackle, offensive tackle (Anthony Collins), and running back. Todd Reesing will be back, but to be effective, he must get some protection and not take the hits he did in the Orange Bowl. Kansas also lost their defensive coordinator to Miami. With Oklahoma and Texas on the schedule this year, they will need to be at the top of their game. Nebraska Spring Practice Begins - March 26 Spring Practice Ends - April 19 with their squad scrimmage that day. Where does Bo Pelini start? First he needs to rebuild the defense which was an embarrassment to the Black Shirt name last season. The Cornhuskers do have some promise on offense as Marlon Lucky returns, plus Joe Ganz at quarterback. Ganz took over for Keller last season after his injury. Colorado Spring Practice Begins - March 17 Spring Practice Ends - April 19 with their squad scrimmage that day. The Buffaloes did a good job in Dan Hawkins second year in Boulder. Many thought he was playing favorites by having his son, Cody Hawkins, as the starting quarterback. Well he quelled all that talk when he said that the starting job was wide open come spring time. It will be interesting to see now that Hugh Charles has graduate, if any of the returning players step up at running back before blue chipper Darrell Scott comes this fall. Kansas State Spring Practice Begins - March 29 Spring Practice Ends - April 19 with their squad scrimmage that day. Jordy Nelson led the team in receiving with over 1600 yards, but now is gone. Head coach Ron Prince must find a playmaker either on his team or in the list of junior college kids he recruited to help ease Nelson's departure. He must also find a replacement for leading rusher James Johnson, but at least he has his QB Josh Freeman returning as well as his entire offensive line. Iowa State Spring Practice Begins - March 25 Spring Practice Ends - April 20 with their squad scrimmage on April 19. There is one thing that the Cyclones do not have in common with the rest of the Big 12. Their starter in 2008 at quarterback will be a new one and they will be the only team in the conference that can say it. Austen Arnaud and Phillip Bates will battle it out this spring to win that honor. Whether it be Bates or Arnaud winning the job, they will have a huge smile on their face come spring when they can start throwing the ball to Sedrick Johnson, a 4 star recruit and the gem of the Cyclone recruiting class.