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ESPN: Top 25 Big XII Players According to Tom Griffin

By chris ⋅ December 23, 2008 ⋅  Email This Post ⋅  Print This Post ⋅ Post a comment

Tom Griffin, ESPN Big XII Blogger, wrote this post about the Top 25 Players in the Big XII.  While he set the list up as if he were “drafting” Big XII players, you could tell he was really just ranking them, as he had two QBs in his first 4 players “taken”.  Jason Smith came in at #5, the first lineman (offense or defense) taken.  Robert Griffin came in at #12, right behind Colt McCoy and the 4th QB overall on the list (5 QBs made the list).

First of all, this is great recognition for these two Baylor Bears.  They earned it and you could think, hmm, 12 teams; 25 spots; ~2 spots available per team; we’re right on pace!  I’m glad we got two players on there, and I hope we have some players step up next year to increase our numbers, but I also have to think that Joe Pawelek deserved some recognition on the list.

Here’s a breakdown of the list by position:

QB - 5
RB - 3
WR - 4
TE - 3
OL - 4
DL - 3
LB - 1
CB - 0
S - 2
P/K - 0

The list is clearly slanted toward offensive players (19/25), and it’s interesting to see that only 1 linebacker made the list.  It’s hard to compare across positions, but William Moore of Missouri made the list, and Joe Pawelek didn’t.  Joe Pa had 45 more tackles (54% more), 3 more interceptions and 1 more pass break up (from the LB spot opposed to the S spot), and recovered two fumbles.  It’s hard for me to find a good reason that Moore made the list over Pawelek, but that’s why all this stuff is opinion.

Let’s look at the breakdown of Big XII schools and how well each was represented on the list:

Oklahoma - 8
Missouri - 4
OSU - 4
Texas - 3
Baylor - 2
Nebraska - 2
Texas Tech - 2

Missing from the list entirely are Texas A&M, Kansas, Colorado, Kansas State and Iowa State.  Notice A&M is the only Big XII South team on the list.  Might be that their biggest producers were younger, and didn’t have the name.  Colorado, Kansas State, Kansas and Iowa State, one would think, would be able to field one of the top 25 players in the conference.  Freeman almost made the list, but was kept out because he is so erratic.  That would have also given the list 6 quarterbacks.

It’s also surprising to see Texas Tech with only two selections.  They share in the Big XII South title and only get the two obvious choices in.  Texas with only 4 had me raising my eyebrows, but then again, it’s hard to name a player that really should be on there without question.

Anybody care to chime in with their biggest snub?