Posted by Tom Fornelli

The saga that has been Bryce Brown's college football career is reportedly moving in a whole new direction. ESPN's Joe Schad is reporting that Brown is strongly considering not returning to school next year and instead will enter the NFL Draft. A decision that no doubt raises some eyebrows.

Brown's college career has been an interesting one, but also one that hasn't seen much time on an actual football field. As a high school senior in Kansas, Brown was widely considered to be the second best running back prospect in his class, behind only Trent Richardson. While we all know how Richardson's career turned out at Alabama, Brown's has gone the opposite direction.

Brown originally signed with Tennessee in 2009 and after gaining 460 yards on 101 carries as a freshman, Brown transferred to Kansas State where he joined his brother, Arthur Brown. Brown sat out the 2010 season and came into 2011 expected to take over the starting role in the Wildcats backfield. Instead Brown lost the starting job to John Hubert and only carried the ball 3 times for 16 yards before leaving the school midseason.

Now it seems he's ready to give the NFL a try rather than returning to Kansas State or transferring once again. Which, to be quite honest, doesn't seem like the wisest of decisions if that's the one Brown does indeed make. While Brown may have been a top prospect coming out of high school, there probably aren't a whole lot of NFL teams who will be knocking themselves over for a chance to draft a kid with 104 career carries in the last three years.

In order to get drafted Brown would likely have to blow scouts away at the combine. He's much more likely to go undrafted and sign as a free agent somewhere and hope to make a roster or a practice squad.

Get caught up on the early-entry announcements HERE, and all the latest rankings, mock drafts, and breaking news check out the NFL Draft Home 

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Posted by Jerry Hinnen

A tumultuous season for Derek Dooley and the Tennessee Volunteers has bled into what's already a tumultuous offseason, with coaching changes, alleged suspensions, and now a one-time star recruit asking for a contentious release from the program.

According to multiple reports, freshman wide receiver DeAnthony Arnett has asked for a release from his scholarship and intends to transfer out of the Volunteer program. A Saginaw, Mich. native, Arnett is looking to transfer to a school somewhere in Michigan to be closer to his ailing father, whose picture Arnett tweeted a photo of Thursday afternoon.

Tennessee has since confirmed Arnett's request and agreed to the release--but with conditions attached, as the Knoxville News-Sentinel reports. According to an e-mail sent by Arnett to ESPN, the Volunteers have refused to release him to the state's BCS-level programs (Michigan and Michigan State), and the statement from Tennessee spokesman Jimmy Stanton would seem to confirm this:

"We're not denying him a release to be near his family, get a good education and play Division I football at the same time, but we do have a policy of not releasing players to schools we either play or recruit against," Stanton said Thursday. "Where he's from, there are several good D-I schools nearby that would be good options to play football, get a good education and keep him near his family." 

Not surprisingly, Arnett is less than happy with that decision:

"Coach Dooley, myself or anybody doesn't know what the future holds for my father," Arnett said in the email. "I feel that I represented the University of Tennessee the best way I can on and off the field and I feel I have earned the right to be released unconditional to all schools in Michigan."

Quite frankly, we don't blame him; unless Arnett has forfeited his good standing with Dooley and the Vols through some kind of unreported off-the-field incident, refusing to allow him to play on scholarship at Arnett's school of choice while he helps care for an ill parent strikes us as stunningly petty. Whatever benefit is gained from Tennessee playing keep-away from noted recruiting rivals Michigan and Michigan State (if you say so, Mr. Stanton), is it really worth punishing Arnett for doing nothing wrong? (Nothing "wrong" other than wanting out of Knoxville, anyway.) This is also nothing new for Dooley, who previously refused a release to the late Aaron Douglas unless he transferred to a location eight hours' drive away, and kept Bryce Brown off of scholarship at Kansas State for a year while refusing him a release as well.

A highly sought-after four-star recruit, Arnett played in all 12 games his freshman season, finishing third on the team in receptions with 24 and fourth in yards with 242.

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Posted by Bryan Fischer

The latest college football polls are out and now it's time to rip them to shreds. Senior college basketball writer Gary Parrish has been calling out voters in the major hoops polls for thinking a little bit too far outside of the box when it comes to their AP ballots every week.

With the football season starting, I thought I'd steal take the baton on the idea from my colleague and keep all of the writers across the country who vote honest. I've come to know a good number of these people through time and twitter but relationships do not matter, bad votes do.

AP Poll           Coaches Poll           Harris Poll

(Details of AP ballots courtesy of PollSpeak.com)

Poll reactions: ACC, Big East, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, SEC

Rodney Dangerfield "No respect" team of the week: Kansas State

  You would think that the coaches (or sports information directors) that vote in the Coaches Poll would appreciate what Bill Snyder has done at Kansas State this year. The Wildcats are undefeated so far this season with wins at Miami and against Baylor and Missouri. They don't have much of a passing game (115th in the country) but do have a good ground game, even without the services of former former five-star running back Bryce Brown. Not sure then why the coaches have Kansas State 18th then, one spot below where they are underrated in the AP Poll. They're below South Carolina and Nebraska, both of whom are one-loss teams that have more issues. This is the ultimate "don't get no respect" program but Snyder has them playing hard and playing tough this season.

Overrated: Auburn

  First of all, no one expected Auburn to be sitting 3rd in the SEC West with only two total loses approaching the halfway mark in the season. They're one of only two teams to play three teams that are currently ranked in the top 25. They are, however, not supposed to be one of them. The Tigers are just barely in the top 25, ranked 24th in the AP Poll and unranked in the Coaches. Once again, some kudos for the latter for keeping them out. Gene Chizik's group has gotten lucky in most of their wins - they're 80th in total offense and 105th in total defense - and really only the South Carolina one is notable. That's why it's funny to see Jon Wilner put them 12th and Andy Staples to rank them 17th. Too high gentlemen, act more like Brett McMurphy who has Auburn unranked.

California Craziness

A trio of voters from California (CSN Bay Area/CBSSports.com's Ray Ratto, San Jose Mercury News' Jon Wilner, LA Daily News' Scott Wolf) are an interesting voting block. Some would call them progressive, others would call them extreme and just about everybody else will call them crazy given their fluctuations in their ballots each week. All three are consistently in Pollspeak's group of "extreme voters" so we'll highlight the most baffling decision(s) out of each.

  Three in a row for Wolf! He pulls into the lead in the race to the top/bottom of the California Craziness derby. Wisconsin is 8th, lowest on any ballot in the country, while West Virginia is right behind them ranked 9th, highest on any ballot. Florida is still a top 15 team according to Wolf, despite quarterbacks that were born in the 1990's who have barely taken any snaps. Undefeated Illinois is 22nd, behind two-loss Notre Dame, while Auburn is 17th. Undefeated Kansas State is 24th (see above) and SMU is on the ballot at 25th. Yeah...

What were you thinking? Ron Higgins, Memphis Commercial Appeal

Ron, I feel for you. You probably have to watch Memphis Tigers football closely and have to do so more often than anyone. That's rough but you still have to vote in the AP Poll. You didn't turn in a ballot this week, causing some angst back in the office for those that coordinate and release the thing we have to rip to shreds every Monday on CBSSports.com. Remember, every vote counts and, unlike the state of Florida, we know how to count them. Thanks! (P.S. if you want me to email a reminder, I'll do so!)

Team bias

Our tech team at CBSSports.com is pretty awesome and came up with this neat tool to take a look at team and region bias in the AP Poll. Check it out below, it's a fun thing to play around with.

Posted by Tom Fornelli

Kansas State is off to a 3-0 start to the season and has a pretty big game against Baylor on Saturday, but there's still a pretty big question mark surrounding running back Bryce Brown. Brown's status with the Wildcats is up in the air at the moment. While he's still officially listed on the team's roster, according to The Manhattan Mercury, a school spokesman could not confirm or deny that Brown was still a member of the team on Wednesday.

"Just unfortunate," head coach Bill Snyder told the paper. "Bryce is going through some difficult times right now and we'll try to help him all we can." 

What exactly those difficult times are, Snyder did not say.

Brown was one of the top recruits in the country when coming out of high school and signed to play for Lane Kiffin at Tennessee. He then transferred to Kansas State, along with his brother, linebacker Arthur Brown, to be closer to his family in 2009. Odds are that Brown's difficulties are directly related to his playing time, as he only has 3 carries for 16 yards on the season.

He appeared in two series on offense in Kansas State's win over Miami, but never touched the ball and missed a block that led to Collin Klein being sacked.

Making matters worse for Brown, John Hubert had a great game against Miami, and Bill Snyder said Hubert would once again be the starter against Baylor, with Angelo Pease and Robert Rose behind him on the depth chart. Meaning that Brown is fourth in the pecking order in Manhattan. 

That is, if he's still with Kansas State.

Posted by Tom Fornelli

1. It's deja vu all over again. You can change the location of the game. You can change the Texas A&M starting quarterback. Hell, you can even change Texas A&M's conference affiliation, but it seems you can't change the Aggies' ability to implode against Oklahoma State. Last year in Stillwater, Texas A&M had a 21-7 lead over the Cowboys heading into halftime, but the second half was a barrage of Jerrod Johnson interceptions that quickly turned into 28 unanswered points by Oklahoma State. A&M would battle back to tie the game, but a last second field goal by Dan Bailey gave OSU the 38-35 win.

On Saturday Texas A&M again dominated the first half taking a 20-3 lead into the locker room. Then the second half came, and so did the barrage of turnovers and the 27 unanswered points from Oklahoma State. The only difference was that this time around the Aggies never completed the comeback, and the last second points were given to A&M by Justin Blackmon on a safety. All of which means that Texas A&M won't get the ultimate last laugh of leaving the Big 12 for the SEC as the defending conference champions.

2. Oklahoma State is a legit threat to win the Big 12. There's no guarantee that the Cowboys are going to run the table for the rest of the regular season, as their history has proved to us time and again. Still, the chance remains that when Oklahoma comes to Stillwater on December 3rd, both teams will be 11-0 and the winner might not only be playing for the Big 12 title, but for a berth in the BCS championship game as well. Do you remember Bedlam last season? Yeah, now just picture that game with all of that on the line. Sounds pretty fun, no?

3. Justin Blackmon is mortal. Seriously, Justin, I do nothing but talk about how amazing you are to anybody that asks. Critics respond by saying that "he's not a polished route-runner" and I just laugh it off. So you're not the best route-runner, you're still the best everything else in the land. But then you go and do something like this on Saturday, and I can't defend that, man. Come on, help a guy out.

4. Oklahoma isn't at its best yet, but it's above average is still pretty good. The closest that Oklahoma has looked to perfection was in its opener against Tulsa, and that was a somewhat rusty season-opening performance. Since then we've seen the offense struggle against Florida State, and the defense not have the best of nights against Missouri. Through all of this, though, the Sooners are 3-0 and still on course to win the Big 12. If Landry Jones stops turning the ball over, and the defense plays up to its ability, then this team could be downright scary. At the moment, however, I would put both LSU and Alabama above the Sooners on my ballot.

5. Robert Griffin is the truth. I'm running out of superlatives for this kid, seriously. Just another night of RG3 completing 88% of his passes and accounting for 389 yards and 6 touchdowns in three quarters of work. Yaaaaawn. (I know, I know, let's see what happens when Baylor has to face Oklahoma and company.)

6. Who needs Bryce Brown? Coming into the year I thought Kansas State would surprise people thanks to Bryce Brown replacing Daniel Thomas at running back. Well, I was half right. Kansas State is surprising people thanks to a 28-24 win over Miami on the road this week -- does this mean Kansas State is better than Ohio State? -- but it's John Hubert doing the work. Hubert had 166 yards on 18 carries for the Wildcats against the Hurricanes on Saturday while Bryce Brown never touched the ball. If Hubert keeps playing like that, Brown won't be touching the ball any time soon either.

Posted by Tom Fornelli

Coming into this new season one of the things I really wanted to see with Kansas State was the debut of Bryce Brown. Brown was a highly-touted running back coming out of high school that eventually committed to Tennessee before transferring back home to Kansas State. Well, we really didn't get to see much of Brown in Kansas State's narrow 10-7 win over Eastern Kentucky last weekend, as he carried the ball only 3 times for a total of 16 yards. Brown also coughed up one of the four fumbles that the Wildcats had in the game, which was a major reason why the team struggled to score points.

I was wondering if we'd have a chance to see more of Brown this weekend against Kent State, but that doesn't seem to be the case. He's currently listed third on the Kansas State depth chart, and according to head coach Bill Snyder, Bryce still has some work to do if he wants to see more carries on offense.

"I think for him, getting invested is probably the most significant thing for him," Snyder told the Manhattan Mercury. "And I think he's making some headway in that respect. I think he's a little more into it. He missed a lot during the course of the summer, so there's a lot of catching up for him to do." 

Snyder also went on to say that when Brown will get more time with the offense is "up to him."

Sophomore back John Hubert is currently on top of the depth chart, and he rushed for 91 yards on 17 carries against Eastern Kentucky, so at the moment it's hard to justify Brown taking his place. That being said, it's not like the Kansas State offense played well in the opener, and regardless of where Brown is on the depth chart, the quicker he can start contributing to the team, the better off the Wildcats will be.

Posted by Tom Fornelli

If you're anything like me, you're still trying to wrap your brain around the latest Yahoo! Sports bomb to be detonated, this time at Miami. Unfortunately for plenty of schools around the country, the allegations made against the Miami football program aren't confined to Coral Gables. They even stretch as far as Manhattan, Kansas and the Kansas State football program.

Current Kansas State linebacker and former Miami linebacker Arthur Brown is one of the many players that former Miami booster Nevin Shapiro claims he provided with a variety of benefits while they attended the school. To make matters worse for Kansas State, Brown's brother Bryce Brown -- Kansas State's running back -- was present when his brother received some of these benefits.

Here's a list of the benefits allegedly received by Arthur Brown.

- A dinner at Benihana and a trip to a strip club called The Cheetah in which Shapiro paid for all of Brown's food, drinks and private entertainment at the club.

- Lunch for Brown at Smith and Wollensky's with Brown, his parents, brother Bryce Brown and adviser Brian Butler which totaled $532. A bill paid for by Shapiro.

- Two rooms at the Continental Oceanfront Hotel for Brown, his family and adviser totaling $1,110.19. Paid for by Shapiro.

- Food, drinks and entertainment at Lucky Strike Lanes on at least one occasion.

- Food, drinks and entertainment during pool tournaments at Shapiro's mansion.

- Transportation from Miami staffer Sean Allen at the direction of Shapiro.

At the time of Bryce Brown's visits he was being recruited by Miami.

“[Arthur] also wanted me to meet his brother," Shapiro told Yahoo."Who was going to be the No. 1 recruited player coming out of high school that following year named Bryce Brown. I set up a trip for his mom, dad and spiritual adviser – which is another name for an agent – Brian Butler. They all came in from Kansas. I put them up at a hotel on Miami Beach.” 

This is not good news at all for Kansas State, as the team was counting on both the Brown brothers to be major contributors to the team this season. At this point, if Bill Snyder and the Kansas State staff chooses to let them play they run the risk of playing ineligible players which could lead to vacated wins and violations at Kansas State.

So, as you can see, this story is not just Miami's problem.

Posted by Tom Fornelli

As part of the CBSSports.com season preview, here are my choices for the Preseason All-Big 12 team.

Offense

QUARTERBACK

Landry Jones, Junior, Oklahoma

This is the rather obvious choice, as while there are some good quarterbacks in the Big 12, there's only one who plays for the team many see as a favorite to win the national title, and one whose name comes up in the Heisman Trophy discussion. That would be Landry Jones, and he deserves the hype. In his first two seasons with the Sooners, Jones has thrown for 7,916 yards, 64 touchdowns and only 26 interceptions. 

Also watch for: Though he didn't claim the starting job until half the season had passed, Ryan Tannehill was a big part of Texas A&M's strong finish in 2010. There's also the supremely talented Robert Griffin III at Baylor, and you can't forget about Brandon Weeden at Oklahoma State.

RUNNING BACK

Cyrus Gray, Senior, Texas A&M

While the Aggies deployed a two-headed monster at running back last season, Cyrus Gray was the most productive of the bunch. Gray rushed for 1,133 yards in 2010 and had 12 touchdowns. I wouldn't count on seeing Gray's production drop off at all as he enters his final season in College Station.

Roy Finch, Sophomore, Oklahoma

Finch didn't get a lot of playing time last season, but now that DeMarco Murray has moved on, the speedy back is going to see a lot of action this season, and in an offense as potent as Oklahoma's, that means we're likely to see some big numbers from the little man.

Also watch for: Christine Michael was part of Texas A&M's dynamic duo with Cyrus Gray last season, and he's going to have a big role in 2011 as well. There's also Eric Stephens at Texas Tech who could open some eyes with Tommy Tuberville implementing a more balanced attack and five returning starters on the offensive line. There's also Bryce Brown at Kansas State, and if Brown can live up to all the hype he had coming out of high school, then he may end up being the best back in the entire conference. Texas will be hoping that Malcolm Brown can be the feature back it's been looking for as well.

WIDE RECEIVER

Justin Blackmon, Junior, Oklahoma State

It's going to be hard for Justin Blackmon to match his 2010 numbers in 2011, but the fact is that his production was so insane last year, that he won't have to. Take away 500 yards and 5 touchdowns from his total last year and Blackmon still finishes with 1,282 yards and 15 touchdowns. The craziest thing of all, however, is if he surpasses last year's numbers, nobody will be all that surprised either.

Ryan Broyles, Senior, Oklahoma

Broyles could have left for the NFL last year, but he decided to return for another season in Norman and Landry Jones couldn't be happier about it. Broyles is coming off his second consecutive 1,000-yard season with at least 14 touchdowns, and a third straight year with those numbers is likely on its way.

Also watch for: The Big 12 is not hurting for strong wide receivers. While Broyles and Blackmon will get the most attention, Kenny Stills and Josh Cooper are excellent second options for their respective squads. Then there's Kendall Wright at Baylor, Ryan Swope and Jeff Fuller at Texas A&M, T.J. Moe at Missouri, and don't forget about Mike Davis at Texas.

TIGHT END

Michael Egnew, Senior, Missouri

Egnew is listed as a tight end, but realistically, he plays more like a wide receiver. Egnew caught 90 passes for 762 yards last year with five touchdowns, and he should see plenty of balls coming his way again this year as James Franklin looks to fill Blaine Gabbert's shoes.

Also watch for: While wide receiver catch most of the balls in the Big 12, there are some solid tight ends. Keep an eye on Oklahoma's James Hanna, Nehemiah Nicks with Texas A&M and Tim Biere at Kansas.

OFFENSIVE LINE

Center Ben Habern, Junior, Oklahoma

After redshirting in 2008, Habern has started 24 games at center for the Sooners over the last two seasons. He led Oklahoma with 123 knockdowns in 2010, including 16 against Colorado and was an honorable mention on the All-Big 12 team last season.

Guard, Lonnie Edwards, Senior, Texas Tech

Edwards is a key part of the Texas Tech offensive line that returns every starter this season. He'll play an even larger role this season as Texas Tech will likely run more than we've seen in the past. The 6-foot-4 320 pounder has started 23 games in Lubbock and was an All-Big 12 second team selection in 2010.

Guard, Lane Taylor, Junior, Oklahoma State

Taylor is the most experience member of the Oklahoma State offensive line, as he was the only returning starter in 2010. He's made 24 consecutive starts for the Cowboys, and aside from keeping Brandon Weeden off his back, Taylor was an first team academic Big 12 selection as well.

Tackle, Levy Adcock, Senior, Oklahoma State

They don't come much bigger than Adcock, and the 6-foot-6 322-pound tackle used his size awfully well in 2010. Adcock was a first-team All-Big 12 selection by both the coaches and the AP last season (a unanimous selection by the AP) after winning the starting job in August last year and never letting it go.

Tackle, Kelechi Osemele, Senior, Iowa State

Oh wait, they do come bigger than Adcock. Osemele checks in at 6-foot-6 and 347 pounds. Osemele got his start playing both guard and tackle in 2008 but moved to left tackle full time in 2009 and hasn't moved since, starting 30 straight games. This will be a name you hear called early in the NFL draft next spring.

Also watch for: Offensive lineman may spend most of their time living in anonymity and working as a unit, but Texas A&M's Luke Joeckel and Oklahoma State's Grant Garner are a couple other names you should get familiar with. Missouri's Elvis Fisher definitely would have made the list if not for his season-ending knee injury.

Defense

DEFENSIVE LINE

DE Frank Alexander, Senior, Oklahoma

Alexander only started in nine games for the Sooners last season, but still managed to finish second on the team in tackles for loss (13) and sacks (7). In other words, he spends a lot of his time in backfields disrupting plays before they even get a chance to start.

DE Brad Madison, Junior, Missouri

Madison had a break out season in 2010 and proved to be one of the top playmakers on Missouri's defensive line. Madison ended the season leading the Tigers defense in sacks (7.5) and tackles for loss (11).  He was named to the All-Big 12 second team for his efforts, and now that he'll be replacing Aldon Smith his name is one that many opposing quarterbacks will have drilled into their brains as they prepare to face Missouri.

DT Kheeston Randall, Senior, Texas

An anchor on the defensive line for the Longhorns, Randall was an honorable mention for the All-Big 12 last season. This year I believe he'll be moving up the ladder and having an even bigger impact.  Randall finished second on the team with 13 tackles for loss in 2010, and also had a big impact on special teams, blocking two kicks.

DT Tony Jerod-Eddie, Senior, Texas A&M

In Texas A&M's 3-4 defense, Jerod-Eddie sees a lot of time at defensive end, but he's a defensive tackle in purpose. Think of Marcell Dareus at Alabama last season.  While Jerod-Eddie doesn't spend a lot of time in the backfield blowing up plays, he uses his size and strength to stuff the run at the point of attack and allow Aggie linebackers to flow freely to the ball.

Also watch for: Oklahoma's Ronnell Lewis only started the final four games for the Sooners last season, but he was incredibly productive in those four games. Starting all season could see him put up some ridiculous numbers. Jacqueis Smith of Missouri combines with Madison to give the Tigers a big push on the edges.

LINEBACKERS

Jake Knott, Junior, Iowa State

There weren't many plays run against the Iowa State defense last season in which Jake Knott wasn't in on the tackle. He led the conference with 130 tackles last season and was a first-team All-Big 12 selection because of it. He'll be bringing that same nose for the football back to the Iowa State defense this season, and though he broke his arm in spring camp, he should be good to go when the season starts.

Garrick Williams, Senior, Texas A&M

Williams tallied 112 tackles in 2010, and now that Michael Hodges and Von Miller are no longer in College Station, he'll be playing an even larger role in 2011. I'm not sure Williams will be able to completely fill Von Miller's shoes in the Aggie defense, but he may end up being just as important to the defense as Miller was.

Keenan Robinson, Senior, Texas

Robinson was all over the place for the Longhorns in 2010. He finished the season with 113 tackles, 2 for a loss, and also had 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, 2 fumble recoveries and a touchdown. Oh, and he's also a standout on special teams. He is literally all over the field on defense, and he's poised for another big season in 2011.

Also watch for: It was hard to pick just three linebackers in this conference, as there are plenty of other good options. Names like A.J. Klein (Iowa State), Arthur Brown (Kansas State), Caleb Lavey (Oklahoma State), Emmanuel Acho (Texas), Sean Porter (Texas A&M), Zaviar Gooden (Missouri) and Huldon Tharp (Kansas) are some of those options. Also, if it weren't for an injury that is going to keep him out for eight weeks, Oklahoma's Travis Lewis would have been an easy selection to the team. However, due to that injury, Lewis' replacement Corey Nelson is another name to watch out for.

DEFENSIVE BACKS

CB Jamell Fleming, Senior, Oklahoma

Big 12 quarterbacks will test Jamell Fleming at their own risk in 2011. In his first full season as a starter last year Fleming had 5 interceptions, and proved himself quite the playmaker in the Oklahoma secondary. He's also not afraid to create some contact, tallying 71 tackles with 8.5 for a loss.  He's a very good player in what may be the best secondary the Big 12 has.

CB Coryell Judie, Senior, Texas A&M

Judie finished second in the Big 12 in interceptions last season behind Fleming with 4.  He also broke up 4 passes and made 57 tackles for the Aggies. His impact is also felt on special teams, as he proved to be one of the most explosive kick returners in the conference last season, averaging over 30 yards a return with 2 touchdowns.

S Markelle Martin, Senior, Oklahoma State

This is not a man that wide receivers want to have a rendevous with over the middle of the football field, as Martin can bring the wood with the best of them.  What makes Martin more dangerous, though, is that he improved his coverage skills in 2010 and picked off three passes. He's the type of safety that can separate you from the ball physically, or just take it away from you in the air.

S Tony Jefferson, Sophomore, Oklahoma

2010 may have been Jefferson's first season of college ball, but you couldn't tell by watching him play. The Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year started 9 games for the Sooners in 2010 and finished the season with 65 tackles (7 for a loss) with 2 sacks, 2 interceptions and 7 passes broken up. I expect those numbers to improve in 2011 as this kid is only beginning to tap into his potential.

Also watch for: Oklahoma's Demontre Hurst could have been on my first team and given the Sooners secondary three of the four spots, but just because he didn't doesn't mean he's somebody quarterbacks should test too often. Keep your eyes on Blake Gideon (Texas), Trent Hunter (Texas A&M), Leonard Johnson (Iowa State) and Prince Kent (Baylor) too.

SPECIAL TEAMS

K Grant Ressel, Senior, Missouri

P Quinn Sharp, Junior, Oklahoma State

KR Coryell Judie, Senior, Texas A&M

PR Ryan Broyles, Senior, Oklahoma