ESPN College Football

A list of Wes Lunt's five possible future destinations surfaced earlier this week, but Oklahoma State is limiting more than half of them.

From colleague Joe Schad:

Former Oklahoma State quarterback Wes Lunt's release will not allow him to transfer to Southern Miss, Tennessee or Vanderbilt, according to several people briefed on the decision.

Lunt had been considering transferring to all three schools, a person familiar with his plans told ESPN this week. He can still visit and consider the other two schools on his list, Illinois and Louisville, sources said.

CBS earlier reported that Oklahoma State had trimmed Lunt's list.

See the full story for more.

Thanks for all the e-mails this week. Good to hear from you. Here's where you can reach me if you've got more to say.

Mike in Overland Park, Kan. writes: Hey Dave, regarding your "10 best Big 12 players ever" list -- I guess I should have known it would basically be a TX/OU All-Star team. How about a list of 10 best players NOT on TX/OU?

David Ubben: Well, yeah, Mike. I don't know what you expected. Such is life in the Big 12, which Texas and Oklahoma have dominated for most of its history. Off the top of my head, here's how I'd rank the top 10 players in Big 12 history who didn't play for Texas or Oklahoma:

1. Ndamukong Suh
2. Robert Griffin III
3. Tavon Austin
4. Justin Blackmon
5. Troy Davis
6. Darren Sproles
7. Grant Wistrom
8. Michael Crabtree
9. Eric Crouch
10. Chase Daniel

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Dave in Dallas writes: How does the Big 12 stop from becoming the Big East? Does it need to have the normal 8 teams fall apart and let UT and OU battle for the top while 3rd place has 7 wins. It isn't very interesting but it seemed everyone was happy when it was a TOP HEAVY conference especially when the winner of the North would be a 9-3 or 8-4 team. Do you think that the loss of Nebraska and now the resurgance of a lost A&M is now weighing on Texas/OU and the overall strength of the conference?

DU: I don't think that's a fair assessment. And I'm not entirely sure what you mean by "becoming the Big East." The Big 12 has two of college football's biggest brands, which the Big East hasn't had since Miami and Virginia Tech left, and both Texas and Oklahoma are bigger brands than both.

As for the Big 12's recent parity, part of it has been Oklahoma and Texas sliding a bit, but you're underrating how much the rest of the Big 12 has grown. Oklahoma State and Baylor are stronger than they've ever been since the Big 12's birth, and you could make an argument for Iowa State as well. WVU is spinning their wheels a bit, but they could bounce back in 2014. Texas Tech is trending in the right direction. The loss of Nebraska and Texas A&M is huge. No doubt about that. Texas A&M's growth -- or at least the speed at which it occurred -- was largely unpredictable. Nebraska hasn't done a lot since leaving the Big 12. Would the league love to have both back if some of the recent history was erased? Sure. But the Big 12 is far from being doomed to having a reputation like the Big East. For now, the Big 12 has a great case as the best conference behind the SEC, and as I've written over and over again, the gap isn't as wide as some might think.

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Mark Messick in Nashville, Tenn. writes: I get that Stoops is trying to fight for spots in future football four's to keep what happened to okie state from happening again. but as bad as we've played against SEC teams for the last 10 years, it really comes off as being whiney. Am I missing somthing or does he have another agenda that isn't being discussed?

DU: You make some good points, Mark. For one, I do think Stoops is motivated by knowing the playoff is around the corner, and the SEC's reputation is going to benefit it. I also agree that 1) he has something of a point and 2) the way in which he chose to express it didn't come off like he would have liked. Dropping the term "propoganda" will rarely work out well for you. Like I said, too, seeing how his team has performed against the SEC the last few times they've faced a team from there, his complaints didn't hit home like he would have wanted.

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Marty in Manhattan, Kan. writes: Hey Ubben... were you aware that Kliff Kingsbury has a superbowl ring??? How have you gone this long with writing an article about it?

DU: I am, and I mentioned it several times when he got hired. Coincidentally, he earned a ring with the Patriots in 2003 with his new peer, Kansas coach Charlie Weis, as his offensive coordinator. That's quite an odd connection. Still, he was the No. 3 quarterback on that team. That was 10 years ago. I'm sure you'll see more stories on that when Texas Tech preps to play Kansas, but it's a pretty crazy bit of Big 12 coaching trivia.

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Lance Casey in Suwanee, Ga. writes: David, Was there any talk about Oklahoma State redshirting Wes Lunt? Especially if Daxx Garman showed enough in the Spring that he could be number 2 or 3 QB. This way they are 3 deep even though Wes is waiting 1 year. He has to wait 1 year anyway if he goes to another D1 school. Thanks for your feedback

DU: You definitely heard that as a possibility if Clint Chelf won the job, and I think it would have worked out well for OSU if everybody would have stayed healthy, but for a young quarterback not anywhere close to home, asking him to sit out a year after winning a starting job a year earlier is tough to do. I don't think Garman would have had anything to do with the decision. You're forgetting about J.W. Walsh. I don't think OSU would have hesitated to pull the redshirt if Chelf had gotten hurt, but who knows how Lunt would have felt about that gamble?

I can't blame the guy for leaving, but I'm sure OSU hates to see him go. I'm expecting him to do big things wherever he ends up.

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Brad in Fort Worth writes: Where do you see Wes Lunt transfering to?

DU: My money is on Illinois, where he'd play for former Oklahoma State DC Tim Beckman and help him build the Illini program back up to where it was when Juice Williams, Rashard Mendenhall and Ron Zook somehow earned a Rose Bowl bid.

I wasn't sure what to expect from the Iowa State faithful when I asked what their most important game in 2012 was, but I wasn't surprised to see a rivalry game against an average at best Iowa team earn 32 percent of the vote.

The biggest earner, however, was Iowa State's Thursday night game against Texas, which received 36 percent of the vote.

The Cyclones' home game against Oklahoma State was in third with 17 percent of the vote, but I was surprised Tulsa (nine percent) and Kansas (six percent) didn't earn a bit more of the vote.

Me? I'm with the fans on this one. Iowa State needs big wins and needs exposure, and it will get both in a Thursday night game against Texas. I've said for a long time that Jack Trice Stadium is an underrated venue, and it will be on display on national television against the Longhorns.

Can the team hold up its end of the bargain? I remember back in 2011 the Cyclones raced to a 3-0 start with three fourth-quarter comebacks led by quarterback Steele Jantz, and hosted a top 20 Texas team. It got rocked, trailing 34-0 at halftime of the 37-14 loss. That kind of thing can't happen this season. It took the air out of the stadium in Ames, and did more harm than good.

Looking back on that adds some gravity to the Cyclones' game. Yes, it's an opportunity, but it's a risk, too. Texas could come to Ames undefeated, and a lopsided loss gives everyone in the Big 12 and the country reason to dismiss ISU as a program to respect.

Win, and that's another win against a top 10 team on Paul Rhoads' resume, and a chance for ISU to earn a reputation as a team capable of building beyond just six and seven-win seasons, and taking that famed "next step" as a program. A win against Texas could be the key to making that happen, and to me, that makes it the most important game of 2013.

HornsNation
From Max Olson and William Wilkerson : In this week's edition of The Heard, Texas has made a jump for ESPN 150 defensive back Arrion Springs.

From the HornsNation staff : Which team on Texas’ 2013 schedule should fans worry about most and why?

From Sean Adams : What are the chances Tyrone Swoopes becomes the backup quarterback this season? More in Sean Adams' weekly mailbag.

More from Wilkerson : Class of 2015 cornerback Kendall Sheffield bonds with Texas coach.

SoonerNation
From Bob Przybylo: Ohio offensive lineman Alex Dalton commits to OU over Stanford, Arkansas, Indiana and Nebraska.

More from Przybylo : In this week's Sooner Intel, is OU out of the race for four-star safety John Bonney?

More from Przybylo : 2014 in-state receiver Jalen Adams talks about his interest in OU.

David Ubben is talking Devonte Fields, rivalries, and recruiting trail in this week's Friday Four Downs in the Big 12.

• West Virginia QB Chavas Rawlins enrolled early and came to Morgantown this spring, but he's already transferring. Odd move there.
• Was Ohio State AD criticizing or complimenting Iowa State with his recent comments?
• Charlie Weis is looking to give KU fans reason to believe, writes Taylor Eldridge of the Wichita Eagle.
• Jason Kersey of The Oklahoman writes about Oklahoma OC Jay Norvell's wife's battle against the disease she's fought her whole life.
• Former Texas QB Vince Young tells Bruce Feldman of CBS Sports that getting his degree this weekend will top winning a national title.
• A couple folks from the Dallas Morning News say the Cowboys could use Collin Klein. Interesting idea from Kevin Sherrington.
• Texas Tech coach Kliff Kingsbury sat down for an interesting Q&A with the paper in Amarillo.

Colleague Travis Haney ranked his list of the nation's top 10 "most talented" teams , and a certain burnt orange team you might have heard showed up at No. 2 on his list.

It's an interesting approach to ranking teams, and Haney looked at NFL draft lists, colleague Mark Schlabach's top 25 and the past four years of recruiting rankings to put together his list.

A lot of the ranking is thanks to those recruiting rankings, where Texas' class averaged a ranking of 6.5 among players currently suiting up for the Longhorns.

I agree that Texas is the Big 12's most talented team by a long way, but what does that really mean, besides more pressure on Mack Brown? The Longhorns beat a rebuilding Oklahoma State team in September that was a shell of the team it became late in the season, and did so narrowly with J.W. Walsh making his first career start for the Pokes. You've got to take all that into consideration, and when you look back at the last two years, Texas' best win was either its Alamo Bowl comeback against Oregon State or a road win against Texas Tech, who ended the season tied for fifth in the league.

A pair of embarrassing blowout losses to Oklahoma are the biggest reason for skepticism surrounding the Longhorns, who plenty of folks will pick to win the Big 12 in 2013. They've certainly got talent. Look no further than super recruits like DE Jackson Jeffcoat, DT Malcom Brown, and running backs Malcolm Brown and Johnathan Gray for evidence of that, not to mention defenders like CB Quandre Diggs and linebackers Peter Jinkens and Jordan Hicks.

The Longhorns have talent all over the field, and that has been the case the past three seasons, which have featured just 22 wins. Now, though, that talent has experience and Texas is preparing for it to pay off.

On paper, it should. Texas has every reason to be one of, if not the, Big 12 favorite. Still, the Longhorns have got to prove it on the field, and it takes a lot of big wins to make that happen. Texas has been short on those wins of late.

DALLAS -- Charlie Weis has seen leadership.

He's also seen what he refers to as "real leadership."

"There’s a difference," the Kansas coach told ESPN.com in a recent interview.

Kansas has drawn plenty of attention this offseason for welcoming a parade of almost 20 junior college players, but the Jayhawks are getting more than just a talent upgrade in the new additions to the roster. After spending a spring with many of those players enrolling early and participating in practice, he's seeing that real leadership in two new members of his defense.

It starts with a mature cornerback in Cassius Sendish, who showed up with a commanding presence and impressed Weis immediately. The 6-foot, 187-pounder was one of the nation's top juco prospects a year ago at Arizona Western and may be one of four new starters in the secondary.

"I wouldn’t say he’s been a surprise, but he is a natural leader and I think that one of our biggest problems with our defense is we were void of real leadership," Weis said. "Cassius is a very intelligent, physical player and I think in the secondary, he’ll be one of the key leaders of our defense. You don’t find those guys very often. They grow into it, but he kind of walked in the door with that."

Don't be surprised if all four new starters in Kansas' secondary are new players, Weis said. He brought in another player in the ESPN Juco 100, Chris Martin, because of his history recruiting him to Notre Dame. Martin originally committed to Weis and the Irish before transferring to Florida, where Weis coincidentally ended up for the 2011 season. He's had issues in the past and attended three different high schools, but the 6-foot-4, 250-pound pass rusher gives an immediate upgrade up front physically that's been long absent in Lawrence.

"The whole team feeds off of him. We haven’t had a guy that looks like an NFL outside linebacker/defensive end," said Weis, who added that he's also one of the team's fastest players. "He's like what I'm used to looking at in the NFL."

Kansas' defense centered around linebacker Ben Heeney last season, and may again in 2013, but the talent upgrades around him should help Kansas' defense improve and allow Heeney to improve, even if his stats take a dip after he finished fourth in the Big 12 with 112 stops in 2012.

"He shouldn’t have to make 100 or whatever tackles," Weis said. "That tells you you’re not making any tackles up front."

Martin and fellow newcomers like Ty McKinney, who also impressed Weis and DC Dave Campo this spring, and summer enrollee Marquel Combs could help change that.

We've spent two weeks counting it down, and we're finally at the top. It's been quite a ride, but it's time to bring our list to a close. I may have a Top 10 players complaint mailbag next week if necessary, so if you've got complaints, let's hear them.

We'll tackle the list of guys who just missed the list sometime next week, but without further ado, here's my pick for the greatest player in the Big 12 history.

Here's more on my criteria.

No. 1: Vince Young, QB, Texas

Why he's No. 1: No player in Big 12 history was more singularly responsible for a national title. Texas had a strong team in 2005, but Vince Young's run through that season made history. Before Young, no quarterback had ever thrown for 3,000 yards and run for 1,000 yards. On the way to a national title, Young threw for 3,036 and 26 touchdowns, adding 1,050 rushing yards and 12 scores. A few others have achieved the feat since, but it was unheard of before Young, who finished his career with an absurd 30-2 record as a starting quarterback. That record included six fourth-quarter comebacks and the greatest BCS title game performance ever by an individual.

Against USC's so-called "Greatest Team Ever," Young racked up 267 passing yards and 200 rushing yards, capped by a game-winning scramble on fourth down to put the Longhorns ahead, 41-38, and end the Trojans' 34-game winning streak. It's the last time a non-SEC team won a national title, and Young's development as a passer that season helped Texas reach new heights. He rushed for 1,000 yards in 2004 on the way to a Rose Bowl win against Michigan, but threw for just 1,849 yards and 12 touchdowns. He helped carry Texas to a 24-1 record in 2004 and 2005 combined, the fewest losses in any two-year stretch of Mack Brown's career. Even as far back as 2003, his redshirt freshman year, he rushed for 998 yards and took over the starting job in the middle of the season, going 6-1.

Young never won a Heisman Trophy, but did win the Davey O'Brien Trophy and the Maxwell Award in 2005. The lack of membership in that hallowed college football fraternity is nothing more than a footnote in the career of the greatest Big 12 player of all-time.

The rest of the list:

• No. 2: Ricky Williams, RB, Texas
• No. 3: Ndamukong Suh, DT, Nebraska
• No. 4: Sam Bradford, QB, Oklahoma
• No. 5: Colt McCoy, QB, Texas
• No. 6: Adrian Peterson, RB, Oklahoma
• No. 7: Robert Griffin III, QB, Baylor
• No. 8: Jason White, QB, Oklahoma
• No. 9: Roy Williams, S, Oklahoma
• No. 10: Tavon Austin, WR/KR/RB/PR, West Virginia

We'll start a new series today looking at the player each Big 12 team's most indispensable player. He's they guy they can least afford to lose and the guy to whom an injury or departure would have the most effect.

Let's get started with West Virginia.

Most indispensable player: S Karl Joseph

West Virginia's sort of an interesting case here, because the Mountaineers lack a huge game-changer, but have a lot of depth and decent players at the offensive skill positions. You've got to look to a more experienced defense, even though it struggled last season.

I'm taking the guy with the most raw talent and the most impact on what should be an improved unit in 2013. Joseph broke out as a true freshman last year, though his efforts were overshadowed by the unit's struggles as a whole. If they want to take big steps forward in 2013, Joseph is going to be the guy making it happen. He was all over the field last year, leading the team with 102 tackles (76 solo) and added seven tackles for loss, the most of any returning player. WVU simply doesn't have another safety on its roster who can make those kinds of plays in bulk, and doesn't have a player with his kind of speed, size and instinct.

That definitely makes him indispensable. I do think WVU's defense will be a bit better this year as they adjust to the schemes and tempo of Big 12 offenses which just didn't exist in the Big East. It can't make much of a move without Joseph, though. The 5-foot-10, 200-pounder was overshadowed by bigger names like Texas' Kenny Vaccaro and Oklahoma's Tony Jefferson last year, but he'll be likely to earn a status as the Big 12's best safety in 2013.

Mel Kiper Jr. is continuing his look through the top prospects at each position in advance of next year's NFL draft, and his list of the top 10 cornerbacks includes four players from the Big 12.

It was a deep position last year, but could it be the Big 12's deepest and best position in 2013? We'll see how the new quarterbacks develop, but these guys won't make it easy on 'em.

Oklahoma's Aaron Colvin tops the list from the Big 12, showing up as Kiper's No. 4 overall cornerback. He's moved positions in the secondary throughout his career, and that versatility really impressed Kiper. He broke up 14 passes last year and also came up and made a pair of sacks.

TCU's Jason Verrett was my pick as the Big 12's best cover man a year ago and showed up as Kiper's No. 5. His performance in slowing down Geno Smith drew Kiper's attention, and Verrett was one of just a handful of guys to pick off the West Virginia quarterback.

Justin Gilbert's eye-popping physical attributes have him at No. 6. He's got a lot of potential to rise on this list. He had a really poor 2012 after a promising sophomore season in 2011. He can be a lot better than he was last year. If he proves that, he'll jump up this list.

Texas' Quandre Diggs is No. 7, and despite being smaller than a lot of these guys, he's one of the league's most instinctive players. You saw that when he made an impact immediately as a true freshman. I wouldn't look beyond his teammate, Carrington Byndom, cracking this list by season's end, too.

David Ubben says the quarterback questions and the program's history are reasons for concerns and hope heading into 2012 for Oklahoma State.

The Lott IMPACT Trophy released its watch list on Thursday, which means only one thing: It's officially watch list season in college football.

The award is given annually to college football's best defensive player who makes an IMPACT on and off the field. IMPACT stands for Integrity, Maturity, Performance, Academics, Community and Tenacity.

Staying out of trouble off the field is a huge factor to win this award, so there are a couple of good defenders in the Big 12 who didn't show up on the watch list. I'm not real surprised at their absence. Calling them out here doesn't seem like a productive exercise, but any basic Google search can probably answer your questions.

Here's who made the list from the Big 12:

• Calvin Barnett, DL, Oklahoma State
• Aaron Colvin, CB, Oklahoma
• Ahmad Dixon, S, Baylor
• Bryce Hager, LB, Baylor
• Jackson Jeffcoat, DE, Texas
• Jason Verrett, CB, TCU
• Ty Zimmerman, S, Kansas State

Notre Dame's Manti Te'o won the award last year. No Big 12 player has ever won the award, but TCU's Jerry Hughes took home the trophy back in 2009.

Baylor is also one of just six schools with more than one player on the watch list.

Poor OKC fans. Brutal past couple weeks.

• SI.com's Stewart Mandel has a lot of Big 12 talk in his mailbag. He says Bob Stoops has a point, and weighs in on WVU's struggles in the conference.
• Mac Engel of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram says just when TCU is done with one issue, another comes up. That's called a "trend."
• Will Parchman of the Waco Tribune-Herald writes about Art Briles keeping the quarterback machine well-oiled for Baylor.
• Texas Tech tight end Jace Amaro showed up on Mel Kiper's top 10 tight ends in the 2014 draft class.
• West Virginia's goals for Tier 3 rights bids are ambitious, writes Bob Hertzel of the TImes West Virginian.
• The Alamo Bowl could benefit big from the College Football Playoff, writes Tim Griffin of the San Antonio Express-News.
• Baylor offers up a video update on the progress it has made on the new stadium, scheduled to open in 2014.
• If you didn't know, Kansas State is having a pretty crazy season in the major sports. Berry Tramel of The Oklahoman sees it.
• Get to know Taylor Cox a little better in the "Two Minute Drill."
• Dayne Crist says goodbye KC Chiefs, hello Baltimore Ravens.

When ESPN 150 linebacker Kyron Watson committed to Kansas, it was arguably their biggest commit in years. Damon Sayles discusses the implications of that commitment, and Saint Louis, Missouri recruiting being an underrated hotspot. Max Olson also stops by to talk the latest in Baylor recruiting.