Between spring practices ending and the transfer portal closing, Big 12 squads are finally settling down heading into a long offseason. In a season of change across the conference, spring ball can be instructive. While there will be plenty of cogent analysis to be had across June and July, that’s not what May is for. Instead, we’re taking the tiniest nuggets of information from spring football and running for our lives with some of the biggest overreactions in the conference as May opens.
Remember, these are overreactions, so not every pick is firmly rooted in logic. Still, make sure to come back at the end of the season and learn with me whether the offseason hype had these Big 12 squads on the right track.
Blake Shapen will be All-Big 12: Making a quarterback change at any point is a gutsy move. Benching a senior who led the program to a Big 12 title game and allowing him to transfer is another level. However, the staff was impressed by Shapen’s development in his first full spring focusing on football after splitting time with baseball. The Shreveport, Louisiana, product threw for 434 yards and five touchdowns in his two starts, so the expectations come from somewhere. If Shapen can be a meaningful improvement on Gerry Bohanon, the Bears can once again compete for a College Football Playoff berth.
Hunter Dekkers is an upgrade: Brock Purdy left Iowa State as the greatest quarterback in program history with more than 12,000 yards passing and 81 touchdowns to his name. If sophomore Hunter Dekkers can live up to the flashes he has shown in limited opportunities, the Cyclones could be even better. Dekker has a big arm that he showed off in limited snaps against a strong Iowa defense last season. With Xavier Hutchinson back in the lineup,…
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