Five notable storylines entering Big 12 football media days

FRISCO, Texas — The Big 12 is set to host the conference’s media days on Tuesday and Wednesday at “The Star.”

No, not the Arizona Daily Star offices, although it would be efficient for our coverage of the two-day event. “The Star” is a 91-acre campus and practice facility — the global headquarters — for the Dallas Cowboys in Frisco, Texas.

After the Big 12 hosted the first media days with the current rendition of the 16-team league in Las Vegas, the conference moved the kickoff event for the football season back to the Dallas area, where the Big 12 is headquartered.

Big 12 commissioner Brett Yormark is scheduled to host a press conference on the main stage at 8:30 a.m.

The Arizona Wildcats’ portion of Big 12 Media Days isn’t until Wednesday. In addition to head coach Brent Brennan, Arizona is represented by quarterback Noah Fifita, offensive lineman Rhino Tapa’atoutai, defensive end Tre Smith and defensive backs Dalton Johnson, Treydan Stukes and Genesis Smith.

Tuesday’s slate features BYU, Texas Tech, Kansas State, Cincinnati, Iowa State, UCF, Baylor and defending Big 12 champion Arizona State, while Arizona, West Virginia, Houston, Kansas, TCU, Utah, Oklahoma State and Colorado will have their turn on Wednesday.

Here are five non-Arizona storylines to pay attention to during Big 12 Media Days:

Homecoming for RichRod, Frost

The coaching carousel didn’t drastically impact the Big 12 and most of the league’s coaches return this season, but the conference added two new faces — and they’re not necessarily new.

The only two new head coaches in the Big 12 are Rich Rodriguez (West Virginia) and Scott Frost (UCF), who both rose to stardom in the college football coaching ranks with their current school in the early stages of their careers.

Rodriguez was 60-26 in seven seasons at West Virginia from 2001-07 and was a two-time Big East Coach of the Year, leading the Mountaineers to four conference championships. Just before West Virginia’s win over Oklahoma in the Fiesta Bowl to end the 2007 season, Rodriguez accepted the head coaching vacancy at Michigan, where he was 15-22 in three seasons.

Rodriguez was hired by Arizona in 2012 and led the Wildcats to five postseason appearances, with three bowl victories and a Pac-12 South championship, before he was fired following the 2017 season.

Since his dismissal, Rodriguez served as an offensive coordinator at Ole Miss and then returned to his head coaching post at Louisiana Monroe and Jacksonville State, helping the Gamecocks transition from FCS to FBS. Jacksonville State went 27-10 and won the program’s first-ever Conference USA championship.

In December, Rodriguez returned to his roots in Morgantown as the replacement to Neal Brown, who coached WVU for six seasons.

Frost led UCF from 2016-17 and had a 19-7 record. Following a winless season, Frost led the Knights to a six-win season in his first season. The following year, UCF went 11-0 and won the AAC championship and the Peach Bowl. UCF has claimed the 2017 national championship at FBC Mortgage Stadium in Orlando.

After Frost’s first stint at UCF, he took the same role at Nebraska and went 16-31 in four-plus seasons. Frost was fired the day after Nebraska’s upset loss to Georgia Southern in Lincoln in 2022.

Frost returned to coaching as the successor to the resigned Gus Malzahn. Frost signed a five-year contract in December.

After hiring Frost and Rodriguez, both West Virginia and UCF had a mass exodus and have essentially new rosters. Expectations for WVU and UCF are low, but Rodriguez and Frost have proven to be winners. With the transfer portal now a factor, which wasn’t the case for Rodriguez’s and Frost’s first stints at their respective schools, both programs can right the ship in a hurry.

What’s next for BYU after Retzlaff’s departure?

BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff, after a breakout 2024 campaign, is no longer with the Cougars.

Retzlaff, also known as “BYJew” for becoming the first Jewish quarterback in BYU history, left the program after facing a potential seven-game suspension for violating the school’s honor code, according to the Salt Lake Tribune. In May, Retzlaff was accused of raping a woman, but the civil lawsuit was dismissed.

Retzlaff denied the allegations, but admitted to consensual sex with the woman, prompting the possible suspension.

Retzlaff passed for 2,947 yards, 20 touchdowns and 12 interceptions last season and led BYU to an 11-2 record.

With Retzlaff out, BYU will turn to quarterbacks McCae Hillstead, Bear Bachmeier and Tucson native Treyson Bourguet, who transferred from Western Michigan last season.

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The Salpointe Catholic graduate, who’s now a redshirt junior, could conceivably start for BYU during the Cougars’ game against Arizona on Oct. 11 in Tucson.

Does Colorado still have sizzle with Prime?

For the first time as a college football coach, Deion Sanders will be the only member of his family on the roster.

Entering the third season of the “Coach Prime” era in Colorado, the Buffaloes will be without quarterback and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Shedeur Sanders and defensive back Shilo Sanders. More notably, Heisman Trophy-winning two-way star Travis Hunter, who initially signed to play for the older Sanders at the HBCU Jackson State before transferring to Colorado, is set for his rookie season in the NFL.

Additionally, Colorado also lost wide receivers in LaJohntay Wester, Jimmy Horn Jr. and Will Sheppard to the NFL. The top passing offense in the Big 12, which averaged 318 passing yards per game last season, is losing its top four weapons — five including Shedeur Sanders.

Sanders’ successor at quarterback will likely be either five-star freshman and former USC commit Julian Lewis or Liberty transfer and senior Kaidon Salter, who has passed for 5,889 yards, 56 touchdowns and 17 interceptions in his college career.

Following a nine-win season, the most victories since 2016, Colorado could potentially be in rebuild mode after losing most of its star power.

Can Arizona State double-down on Big 12 title?

Arizona State proved last year that preseason conference media polls can be irrelevant. The Sun Devils were voted to finish last in the Big 12 last season, then won the conference championship and punched their ticket to the program’s first-ever College Football Playoff in the expanded 12-team format.

Bad news for the Sun Devils: they lost the heart and soul of their team in running back Cam Skattebo, who’s now playing for the New York Giants.

The good news? ASU returns nine starters on a defense that ranked first in the Big 12 in rushing defense, along with seven starters on offense — four offensive linemen. The Sun Devils also had a conference-best five players named to the preseason All-Big 12 Team on Monday.

Returning running back Kyson Brown, Army transfer Kanye Udoh and former USC Trojan Raleek Brown (no relation) will replace Skattebo by committee. ASU quarterback and preseason Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year Sam Leavitt and wide receiver Jordyn Tyson will also be among the top passing tandems in the Big 12.

Third-year head coach Kenny Dillingham has the chance to accomplish a feat only two other ASU coaches have achieved: win 10-plus games in back-to-back seasons; Frank Kush did it four straight seasons from 1970-73, while Todd Graham won 10 games in 2013 and ‘14.

Texas Tech looks to cash in on offseason

The name, image and likeness (NIL) era created an uncapped, pay-for-play model in college sports, but now revenue sharing, as a result of the House v. NCAA settlement, will pay schools up to $20.5 million in 2024-25, with the school’s payouts gradually increasing until it reaches $32.9 million in 2034-35.

NIL deals over $600 will now be regulated through “NIL Go,” a clearinghouse via Deloitte, ensuring fair market value and preventing deep-pocketed boosters from compensating players and disguising their payments as endorsement deals.

Revenue sharing in college athletics has been effective since July 1. Before last Tuesday, boosters could still donate money to NIL collectives to pay players.

So, Texas Tech booster and former TTU offensive lineman Cody Campbell, founder of “Double Eagle Energy,” an independent oil and natural gas company, put all of his (NIL) chips on the table after selling his company for $4.1 billion.

Campbell, who is also the founder of “Matador Club,” Texas Tech’s NIL collective, donated $25 million to Texas Tech for its nearly $250 million project to renovate the south end zone of Jones AT&T Stadium, which has the state-of-the-art Womble Center, the Red Raiders’ official team facility.

Campbell didn’t just stop at facilities. According to Brandon Marcello of CBS Sports, between NIL and revenue sharing, Texas Tech will pay around $55 million to its players this season. Texas Tech reportedly spent over $10 million on 17 players in the transfer portal, including $2 million to Stanford defensive end transfer David Bailey.

Coupled with the return of quarterback Behren Morton, who had the third-most passing yards in the Big 12 last season, and linebacker Jacob Rodriguez, the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, this once-in-a-lifetime investment could position the Red Raiders as the favorite in the conference.