Big 12 Football Media Days is coming up this week from Frisco, Texas. The coaches, along with some of their top players, will be on display to get us all set for the 2025 college football season. Here are the biggest storylines to watch heading into this week.
1. The New Guys
We’ve got two new head coaches in the Big 12: West Virginia‘s Rich Rodriguez and UCF‘s Scott Frost. Any time you get new head coaches in the conference, they bring intrigue. And in the case of both of these coaches, they are homecomings. But neither coach led the program when they were a part of the Big 12 Conference, which adds a whole new layer.
RichRod will likely be a shock to the system for Big 12 media who are used to covering Neal Brown at this event. And Scott Frost will be a largely unknown commodity to most in the room as well. But how they approach their biggest media sessions in years will be compelling and intriguing at a time when both programs are hoping to return to national prominence, where they have been before.
2. How do the “Old” Guys Feel About a Bounce Back?
Utah‘s Kyle Whittingham and Oklahoma State‘s Mike Gundy were both picked to lead teams who were supposed to compete atop the Big 12 last season, with the Utes picked to win it. Instead, Utah went 2-7 in the Big 12, while OSU went 0-9. These are two of the longest tenured coaches in all of college football and this is a pivotal year to determine how the back end of each coach’s career will play out. If things go south for both coaches, there will be a growing percentage of the fan base ready to move on from their legendary leaders.
How both men handle these questions after possibly the longest off-season of both of their professional careers will be fascinating this week in Frisco.
3. Arizona State’s Swagger?
Arizona State is trying to do something that no Big 12 team has done since 2020, and that’s win back-to-back Big 12 Titles (Oklahoma). In the Big 12, the only thing predictable is the unpredictability. No doubt ASU will get love from many to win the conference this season, and it’s deserved, but I want to see how Kenny Dillingham, Sam Leavitt and company conduct themselves this week. Is a humble confidence? Or is it just too much of a cocky swagger?
All indications are that it will be the former, but their approach will go a long way to telling whether or not they’re in the right mindset to potentially repeat as Big 12 champs. Frankly, no program in this league deserves to have a cocky swagger right now.
4. Coach Prime… Just Because
There’s just no other way to put it: Deion Sanders is the biggest star in the Big 12 Conference. And he’s probably the biggest star in college football. That is reason enough to put him on this list.
Add in the fact that he’s brought both his quarterbacks, Julian Lewis and Kaidon Salter, to Frisco, and you’ve got the icing on the cake for the most-talked about team, coach and possibly storyline coming out of this week in Frisco.
I know the anti-Colorado crowd won’t like this, but we can’t deny the reality of what Prime brings to the table for the Big 12. As someone who has covered several Big 12 media days, having Deion Sanders there is what will bring multiple national college football media figures. You don’t have to like it, but it’s a fact. And we should be grateful for the attention he helps bring the entire conference.
5. The Texas Tech Hype Machine?
After an all-time transfer portal class this off-season, how much does the Texas Tech hype machine take off this week in Frisco? How much does head coach Joey McGuire add to it, if at all?
But it will be interesting to see how much attention national media gives Texas Tech after a couple days in Frisco. Do they fall in love with Tech as more than just a Big 12 contender, but possibly a team that could make a run in a 12-team College Football Playoff?
That all remains to be seen, but no matter what, with the talent that the Red Raiders amassed this offseason, and the glitzy fashion they went about doing it in, there will be a lot of attention on the high plains of West Texas as we barrel towards the start of the college football season.
