Big 12 Media Days is officially in the books. Day two was filled with plenty of excitement and anticipation out in Frisco. Between all the coaches, players, and scenery, there was a lot to take away. And while I am sad to see media days come to an end, I wanted to share my biggest storylines from day two.
Will Zane Flores Be The Guy For Oklahoma State?
While there may be a quarterback battle going on in Stillwater heading into fall camp, Mike Gundy had some praise for one of the quarterbacks in the race. “He’s had a really good offseason,” Gundy said when talking about Zane Flores. “He did well in the spring. We think he’s going to be a really good player. But he hasn’t played any games, so that mystery side is still there.”
Flores is entering his third season in Stillwater. He saw the field last season when Bowman struggled and Rangel broke his collarbone, but Flores needed season-ending surgery for a lower leg injury before OSU’s Week 8 game against BYU. No matter who ends up being the guy for the Cowboys, it needs to be better than what we saw a year ago because going 0-9 in Big 12 play in Stillwater is well below the standard Mike Gundy has set.
Goodbye Kyle Whittingham?
At 65 years old, many people wonder how much longer Kyle Whittingham would coach at Utah. He’s been in Salt Lake City for over 30 years and has spent the last 20 as the head coach there.
On Wednesday, Whittingham was asked about his future and he confessed that last season left him too frustrated and disappointed to walk away. “I couldn’t step away on that note. It was too frustrating and too disappointing. Had we won the championship last year, I might not be sitting here,” he told ESPN’s Pete Thamel.
I mean, he’s certainly got a point. After being the favorite to win the Big 12 last season, his team got off to a 4-0 start before losing seven straight games and ended up going 5-7. While I am not expecting the Utes to win the Big 12 this season, I do expect them to be better than they were in 2024. But the real question is, what record is good enough for Kyle Whittingham to feel comfortable to walk away? I guess we will find out this season.
The Future of College Football
Not only did Utah head coach Kyle Whittingham discuss walking away from coaching, he also talked about where the sport is heading for athletes. “I think you may even see the day in the not too distant future where players don’t have to go to school if they don’t want to. It will be like a true minor league. I think that’s what’s coming. It’s sad to say.”
While I am not sure if that will ever come true, that is certainly a take by Kyle Whittingham. And whether you agree with it or not, I certainly respect him speaking his mind because not everyone is willing to do that these days.
Related: Heartland Exclusive: Yormark Weighs In on NCAA Tournament Expansion Talks
Do You Smell What The Big 12 Is Cooking?
In a release at Big 12 Media Days, the conference and WWE announced a fall tour that will bring WWE SmackDown to Big 12 campuses this fall during the 2025 season.
Before hitting the campuses, the tour will kickoff at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland a day before the Iowa State/Kansas State game. On top of that, SmackDown will make stops in Cincinnati (Iowa State at Cincinnati on October 3rd), Tempe (Houston at Arizona State on October 24th), and Salt Lake City (Cincinnati at Utah on October 31st) the night before Big 12 games.
The four-stop tour marks the latest expansion of the partnership between WWE and the Big 12, which goes dates back to 2023. And if you aren’t down with that, then I’ve got two words for ya.
Noah Was Never Going Anywhere
After Arizona’s disastrous first season in the Big 12 (4-8, 2-7) in the Big 12, there were plenty of rumors surrounding head coach Brent Brennan and his star quarterback Noah Fifita.
People wanted Brennan out after just one year on the job and most certainly thought Noah would move on somewhere else. Instead, neither one happened as both are still in Tucson. And on Wednesday, Brent Brennan made it clear that Noah was never going anywhere in the first place.
“I think people were so pisses about the season went and they were just trying to create any kind of drama that they could to make it look messy”, Brennan said. “I told the players, if you don’t want to be here then leave, just go. Because we are going to build this program with guys that are tough, love football and want to be here and Noah checks all those boxes.”
Greg McElroy Loves Him Some Big 12
Despite playing for Alabama and being known as an SEC guy, I have to say that ESPN analyst Greg McElroy has made quite the impression. Even my colleagues here at Heartland College Sports mentioned how great he was over the past two days.
Greg definitely made himself clear in regards to his stance on the Big 12. “The gap between one and sixteen in this league is so much close than that of any other league”, McElroy said. Well, said Greg. I couldn’t have said it any better myself.
