Expansion

There’s Trouble. KC Star’s Sam Mellinger writes that the Big 12 and commissioner Bob Bowlsby have their hands full with Oklahoma president David Boren, namely that there may be some distrust with Boren:

He is seen by many as ego-driven, selfish and disruptive. One source said the league’s future rests in large part on whether Bowlsby’s respect and strong leadership can last until whenever the 74-year-old Boren retires.

Some see Boren as devious, wondering if he’s trying to send signals to other conferences that Oklahoma is on the market. Some see him as a politician, drumming up support from his base and by extension more money for his school. Some think he is merely trying to distract from controversies on his own campus.

Whatever his motives, he is bringing to light some of the league’s fundamental problems with trust and stability. Publicly, the league promotes the idea that the grant of rights is proof of cohesion, but that’s either spin or delusional hope.

Well, this is fun, isn’t it. I’ve just never seen someone write this sort of stuff about a college president (I haven’t been around that long) and so it’s strange to see it in print (or the internet), but that’s a lot of information to take in and I think there’s something to be said for unhappy members, but this goes to a different level.

It’s Gonna Be a Headache. FOX Sports David Ubben joined Bruce Feldman and Stewart Mandel to discuss the Big 12 and why adding teams will be tough. I haven’t listened to it yet, but I certainly intend to do so. Ubben also writes about what the Big 12 coaches said during Big 12 Media Days and they seem to be for expansion, generally speaking.

Let’s Just Kick Out Kansas and Iowa State. FOX Sports’ Stewart Mandel also answered the question as to why not just kick out Kansas and Iowa State because all people care about is football and for me, I find the suggestion of kicking out either to be crazy.

Football

Hucks to be Preferred Walk-On. Wreck’Em 24/7’s Phil Arabome caught up with new walk-on transfer Braden Hucks, who initially attended Air Force on scholarship, but decided that the military lifestyle wasn’t for him and Hucks will be a preferred walk-on at Texas Tech:

“If I was not guaranteed to play at Tech…if I came to not love football anymore, I would probably (still go to Tech),” Hucks said. “I love Tech. I love Lubbock. If I wasn’t gonna play, I’d still go there.”

Hucks envisions playing quarterback at Tech, but is “open to doing anything I can to help the Red Raiders win,” which might include a conversion to slot receiver because he is only 5 foot 10.

“If I have the ball in my hand and I’m scoring touchdowns one way, I’m perfectly content,” Hucks said

Personally, I think Hucks is an inside receiver waiting to happen but it’s still early and there’s a long ways for this to play out. There’s more there, so go check it out.

Three Top 50 Lists. Remember about a week ago I wrote about how the three Texas Tech JUCO commits have made two top 50 JUCO player lists and now Rivals released their top 100 and surprise, surprise, WR Derrick Willies is #33, DT Mychealon Thomas is #35 and WR DeQuan Bowman is #79.

Miscellaneous. DMN’s Michael DuPont takes a look at the Texas Tech secondary . . . Bleacher Report has a post on Jack Anderson, a Texas Tech legacy, who now is a 5-star player and said that Texas Tech will make the cut for his top 10 or 15 . . . per College Football Talk, Nick Saban’s agent did have conversations with UT in 2013 . . . Land Grant Gauntlet has a recap from day two at the Big 12 Media Days . . .