Storylines that will dominate Big 12 Football Media Days
The 2025 Big 12 Media Days will take place the next two days at The Star in Frisco. RedRaiderSports.com plans to be in attendance, covering all the action from Arizona-to-West Virginia and every school in between.
While we will provide plenty of Texas Tech coverage, there will be plenty of other storylines that will dominate the proceedings. Let’s dive into the ones that stand out.
Wide open conference will not have a preseason poll
The conference made waves a little more than a week ago when its athletic directors and coaches voted to remove the preseason poll, per Brett McMurphy.
The move did not entirely eliminate the possibility of there being preseason rankings, though. The coaches themselves could still have a say before the season unfolds.
Regardless, the Big 12 is again a wide open league and could become regarded as the most competitive. Without a true alpha elite?
The national media– ala ESPN– would likely have you believe as such. While not having a preseason poll removes the intrigue and chance of another Arizona State situation, there are several arguments to back up this decision.
The new, old coaches of the league are back
Time ran out for Neal Brown at West Virginia. Gus Malzahn decided calling the offense at Florida State would be more fun than running the show at UCF.
This left the two Big 12 schools searching vehemently for new men to run their programs.
And somehow, in a coaching realm that is littered with young and upcoming talent, both schools ran back to their ex-lovers.
The Mountaineers are looking to rekindle some of its best days with Rich Rodriguez back in the driver’s seat. UCF, on the other hand, called back to Scott Frost after he flamed out at Nebraska.
Where does BYU go at quarterback?
Reporters will likely ask BYU head coach Kilani Sitake about his quarterback situation at Big 12 Media Days. Experts viewed BYU as one of the top contenders in the conference.
Now with Jake Retzlaff potentially not in the fold for breaking BYU’s honor code, their spot is no longer safe. Retzlaff planned to enter the transfer portal amid a school suspension, per several reports.
RedRaiderSports confirmed Retzlaff was not yet in the portal. Regardless, Retzlaff could still jet from the program and leave Sitake with more questions at signal caller.
Will Big 12 Media Days produce preseason OPOY and DPOY?
The league may be ridding itself of preseason team standings, but will still have an all-conference preseason team. This brings with it preseason awards.
Which players will earn preseason offensive and defensive player of the year honors ahead of Big 12 Media Days remains up in the air.
On offense, lots of signs point towards Arizona State QB Sam Leavitt getting the nod. After all, Leavitt is leading the team who is the favorite to win the league in many eyes. He’s coming off a year where he threw for over 2,800 yards and 24 touchdowns.
While Leavitt is the most obvious tap for the award, his No. 1 wide receiver Jordyn Tyson has an argument of his own.
Defensively, it is a good possibility that Jacob Rodriguez could earn the spot. The senior linebacker had a massive 2024, stuffing the stat sheet game in and game out. Rodriguez was one of the few bright spots in an otherwise pitiful defense.
Had it not been for the freak of nature Travis Hunter, Rodriguez might have earned the postseason honor last season.
