You smell it? Yep, another college football season is right around the corner.
The latest sign, in addition to the interminable “Watch List Season,” is the release of conference preseason honors. The first of the Power Five leagues to do that is the Big 12, which Wednesday released its preseason all-conference teams as well as individual Player of the Year honors.
The Offensive Player of the Year should come as no surprise: Baylor’s Bryce Petty. The Bears quarterback is the reigning Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year after helping lead BU to its first-ever Big 12 title and is widely viewed as one of a handful of preseason favorites for the 2014 Heisman Trophy.
The Defensive Player of the Year is no stranger either: TCU’s Devonte Fields. The Horned Frogs defensive lineman earned the same preseason honor last year, but missed all but three games of the 2013 season due to injury. On the plus side this offseason, Fields has been named to numerous watch lists HERE, HERE and HERE; on the negative side, he was also beaten and robbed.
The Newcomer of the Year is Oklahoma State wide receiver Tyreek Hill.
As far as the all-conference team (first-team only was released), Baylor led all schools with seven selections (four offense, two special teams, one defense), followed by Kansas State’s five (three offense, one each for defense and special teams). Oklahoma was next with four, followed by three each from TCU and Texas. Oklahoma State was the only one of the ten schools in the conference to not have a player make the first-team cut.
Below are the complete All-Big 12 teams, as voted on by the media:
