Each offseason, you will find a ton of takes on the upcoming college football season. Some are good, some are bad and some fall somewhere in-between.
For instance, if you would have told me that Spencer Rattler would end up transferring from Oklahoma and that Lincoln Riley would leave for USC, I would have laughed so hard I would have had to change my shorts twice.
Whether I end up being right or wrong, that won’t stop me from making some bold predictions. Here are my bold offensive predictions for each Big 12 team.
West Virginia: Quarterback JT Daniels Will Throw Over 20 Touchdown Passes
Believe it or not, West Virginia hasn’t had a quarterback throw for twenty or more touchdown passes in a season since Will Grier was on campus. No offense to Jarret Doege but he just wasn’t the man to get the job done in Morgantown. JT is a former five-star quarterback coming out of high school and has yet to really be the full-time starter since his freshman year at USC back in 2018. He is the most talented quarterback West Virginia has had since Will Grier and while I am not expecting him to be Will Grier, I do believe he will throw for over 20 touchdown passes this season.
Iowa State: Quarterback Hunter Dekkers Will Be Better Than Brock Purdy Was Last Season
Replacing the best quarterback in school history is no easy task. Nobody ever wants to be the guy who follows one of the best, but Hunter Dekkers will try and do that this season. Dekkers comes in with plenty of buzz going back to his high school days. Standing at 6’3 235 pounds, Hunter is a big quarterback with an even bigger arm. He showed flashes last season in limited action, and I have been a believer in him since his high school days. Brock Purdy finished last season with 19 touchdown passes and with the weapons Hunter has coming back with Xavier Hutchinson and Jaylin Noel, I like his chances to make a big splash in 2022.
Kansas: Running Back Devin Neal Will Rush for Over 1,000 Yards
Devin Neal had a breakout freshman season last year for the Kansas Jayhawks. Despite his team’s abysmal 2-10 record last season, Devin was one of the few bright spots on the team. Of course, defeating Texas in Austin was huge but the emergence of Devin was fun to watch. The Jayhawks were fresh off the whole Pooka Williams drama and Devin provided them with a much-needed fresh start at running back. He is shifty and is able to create his own space despite subpar blocking. While he was great last season there I no doubt that he should take it up another notch this season.
Kansas State: Running Back Deuce Vaughn Will Finish in the Top Five in Heisman Voting
Everyone that talks about the Heisman or Heisman odds has disappointed me this year. Everyone wants to talk about Bryce Young, CJ Stroud, and Bijan Robinson yet nobody wants to talk about Deuce Vaughn. The man was sensational last season as he rushed for over 1,400 yards and had nearly 500 receiving yards while scoring 22 total touchdowns. He reminds me a lot of Christian McCaffrey when he was at Stanford because Deuce is a player who simply does it all. At any given point in a football game, Deuce has the capability to take one to the house because he is an electric player when the football is in his hands.
Oklahoma State: Quarterback Spencer Sanders Puts It All Together This Season
Perhaps no other quarterback in the Big 12 has been more scrutinized than Spencer Sanders over the last few seasons. Sanders has shown flashes of excellence at times while also showing signs of complete chaos. He did manage to cut down on the turnovers last season but still had a tendency to make poor decisions in crucial moments of games. Luckily, Spencer was able to rely on a solid running game and a great defense. He may not have that luxury in 2022 but going into year four as a starter, he should be able to build on last season and maybe have that breakout season we have all been waiting for since he arrived in Stillwater.
Oklahoma: Marvin Mims Breaks Out at Wide Receiver
While Oklahoma finished last season with a 10-2 record, they were a complete mess last season. Between Lincoln Riley’s one foot out the door to the Caleb Williams/Spencer Sanders drama, there were a lot of issues going on for Oklahoma last year. Well now all three of those guys are gone and in steps Brett Venables. A fresh start could do a player like Marvin Mims good because early last year, he looked unstoppable at times before his production went down drastically. I am not saying Dillon Gabriel will be better than Caleb Williams, but I am sure new offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby will find a way to get Mims more involved in the offense.
Texas Tech: Donovan Smith Will be the Guy at Quarterback
There was plenty of talk about Tyler Shough going into last season. Some even went as far to say that he was going to end up being a first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft. As we all know, that didn’t happen as Shough ended up breaking his collarbone in September and would be out for the rest of the year. That gave an opportunity to a player like Donovan Smith who did an impressive job of taking over last season. Smith had his breakout game against Iowa State throwing for over 300 yards and 3 touchdowns. He would also go one to have a good game against Baylor as well and helped his team win their first bowl game since 2013. I know there is a new staff in Lubbock, but Donovan Smith is an incredibly talented player who could make that next jump in 2022.
TCU: Quentin Johnston Will Lead the Big 12 in Receiving in 2022
The Big 12 has some good receivers coming back this year. There’s Xavier Worthy and Xavier Hutchinson but Quentin Johnston is someone who could really take that top spot. He averaged a whopping 19.2 yards per catch a year ago and has always been a big play threat anytime he steps on the field. Now in his third year as a starter, this should be that time where we see him take his game to the next level.
Baylor: Blake Shapen Will Be the best Baylor quarterback Since the Art Briles era
Dave Aranda made the right decision when he decided to name Blake Shapen the starter for the 2022 season. When Blake finally got his chance to be on the field, he had some really good moments. From his first start against West Virginia to his great game against Texas Tech. Of course, I can’t forget about his performance in the Big 12 championship game where he completed his first 17 passes in that game and ended up throwing three touchdown passes. The sky is the limit for Blake and while he will lose some key weapons from the 2021 team, I still am a big believer in him and keeping Baylor on the right track.
Texas: Bijan Robinson Wins the Heisman Trophy
I have talked about Bijan going up to New York someday during his time in Austin and this is there year where it happens. We all know the talent he posses and when he’s healthy there is no better running back in the entire country. If Bijan stays healthy this season, he could be looking at a 1,500 rushing yard type of season and has a good chance of getting to that 2,000 total yard mark. I know there is a ton of hype for Bijan, but he’s earned it. Not only will he go to New York, but he will become the first Heisman winner the Longhorns have has since Ricky Williams back in 1998.
