Sunday Roundtable: Big 12 Media Days wrap-up

For the final time as members of the Big 12, the Texas Longhorns attended the media days with lofty expectations as the preseason favorite to win the conference. After hearing Sark, Quinn, and others speak - do you feel more confident, less confident, or about the same in regards to the Horns capturing the Big 12 title?

Daniel Seahorn (@DanielSeahorn) - Definitely same as I did going in. The right things were said and there wasn’t anything alarming that jumped out to make you worry that something was amiss. I’m ready to see the stadiums full and the ball to be teed up.

Gerald Goodridge (@ghgoodridge) - I feel about the same as I did going into it. I did like what Sark said about how the team has really established its own culture, rather than just the culture that the coaches are putting out there. I also loved the comments on the team’s mindset heading into the year and the “guys who came here to win a Big 12 championship” rather than focus on the SEC. The only reason why that stuff didn’t actually move the needle for me is because every coach says the same thing every year.

Cameron Parker (@camerondparker) - I was curious how Sark and the plates would respond to being named the preseason favorite and I came away impressed with their responses this week. Maybe I still have PTSD from the country club era at Texas but it seems the locker room knows that a) they control their destiny and b) nothing has been earned yet.

Excluding the Horns - what was the biggest storyline from the remaining Big 12 teams?

Daniel - Mike Gundy’s being himself as usual and the fact that Kansas’ offense is going to be very formidable this year. I’m not going to waste too many words on Gundy, but I’ll definitely be watching the Jayhawks closely given they return one of the top offensive skill groups in the conference plus Jalon Daniels. I know Texas blew them out last year in Lawrence, but I wouldn’t sleep on them at all heading into 2023.

Gerald - Like every year, I think it’s going to be another mess. The storylines I am watching are: “Why are people predicting Kansas State and TCU to be good again this year when they lost so much?” and “Can Texas Tech and Joey McGuire build on the momentum they built last year or will it all end up being more wind on the plains?” (I am very proud of that pun)

Cameron - What program will position itself the best heading into the new era of the Big 12? TCU is coming off a National Championship appearance (still sounds crazy to type out) but Dykes has to rebuild a roster that was largely built was Gary Patterson. Joey Maguire and Texas Tech have a lot of promising noise coming out of Lubbock after ending the season with a winning streak. Will Dave Aranda and the Bears bounce back? Is Kansas an actual threat? What the heck is going on in Stillwater? Plus - there are four new teams in the conference who have been very successful this century.

Kansas quarterback Jalon Daniels arrived at the media days wearing a $50K chain that played his highlights. If you were wearing a similar chain, what highlights of you would be playing?

Daniel - Has to be the time I nailed my first brisket off the pit or when I walked across the stage to graduate from undergrad.

Gerald - Either the time I ran from Terminal D to Terminal A in the ATL airport to make a connection after my flight was delayed 75 minutes or the time my son fell off of the side of the couch and I caught him right before he hit the floor.

Cameron - The time I hit back-to-back-back three’s in my rec league basketball game.