The spring semester is mostly over, but the hard work begins in the fall. Until then, there's work to do. Here's some homework for various folks around the Big 12 to work on while the temperature rises and demands on time decrease.
Big 12 brass: Take a deep breath or eight. When I approached Bob Bowlsby after he emerged from two days of meetings with commissioners and CFP officials, I saw a new side of him. It was part angry, part discouraged, part annoyed and what came out of his mouth was different than anything we'd heard in the Big 12 since it did away with its championship game.
In short, he "would surmise" that the league is headed toward playing a title game.
A week later, his tune returned to a more familiar, reasonable refrain.
"I think we all believe that one year is not a long enough trial to draw any conclusions," Bowlsby said.
I don't quite know what changed in the week between the meetings in Irving and Phoenix, but it certainly doesn't help the image the Big 12 is trying to portray as a solid, static league.
In terms of membership, that portrait is largely accurate, but dramatic shifts like that in regards to big issues are not in any way helpful.
Texas: Keep an eye on two things: "Voluntary" 7-on-7 and the transfer market. Coaches can't literally watch summer workouts, per NCAA rules, but expect some development in the quarterback race over that time.
Tyrone Swoopes has a bigger, more accurate arm, but Jerrod Heard is more elusive, which may pay off considering the Longhorns' struggles along the offensive line. Still, Heard could develop mentally and physically as a passer in those workouts, and either guy could make a move as the mental and emotional leader of the team.
The results could be obvious when fall camp kicks off in August.
If neither Heard or Swoopes is the answer, the transfer market could be a factor before the season gets started. Notre Dame's Everrett Golson is officially on the market, but seems a highly unlikely possibility, considering the Longhorns open the season against the Irish in South Bend. Our Bruce Feldman reported on Monday that Notre Dame had blocked Golson from transferring to any of the Irish's 2015 opponents.
Elsewhere, all indications from Columbus indicate that Braxton Miller will be back next season, but if it becomes more evident that Cardale Jones or J.T. Barrett will start ahead of him, that might change. Either way, there's no downside for Texas to keep exploring options.
Kansas: Take a page from A Clockwork Orange. In the film, a criminal is treated with the "Ludovico Technique," which purports to rehabilitate criminals by forcing them to watch violent images while under the influence of drugs that make them ill.
New coach David Beaty could spend the summer employing a similar strategy with his team while viewing game tapes from the past four seasons.
It's been a long time since we've seen a Kansas team that truly hated losing. It seems it has become all too acceptable. Of all the ways to change the mindset of his team, this seems like the best idea for Beaty, and definitely not one that would result in any human rights violations, lawsuits or leave his players with severe mental damage in the future.
Seth Russell: Stay out of the rec gym. I have yet to see it with my own eyes, but the volume of the tales of Seth Russell's basketball prowess have risen now that he's the Bears' starting quarterback.
There's no reason to think he won't pick up where Bryce Petty left off, but Jarrett Stidham isn't ready and we haven't seen enough from Chris Johnson to have any reasonable expectation that he could carry the Bears to a title.
It's not a stretch to say Baylor's Big 12 and playoff hopes lie with Seth Russell's health next fall. Art Briles has always had pretty decent luck with quarterback health, especially considering how often Robert Griffin III, Nick Florence and Bryce Petty ran the ball and took hits. The last thing Baylor needs is a very attainable three-peat derailed by Russell landing awkwardly after a tomahawk dunk in a pickup game and tearing up his knee.
The following games are allowed: Around the World, HORSE, Knockout. Anything else is forbidden. Yes, even 21.
Charlie Strong: Play the name game. I hate to harp on this because in the grand scheme of things, it's silly, but it's also embarrassing and you can bet it'll come up on the recruiting trail in the next year if it hasn't already. Last month, during his deposition in co-OC Joe Wickline's lawsuit against Oklahoma State, Strong forgot Tyrone Swoopes' first name.
"He goes by Swoopes," Strong said. "What's my man's first name? I--done went blank on me."
Then earlier this month, after defensive tackle Malcom Brown was drafted at the end of the first round, Strong sent out a congratulatory tweet to running back Malcolm Brown, who went undrafted.
It could have just been a user error on Twitter, but regardless, it was a bad look made worse by coming in the wake of the deposition headlines.
It's been less than a year and a half since Strong took over at Texas and he didn't recruit these players ... but still. He can't let that kind of thing happen again. It's most likely harmless in the long run, but another incident like that and Strong's going to officially get the rep as "the coach who can't remember his players' correct names." That's a tag you don't want anywhere near you.
Bob Stoops: Count your backfield blessings. Sure, the Sooners have questions on defense and a new offensive coordinator, but this will be the best group of running backs Oklahoma has ever had under Stoops, even better than when DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown both had 1,000-yard seasons back in 2008. Samaje Perine broke the single-game NCAA rushing record as a true freshman last year with 427 yards against Kansas. Tackling him is slightly less difficult than tackling a boulder rolling downhill. Meanwhile, five-star signee Joe Mixon sat out the season with a suspension. Mixon has been the talk of OU's camp this spring and re-ignited the hype train he drove this time last year. Alex Ross is a speedy, big body who also happens to be the best kick returner in the league. Keith Ford might be the most balanced of them all, but is likely to announce a transfer later this week. Still, this should be the best group of running backs in the Big 12 in a long, long time.
Joe Hubener, Alex Delton and Jesse Ertz: Move in with Collin Klein. Collin, meet your new roommates! Klein's calling card as a quarterback was his ability to protect the ball at all costs, despite throwing or carrying the ball on around 80 percent of the Wildcats' snaps for the better part of two seasons.
He joined Bill Snyder's coaching staff as a quality control assistant last year and could help mentor the three young ca charged with replacing Jake Waters.
Ertz threw a pick six in K-State's spring game and Hubener threw an interception that was tipped at the line of scrimmage. Both struggled and K-State's margin of error to consistently win in the Big 12 will be razor thin this season. Minimizing mistakes is a cornerstone of Snyder's teams over the year and if they can't do that at the quarterback spot, trouble lies ahead.
Texas Tech: Become the most annoying people everyone you know, uh, knows. Kliff Kingsbury brought David Gibbs over from Houston to coach the Red Raiders' defense, and task No. 1 is coaching takeaways. His defenses ranked No. 1 and No. 11 in takeaways the last two seasons while Texas Tech has yet to finish in the top 80 under Kingsbury.
If you're walking around Lubbock with a book in your hands this summer, watch yourselves. Tech defenders ought to get some practice walking around ripping them and anything else when they're in town this summer. Watch yourselves, people.
Mason Rudolph: Get bossy, son. Oklahoma State's talented rising sophomore took on a larger leadership role this spring, and that's the right move. This is his team. Awkward as it may be, he could take a page from his backup, J.W. Walsh, in that regard. Rudolph is an introvert who comes out of his shell as he gets to know people, and that time is now.
For the rest of the summer, the task ahead of Rudolph is simple: When he sees someone, figure out something to tell them to do and yell it in their direction.
"But hey, isn't leadership more than just yelling at people?"
Maybe, but that's the fun part.
