Big 12-wise, this is a rather slow time of the year without anything in season.

A few things are in season for me, however, like baseball (How about those Rangers? Now that I said that, the Angels will probably win the division), Friday Night Lights (my favorite TV show of all-time not named The Wire), the Season 4 premiere of Mad Men (only a week-and-a-half away), and the opening of the movie Inception (haven’t been this stoked for going to the movies since, well, The Dark Knight. Go figure).

Big 12 football is still right around the corner. Kansas will face North Dakota State at Memorial Stadium to open the season in 51 days. The countdown is on.
In between now and the Sept. 4 season opener, Big 12 football media days will take place in Irving, Texas, from July 26-28. The three-day event should provide its fair share of interesting sound bites to help us get ready for the season. I’ll be joining KUsports.com online editor Jesse Newell and KU football beat writer Matt Tait in Irving, and we’ll provide up-to-the-minute blog posts, audio interviews, video and some Spodcasters episodes from the road.

The conference recently released media days representatives for each team. Here’s the schedule:

Monday, July 26 (Nebraska, Baylor, Iowa State, Texas A&M)

1 p.m. — Nebraska coach Bo Pelini, WR Niles Paul, DE Pierre Allen, CB Prince Amukamara.

1:45 p.m. — Baylor coach Art Briles, LB Antonio Johnson, OT Danny Watkins, DL Phil Taylor.

2:30 p.m. — Iowa State coach Paul Rhoads, QB Austen Arnaud, RB Alexander Robinson, DE Rashawn Parker.

3:15 p.m. — Texas A&M coach Mike Sherman, QB Jerrod Johnson, LB Von Miller, DL Lucas Patterson.

Tuesday, July 27 (Missouri, Oklahoma State, Kansas State, Texas Tech)

9 a.m. — Missouri coach Gary Pinkel, QB Blaine Gabbert, RB Derrick Washington, CB Kevin Rutland.

9:45 a.m — Oklahoma State coach Mike Gundy, QB Brandon Weeden, LB Orie Lemon, DE Jamie Blatnick.

10:30 a.m. — K-State coach Bill Snyder, RB Daniel Thomas, S Tysyn Hartman, OL Zach Kendall.

11:15 a.m. — Texas Tech coach Tommy Tuberville, QB Taylor Potts, QB Steven Sheffield, DL Colby Whitlock.

Wednesday, July 28 (Kansas, Oklahoma, Colorado, Texas)

9 a.m. — Kansas coach Turner Gill, DE Jake Laptad, CB Chris Harris, OL Brad Thorson.

9:45 a.m. — Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, DE Jeremy Beal, WR Ryan Broyles, LB Travis Lewis.

10:30 a.m. — Colorado coach Dan Hawkins, CB Jalil Brown, WR Scotty McKnight, OT Nate Solder.

11:15 a.m. — Texas coach Mack Brown, QB Garrett Gilbert, OT Kyle Hix, DE Sam Acho, DT Kheeston Randall.

Some thoughts:

• The last day seems like it will be the most exciting one. The Jayhawks will speak first at the podium, then the two best teams in the conference for the last six years will also meet with the media.

• It could get a little awkward with Nebraska and Colorado. They both would probably rather be at Big Ten and Pac-10 media days, respectively. Expect realignment issues to resurface. Both squads expect to be playing in their new conference by the 2011 season. Hopefully, we’ll get some answers.

• Should be interesting to listen to Kansas offensive lineman Brad Thorson. The senior is expected to be a leader on an experienced Jayhawks’ offensive line. He broke his foot about two weeks ago, so plenty of questions on the injury will come up. A source indicated Thorson is expected to be ready for the season opener. We’ll see what he has to say. KU already lost some depth on the O-line with Jeff Spikes done for the season, so a healthy Thorson will be important, especially if Kansas wants to run the ball more this season.

• How about Nebraska and Texas being placed as far away from each other on the media days schedule as possible … coincidence? Perhaps.

http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/blogs/entry_img/2010/Jul/15/AP091205122343.jpg
AP File Photo: Nebraska quarterback Zac Lee, bottom, is knocked down by Texas linebacker Keenan Robinson in last year’s Big 12 Championship game in Arlington, Texas. UT won, 13-12.

Interestingly, the Nebraska athletic department made quite the splash by recently putting up this promotional video with the phrase “Wear red. Be Loud. Beat Texas.” Just recently, Nebraska took down the “Beat Texas” portion of the video. Really though, what good will that do? Texas will still have just as much motivation, with or without it. The damage has been done.

Between the video, last year’s Big 12 Championship game and Nebraska bolting for the Big Ten, citing the juggernaut Longhorns as one of the primary reasons it left, Oct. 16 (UT at Nebraska) is setting up to be one of the most intriguing battles in college football next season. Both teams could also be ranked in the top 10.

• Thoughts on the best lineup? To me, it’s Oklahoma. Broyles, Beal and Lewis should all be first-team All-Big 12 selections, and no other lineup except Nebraska or Texas has a chance at saying that.

• Big omissions. The biggest names who won’t be at media days that I can think of are Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin, Nebraska defensive lineman Jared Crick, Oklahoma running back DeMarco Murray, Oklahoma quarterback Landry Jones, Missouri defensive end Aldon Smith and Kansas left tackle Tanner Hawkinson.

• Who will draw the biggest media crowd? Last season, I’d say it was Sam Bradford (Colt McCoy and Ndamukong Suh weren’t far behind). This year, my guess is A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson, a Heisman Trophy contender who’s set to lead a dynamic Aggies attack.

http://worldonline.media.clients.ellingtoncms.com/img/blogs/entry_img/2010/Jul/15/AP09112701480.jpg
AP File Photo: A&M quarterback Jerrod Johnson (1) talks with Texas quarterback Colt McCoy after UT’s 49-39 victory last season on Nov. 26, 2009, in College Station, Texas.

• Texas Tech should get people talking since it will have both quarterbacks represented in Taylor Potts and Steven Sheffield. Bringing only one QB may have hinted at a starter, so this development isn’t incredibly surprising. Coach Tommy Tuberville likely won’t name a starter until a few days before the season opener.

My guess is Potts will earn the starting gig.

Last week, Potts was invited to the Manning Passing Academy in Louisiana. The Manning name gives the academy just a little bit of prestige. Potts even won the Air it Out skills competition, which involved throwing the football at moving targets. Potts edged out Alabama’s Greg McElroy, Texas A&M’s Johnson, Boise State’s Kellen Moore, Houston’s Case Keenum and others. Pretty decent list. Sheffield did not attend the Manning academy. Furthermore, Potts was named to the preseason watch list for the Davey O’Brien Award, given to the top college QB at the end of the year. Sheffield was not.

• Speaking of Tech, I have to admit the absence of former Tech coach Mike Leach will be a huge loss for media days enjoyment. See why here and here. Leach was, without question, the most colorful quote of all three media days.

If you guys have any questions you want us to ask the KU guys (or any other Big 12 players), post it in the comments section below. No guarantees, but we’ll do our best.

Be back soon in a couple days before we head to Irving. That should be all for now, friends. As always, discuss.