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This is the sixth in a series of college fantasy football season previews. You can find the rest here.
As the start of the season approaches, I’m here to help you all get ready for your college fantasy football leagues. I already wrote a draft guide, in which I tried to lay out some general guidelines for you to follow for your own league. College fantasy football has so many different ways to play, that I tried to make some key points you could use when thinking about your individual league rules. In the interest of helping as many people as I can, I will provide a breakdown of each of the BCS leagues (and the independents), and if your league takes some random combination of those (my league with the Solid Verbal podcast uses Big Ten, Pac-10, and independents only), you can look at my analysis of these leagues to prepare for your draft. Then, throughout the season, I’ll keep you updated on which players are underperforming, and which players are emerging as fantasy options.
Without any further ado, here is my preview on the Big XII:
As a reminder, I will assume CBS league default scoring rules and roster limits when discussing these leagues, as those will be the most commonly used rules.
Here is one fantasy sleeper per team; some of these will make a large enough splash in the largest of player pools, while others are only worth consideration in Big XII only leagues:
| Baylor |
Terrance Ganaway (RB) |
| Colorado |
Darrell Scott (RB) |
| Iowa State |
Collin Franklin (TE) |
| Kansas |
Toben Opurum (RB) |
| Kansas State |
Lamark Brown (WR) |
| Missouri |
Kendial Lawrence (RB) |
| Nebraska |
Roy Helu (RB) |
| Oklahoma |
Mossis Madu (WR) |
| Oklahoma State |
Keith Toston (RB) |
| Texas |
Vondrell McGee (RB) |
| Texas A&M |
Jerrod Johnson (QB) |
| Texas Tech |
Lyle Leong (WR) |
Quarterbacks
Big XII QBs will make up most of the first round in every league in which they are eligible. Beyond the two most famous options (Sam Bradford, Colt McCoy) are Zach Robinson, Robert Griffin, and new kid on the block Taylor Potts. As Texas Tech’s new QB, Potts is as close to guaranteed as a 4,000 yard “breakout” year as you can get. He went 4th overall (behind the obvious top 3) in our Gatorsfirst.com College Fantasy football league (it’s BCS-only).
Of the top 14 projected QBs (for BCS-only leagues) in CBS default rankings, 8 are Big XII QBs. That’s 75% of the league, that could be starting for your fantasy team almost every week. This says a lot about the returning talent, but also a lot about the defenses. Indeed, we will see this league is stocked with elite fantasy options at every position.
After those top 5 guys I mentioned, Todd Reesing will also get a first round look. Iowa State’s Austen Arnaud, Nebraska’s Zac Lee , and Texas A&M’s Jerrod Johnson are also above average options. I personally won’t own Arnaud or Lee, but Johnson is an intriguing sleeper to me. He’s as much a sleeper as you can get when CBS rates you the 14th best QB in BCS-only leagues. I guess it’s because he’s all the way down at 8th in the conference.
The lesson: QB is very, very deep in the Big XII.
Running Backs
The Big XII is also home to arguably the top running back in fantasy. I have Kendall Hunter ranked the highest (but wouldn’t argue with you about Best, Blount, or Rodgers).
DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown is a great tandem at OU, and both are fantasy starters. Jake Sharp (Kansas) and Derrick Washington (Missouri) are also each worth consideration in the first few rounds of all college fantasy football drafts.
There is enough offense in this league to go around. If your Big Ten RB is on a bye, and you are skimming the walk-ons for a matchup play, there are many great options that should be available. Some of these are the handcuff to the top guys listed above, as if something were to happen to them, or if they were given rest during a blowout, you’d like the second string guy just as much as the starter.
Darrell Scott might live up to his recruitment hype in his sophomore season, but must first emerge from a crowded backfield in Colorado. Kendial Lawrence (Missouri) would get the carries if starter Washington re-injured himself. Vondrell McGee (Texas) was recently named the starter, and I don’t think Colt McCoy rushes for nearly as many yards this coming season. Dual-threat QBs tend to run for less and less yards as they progress, so I consider last season a peak.
The Big XII has a trio of RB sleepers, who are notable for their size. Kansas freshman Toben Opurum is a giant as the backup to starter Sharp, but could steal some ever-important goal line carries. Roy Helu (Nebraska) could benefit from uncertainty in the passing game, and was named the starter yesterday. Baylor’s Terrance Ganaway is also a large man, and is a transfer that can finally play after following Head Coach Art Briles from Houston. Watch Ganaway closely, as his size along makes him a goal-line possibility, and his familiarity with the coaching staff could mean more carries than most would expect.
Wide Receivers
Sound familiar: the Big XII is home to the nation’s top fantasy talent at WR. Dez Bryant (Oklahoma State) should be the best WR option in fantasy. Casual college football fans new to fantasy may not know Kansas’ Dezmon Briscoe, but the Big XII and we fantasy nerds certainly do. He is probably the #2 fantasy WR. Both are easily worth a second round pick, as CBS leagues require 3 WR and 2 RB in starting lineups.
CBS’ third highest-rated WR option (I’d put him lower, but definitely in the top 10) is Kansas State’s Brandon Banks. Texas’ Jordan Shipley and Oklahoma’s Ryan Broyles are also elite options.
There is a key question when stacking up the Big XII WRs: Who will replace Michael Crabtree? I personally think no one person will fill his shoes, as Mike Leach seems to have many options to choose from, and there is no real need to key in on one guy. Detron Lewis and Lyle Leong are the best bets to lead this prolific offense in receiving. Lewis is getting most of the attention, but I chose Leong as a sleeper because of his high school connection to new starter Taylor Potts.
On an odd note, the Big XII also features two players I find intriguing moving to WR from RB: Lamark Brown (Kansas State) and Mossis Madu (OU). I can only find them in CBS’s projections as RBs, and am unsure of their position eligibility at WR. Brown was a highly touted athlete coming out of HS (indeed, he received more attention than new Tampa Bay Buccaneer Josh Freeman), and is moving back to WR- his self proclaimed preferred position. Madu was a pass-catching threat out of the backfield for OU a year ago, and has now made the move to pass-catcher full time. If you can play either of these guys at WR, and they get even a couple carries per game, they could prove to be valuable. I always love to grab receivers which get the extra touches/game on the ground, as they are more consistent point scorers, and have that many more opportunities to break the big one.
Tight Ends
One more time: The Big XII is home to the top option in fantasy. Besides scaring the hell out of me as a matchup problem entering the BCS Championship Game last season, OU’s Jermaine Gresham scares the hell out of Big XII defensive coordinators. Maybe those are equivalent. Or do Big XII defensive coordinators exist?
Anyway, Gresham is an option I would consider grabbing in the first 5 rounds, as he is so far and above the others at his position, and he will score more points than the receivers you would likely be drafting at that point. Other than Gresham, I would stick to matchup plays at TE, and try to grab a sleeper in the 11th or 12th round.
As far as sleepers go, Iowa State’s Collin Franklin is a matchup problem, and worth watching as a bye-week fill-in during the season, with upside to be much more than that. I previously marked Jamal Mosley (Oklahoma State) as a big time sleeper, as someone needs to step in for Brandon Pettigrew, but he left the team today for personal reasons. I find it unlikely someone could step in at this point and provide instant fantasy value, but watch as the situation develops over the season.
Kickers
Don’t draft one till the end. Don’t carry a backup. It’s a waste of time to try to rate one versus another for fantasy purposes. Just play the matchups.
Defense / Special Teams
Just play the matchups, and don’t carry a backup. Just because they’re projected to get more points than, say, a #2 WR, don’t go get a defense until near the bottom of your draft. You’ll be much better off loading up on potential fantasy studs at the more valuable positions.
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