Which Big 12 Team Had The Best and Worst Offseason?

The Transfer Portal Changed This Offseason—and ESPN Took Notice

Remember when the college football offseason was boring and a little dull? It felt like there was hardly ever any news. But that’s changed thanks to the never-ending transfer portal.

Teams can look completely different from the end of one season to the end of spring football. Players—and sometimes coaches—leave, creating massive roster shakeups in a very short time frame.

Recently, ESPN ranked the offseasons for every Power 4 team. Their formula for determining who had the best and worst offseason came down to three factors:

• Retention of key (non-draft-eligible) players
• Retention of key coaches or staff upgrades
• Player additions, primarily through the transfer portal but also high school recruits

Of course, this caught my eye, especially regarding the Big 12. So, who were the biggest winners and losers this offseason? Let’s take a look at the top and bottom of the conference, according to ESPN.

The Best: Texas Tech

This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone paying attention to the portal. Texas Tech put its money where its mouth is, shelling out to land top talent thanks to general manager James Blanchard and billionaire board chairman Cody Campbell.

Tech landed impact players across the board, especially in the trenches. Hunter Bailey, Romello Height (Georgia Tech), and Skyler Gill-Howard (Northern Illinois) bolster the defensive line, while the offensive line added Howard Sampson (UNC) and Illinois State’s Hunter Zambrano. Plus, five-star wide receiver Micah Hudson is back. Reggie Virgil (Miami Ohio) and Terrance Carter (Louisiana) were brought in to help out Behren Morton.

Head coach Joey McGuire also has two new coordinators. Shiel Wood comes from Troy to lead the defense, while offensive coordinator Mack Leftwich arrives from Texas State as a rising star in the coaching world. Between a revamped staff and a loaded transfer class, it’s easy to see why Texas Tech sits atop ESPN’s offseason rankings.

The Worst: UCF

The good news? This isn’t the worst UCF roster Scott Frost has inherited. When he first took the job, the team went 0–12 the year before. That said, he’s got his work cut out for him—this roster has holes everywhere.

Star running back RJ Harvey is gone, as is wide receiver Kobe Hudson. The Knights lost 34 scholarship players this offseason, including 11 starters. Four offensive linemen are gone, and tight end Randy Pittman Jr. followed Gus Malzahn to Florida State.

Frost brought in 34 transfers to patch things up—most notably at quarterback, where Tayven Jackson (Indiana), Cam Fancher (FAU), and David Belfort (Virginia Tech) will battle Jacurri Brown for the starting job.

There are new faces at receiver, on the offensive line, and throughout the defense, which added 16 transfers. Speaking of the defense: Alex Grinch takes over as coordinator despite rough stints at Oklahoma and USC. On offense, Steve Cooper—who worked with Frost at Nebraska—takes the reins.

This was never going to be a quick fix. Frost inherited a program in need of a full reset, and he knows it. That’s why there are so many new names in Orlando. Still, some of the staff hires raise questions, and it’s fair to wonder how long it’ll take before progress shows up on the field. Unfortunately for UCF fans, Year 1 under Frost 2.0 might be a rough ride.

Full Big 12 Football Offseason Rankings (ESPN)

1. Texas Tech
2. Arizona State
3. Baylor
4. Iowa State
5. Kansas State
6. TCU
7. Utah
8. Cincinnati
9. BYU
10. Colorado
11. Houston
12. Oklahoma State
13. West Virginia
14. Kansas
15. Arizona
16. UCF