Sooners not only team to lose QB

By George Schroeder

Published: August 14, 2006

Big 12 quarterbacks were dropping like flies last week. OK, none had the impact of OU's dismissal of Rhett Bomar. But consider:

Former blue-chipper Harrison Beck was considered Nebraska's quarterback of the future until he left Lincoln and drove home to Florida. Beck later announced a transfer to North Carolina State.

Beck wasn't going to play this year -- Norman's Zac Taylor has the Huskers' starting job sewn up. But Beck, who was pulled out of redshirt in the 10th game of the 2005 season (when Taylor suffered a concussion), was expected by many to nab the job in 2007. He was apparently miffed to be running No. 4 on the depth chart.

At Kansas State, last spring's five-way competition at quarterback has dwindled to two.

Allan Evridge's decision to transfer means just senior Dylan Meier and freshman Josh Freeman remain. Two others -- Kevin Lopina and Allen Webb -- had already transferred.

Freeman, by the way, initially committed to Nebraska, but changed his mind after a recruiting push by new Kansas State coach Ron Prince.

With three weeks left before the season finally begins, here are a few other tidbits from around the Big 12:

Dreaming bigger than Texas
The troubled Houston Bowl has been rescued and received a makeover. It's now known as the Texas Bowl.

And there's a reason for the name change. The new organizers are thinking big.

"Eventually, to be in the BCS would be absolutely fabulous," said Jamey Rootes, president of Lone Star Sports & Entertainment, which is a subsidiary of the NFL's Houston Texans.

That's right, the same bowl that gets a barely-bowl-eligible Big 12 team each December, the bowl that almost folded in recent months before being rescued by the Big 12 and other conferences is dreaming of joining the exclusive Bowl Championship Series.

According to Rootes, the new name and logo -- which resembles a silver, football-shaped belt buckle -- is a good start.

"If you want to be the president, you better dress like the president long before you're there," Rootes said. "So if you want to be a BCS Bowl, we're going to dress like a BCS bowl from Day One," Rootes said, "and hopefully earn our opportunity to play at that level."

Good for them for dreaming big.

But they might start by figuring out how to pay the $1.2 million (give or take a few bucks) owed to the Big 12 and Mountain West conferences for last year's Houston Bowl.

Loving Leach
So Mike Leach finally got the big bucks. This week, Texas Tech announced a five-year extension (through 2010) at an average of about $2 million annually (he won't actually get that much until 2009 at the earliest).

Here's the bad news for Tech fans: If a big-name school comes calling, the salary won't be enough to keep Leach in Lubbock, despite a reported $500,000 buyout.

Here's the good news for Tech fans: Leach is just wacky enough (and that's why we love him) that the really big-name schools might not come calling.

Waiting game
Kansas officials, including football coach Mark Mangino, went before the NCAA's Committee on Infractions on Sunday in Baltimore, Md.

Now, they await the committee's decision regarding 11 alleged rules violations from 1997-2003 in several sports, including football. The NCAA's enforcement staff has charged the school with a "lack of institutional control" and the football program with "academic fraud" related to efforts to help athletes become academically eligible in the summer of 2003.

"I think we've been transparent," Mangino told the Kansas City Star.

"We've cooperated fully. By the end of the day we'll take whatever punishment is given us and move on. I don't think it will be a whole lot more than what we've penalized ourselves."

Kansas has imposed a two-year probation and reduced scholarships.

Selvin or Jamaal?
Forget the quarterback battle. The situation at tailback for Texas is interesting, as well.

Senior Selvin Young currently holds the starting position, ahead of sophomore Jamaal Charles -- who showed superstar potential during a splendid 2005 freshman season. Both should play, of course.

Position change
Former Muskogee standout Pete Richardson, now a redshirt freshman at Texas Tech, has moved from running back to cornerback. Richardson, who missed most of last season with a broken foot, was among four players competing for the starting position at running back.

"It's a compliment to Pete because he's such a great athlete," Texas Tech assistant Seth Littrell, the former Oklahoma fullback, told the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal. "We feel like if he can go over there and compete to get on the field this year early, then why not make that move?"

Baylor-bound?
Don't look now, but Baylor has 25 oral commitments. Whether they'll all stick to the pledge and sign binding letters of intent in February isn't certain, of course. But it's at least an indication that Guy Morriss' program has generated some positive buzz.

And that's a big change from the recent past.

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