Spring football is coming, which means it’s time to take a look at what you should know for every Big 12 Conference team.
Here’s a look at the top storyline, a position of intrigue and player to watch for each Big 12 team heading into the spring.
Spring storyline: After a rough 2024 season in coach Brent Brennan’s debut, the Wildcats roared back last season to finish 9-4 — a five-win year-over-year improvement. Now, with quarterback Noah Fifita back to begin his fourth season as the starter, few programs are in better hands at the position. It all adds up to a belief that Arizona can compete for the Big 12 title — a rare offseason position in Tucson.
Player to watch: DE Prince Williams. At famed Bishop Gorman High in Nevada, Williams was one of the most dominant defensive players in high school football in 2025. He was MaxPreps’ Nevada Player of the Year after making 91 tackles, including an incredible 44 for loss. At 6-foot-3, 264 pounds, he has the size to compete for playing time right away and will use the spring to see if he can work his way into the rotation. — Kyle Bonagura
Player to watch: RB Cardae Mack. At Atascocita High in Texas, Mack played quarterback and was one of the state’s most prolific runners. How quickly he’s able to transition to running back is an interesting question, because he’s talented enough to make an immediate impact. He arrives as a four-star recruit, was the No. 23-ranked running back in the country and chose ASU over offers from most of the Big 12. — Bonagura
Position of intrigue: Linebacker. With Isaiah Glasker and Siale Esera returning, plus the arrival of Cade Uluave from Cal, the Cougars will again have one of the better linebacking corps in the country. But they will have to deal with the departure of coordinator Jay Hill, who left for Michigan after engineering a remarkable turnaround in his two seasons in Provo.
Position of intrigue: Offensive line. This unit has been the Achilles’ heel for the Colorado for years and with the departure of standout left tackle Jordan Seaton, it will be another rebuilt group. Bo Hughley (Georgia), Demetrius Hunter (Houston) and Jose Soto (Sacramento State) arrived via the portal. Hughley never emerged as a starter.
Player to watch: QB Julian Lewis. If Colorado is going to have the type of bounce-back season it had in 2024, it will have Lewis to thank. The former five-star prospect got his feet wet last season and showed flashes of what might be possible, but he has a long way to go before there should be an expectation for him to play at an all-conference level. The revolving door at quarterback last season was a problem, so having an entrenched starter is a significant development. — Bonagura
Player to watch: Satterfield has big expectations for running back Zion Johnson this offseason. The 5-foot-8 redshirt freshman from Georgia rushed for 106 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries in his first year in the program. The Bearcats must replace their top four rushers from 2025, and added a trio of transfers in Gi’Bran Payne (Notre Dame), Cole Tabb (Stanford) and Zylan Perry (Louisiana), but they’re hoping Johnson proves he’s ready to play a featured role. — Max Olson
Player to watch: Hughes. After posting 2,779 rushing yards and 22 touchdowns across his first two seasons at Tulane in 2023 and 2024, Hughes never fully acclimated at Oregon last fall. In 2026, he’ll reunite with Fritz and offensive coordinator Slade Nagle — the duo that recruited Hughes to Tulane — not only with a shot at a rebound season, but to fill the void left by Dean Connors and to add another dimension to the Cougars’ offense. — Lederman
Player to watch: It has to be Johnson, doesn’t it? He was tentative early last season and seemed to be playing like the pro-style future NFL player he wants to be instead of playing to his strengths. K-State’s fortunes improved a bit when he began running more, and one assumes that he’ll need to be prepared for a solid number of designed runs with Klein in charge, but if he plays to his capabilities, K-State’s a Big 12 contender, plain and simple. — Connelly
Texas Tech achieved its first Big 12 title and College Football Playoff appearance after finishing 12-2 in 2025. Though key playmakers Behren Morton, Jacob Rodriguez and David Bailey are off to the NFL, the Red Raiders retained many of their starters and reloaded through the transfer portal. Could we see Texas Tech make another playoff appearance in the 2026 season? BYU quarterback Bear Bachmeier is back for his sophomore season after eclipsing 3,033 passing yards and 15 touchdowns in 2025. After going 12-2 in 2025 and coach Kalani Sitake reaffirming his commitment to the program, what can we expect from BYU next season?
Position of intrigue: Running back. After Ismail Mahdi ran out of eligibility, the Wildcats have a solid trio to handle running back duties in 2026. It starts with Kedrick Reescano and Quincy Craig, both of whom ran for over 300 yards for Arizona last season. Then, there’s Antwan Roberts, a transfer from Marshall, where he was the Thundering Herd’s featured back, rushing for 512 yards. If one of them can have a breakout season, this could be a position of strength, but there is still a lot to prove from the group.
Spring storyline: Coach Kenny Dillingham is one of the best young coaches in college football and was heavily linked to the Michigan opening after the 2025 season, which turned into a stressful couple of weeks for Sun Devils fans. In the end, Dillingham reaffirmed his commitment to his alma mater, raising expectations for what can be accomplished in Tempe. After ASU’s College Football Playoff appearance in 2024, the team took a step back last season and now comes the hard part: sustained success at a conference-championship level.
Position of intrigue: Quarterback. With Sam Leavitt off to LSU, the door is open for a new starter. The expectation is for Cutter Boley — Kentucky’s starter last season — to win the job, but he’ll have to earn it, starting this spring. Boley is talented, if inconsistent, and will benefit from Dillingham’s tutelage. But don’t count out Mikey Keene. He has been the starter at UCF and Fresno State before a detour to Michigan last year, where he did not play. Given the experience between those two, the Sun Devils are in good shape.
Spring storyline: The Bears took a gamble in retaining coach Dave Aranda following the program’s third sub-.500 season in four years. And after losing nearly all of the leading contributors from a team that finished 5-7 a season ago, Baylor was forced to place another bet on rebuilding via the transfer portal. Will either wager pay off in 2026? At the heart of the roster retool is Florida transfer quarterback DJ Lagway, who joins coordinator Jake Spavital’s offense alongside a new-look wide receiver unit led by transfers Gavin Freeman (Oklahoma State), Hardley Gilmore IV (Kentucky) and Dre’Lon Miller (Colorado). First-year defensive coordinator Joe Klanderman takes over playcalling duties and a similarly overhauled Bears defense that ranked 122nd nationally against the run a season ago. Aranda’s future at Baylor hinges heavily on the acclimation of transfers such as Lagway and defenders Hosea Wheeler (Indiana) and Garrick Ponder (Southern Miss) in 2026, and that process begins this spring.
Position of intrigue: Secondary. For a unit that finished 31st nationally in passing yards per game, Baylor’s secondary was a decidedly trick-or-treat experience last fall. The departures of starters DJ Coleman (Florida transfer) and Devyn Bobby (graduation) leave cornerback LeVar Thornton Jr. and safety Jacob Redding as the top returners to that unit in 2026. Potential upside lies within the group of transfer defensive backs the Bears signed this offseason. Safety Daniel Cobbs, Kansas State’s 2025 interceptions leader, is one of three former K-State defensive backs who followed Klanderman to Baylor. Oklahoma transfer Devon Jordan joins the Bears after emerging as a versatile player in Brent Venables’ Sooners defense a year ago, and New Mexico State transfer Stilton McKelvey brings valuable experience to an intriguing position group.
Player to watch: Lagway. It was only last August that the former five-star passer held the 10th-best Heisman Trophy odds of any player across football. Lagway’s debut season as a starting quarterback subsequently fell short of expectations, complete with a 4-8 finish and more interceptions — 14 — than any other SEC passer. But Lagway’s overwhelming talent, presumably, is still there to be unlocked by Spavital and a retooled Baylor offense. And while it’s reductive to suggest the trajectory of the Bears’ 2026 season relies solely on his shoulders, the version of Lagway Baylor gets in the fall could swing everything, one way or another. — Eli Lederman
Player to watch: QB Bear Bachmeier. Despite transferring to Provo as a true freshman last year after spring practice, Bachmeier still won the starting job and helped guide the Cougars to one of their best seasons in school history, winning Big 12 Offensive Freshman of the Year. Now, with a full offseason to prepare, he’s in line for a major step forward. The Cougars relied on Bachmeier’s physical running perhaps more than they would have preferred last season, and he should be more equipped to handle the intricacies of the offense in 2026. — Bonagura
Spring storyline: Deion Sanders brought a spotlight to Boulder in a way that has rarely been seen in college football, but now — three years in — it’s fair to start questioning how long he’ll be around. This never felt like a long-term solution for Colorado and after the Buffaloes went just 1-8 in the Big 12 last season — their second one-win conference season in Sanders’ three years — there isn’t much to indicate a major turnaround is on tap. Brennan Marion’s arrival as the offensive coordinator is an interesting addition that could spark some improvement.
Position of intrigue: Who takes over for Brendan Sorsby as quarterback? The Bearcats brought in Georgia Southern transfer JC French IV, a two-year starter who ranked fifth in the Sun Belt in total offense last season with 3,244 total yards, 26 TDs and eight interceptions. Then they doubled down in the portal with Penn transfer Liam O’Brien, who earned first-team All-Ivy honors in 2025. Both have one more year of eligibility and will compete with third-year backup Samaj Jones, a former ESPN 300 recruit, for the job.