The official list of the Big 12's top 25 players is locked away in a vault in an undisclosed location, but we're revealing the list day by day here on the blog. Here's a refresher on my exact criteria.
We're in the top 10 now, so it might get a bit heated.
Got beef? Let's squash it.
No. 3: Brandon Weeden, QB, Oklahoma State
2010 numbers: Completed 342 of 511 passes (66.9 percent) for 4,277 yards, 34 touchdowns and 13 interceptions.
Most recent ranking: Weeden was ranked No. 10 in our postseason list of the Big 12's top 25 players.
Making the case for Weeden: It was pretty clear Weeden had some potential heading into his first year as the Cowboys' starter, but almost no one outside Stillwater thought Weeden could reach the level of production he did. He figured out very, very early that Justin Blackmon would be his best target, hitting the receiver for eight touchdown catches in the Cowboys' first three games.
The Cowboys 6-foot-4, 225-pound quarterback has a huge arm and is one of the league's most accurate passers. He also spread it around in an offense that ranked third nationally behind Oregon and Boise State. That's good company.
Four receivers had at least 37 catches and 10 (!) receivers had at least 10 catches last season. Weeden has plenty of targets back, including Blackmon. Look for him to do much of the same in 2011, even with a new offensive coordinator. Play calling is important. Accuracy and decision-making from the quarterback is much more important. We know Weeden has both.
The rest of the list:
No. 4: Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma
No. 7: Jeff Fuller, WR, Texas A&M
No. 8: Travis Lewis, LB, Oklahoma
No. 9: Cyrus Gray, RB, Texas A&M
No. 10: Jake Knott, LB, Iowa State
No. 11: T.J. Moe, WR, Missouri
No. 12: Jamell Fleming, CB, Oklahoma
No. 13: Kelechi Osemele, LT, Iowa State
No. 14: David Garrett, CB, Kansas State
No. 15: Coryell Judie, CB, Texas A&M
No. 17: Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor
No. 18: Elvis Fisher, LT, Missouri
No. 19: Keenan Robinson, LB, Texas
No. 20: Tony Jefferson, S, Oklahoma
No. 21: Shaun Lewis, LB, Oklahoma State
No. 22: Kenny Stills, WR, Oklahoma
No. 23: Brad Madison, DE, Missouri
No. 24: Emmanuel Acho, LB, Texas
No. 25: Zaviar Gooden, LB, Missouri
