Our countdown of the Big 12's top 25 players continues. The official list is locked away in a vault in an undisclosed location, but we're revealing a new member of the list every day.
Here's a quick rundown on my criteria for this list.
No. 14: Henry Josey, RB, Missouri
2011 numbers: Carried the ball 145 times for 1,168 yards and nine touchdowns. He also caught 10 passes for 91 yards.
Most recent ranking: Josey was unranked in our preseason list of the top 25 players.
Making the case for Josey: The speedster started the season third on Missouri's depth chart, but finally got his shot after De'Vion Moore and Kendial Lawrence went down with injuries early in the season.
After breaking out for 263 yards against Western Illinois, an FCS opponent, Josey still had his doubters. Then he rushed for at least 129 yards in five of his next six games and opened up a laughable lead by almost 300 yards in the Big 12 rushing race.
A catastrophic knee injury ended his season in early November, but he still finished third in the Big 12 in rushing, despite ranking 12th in carries. His 8.06 yards per carry was sky-high and second nationally. The only player whose average was higher, though, carried the ball just 61 yards.
His abbreviated season (both early and late) and the presence of James Franklin in the running game to open room for him to run keeps Josey out of the top 10, but not by much. Here's hoping he's able to rehab and get back on the field in 2012 for Mizzou in the SEC.
The rest of the list:
No. 15: Ryan Swope, WR, Texas A&M
No. 16: Emmanuel Acho, LB, Texas
No. 17: Kelechi Osemele, LT, Iowa State
No. 19: Arthur Brown, LB, Kansas State
No. 20: Kenny Vaccaro, S, Texas
No. 21: Grant Garner, C, Oklahoma State
No. 22: Ronnell Lewis, LB, Oklahoma
No. 23: Cyrus Gray, RB, Texas A&M
No. 24: Nigel Malone, CB, Kansas State
No. 25: Damontre Moore, LB, Texas A&M
