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 every day.
Here's a quick rundown on my criteria for this list.
We're officially in the top 10 now. That means it could be a little heated from here on. Got beef? Send it to my mailbag, and we'll have a later post logging and answering your complaints.
No. 4: Kendall Wright, WR, Baylor
2011 numbers: Caught 108 passes for 1,663 yards and 14 touchdowns. Also completed 2-of-3 passes for 55 yards and a touchdown. Rushed for 72 yards on 10 carries. Returned five punts for 37 yards.
Most recent ranking: Wright was ranked No. 17 in our preseason list of the top 25 players.
Making the case for Wright: Pick your reason why Wright was snubbed as a Biletnikoff finalist. Was it because he doesn't have the name of a national power on the front of his jersey like Ryan Broyles? Was it because he didn't already have a Biletnikoff Award trophy stashed at his house like Justin Blackmon?
In my book, it was neither. Wright should feel snubbed for not getting onto the Biletnikoff finalists list. From my perspective, the main reason was his late push came after the finalist list had been trimmed. It was announced on Nov. 21 -- two days after Wright put on a 208-yard show against Broyles-less Oklahoma. In the final three games of the regular season, Wright caught 20 passes for 499 yards and four touchdowns. Voting took place beforehand.
At the end of the season, Wright was just as productive per game as Broyles but amassed more yardage than Blackmon, who repeated this year.
Still, Baylor's star led the league with 1,663 yards and finished third nationally. He'll leave as the best receiver in Baylor history and the team's leading receiver in all four of his seasons on campus. That's a remarkable career, and Wright got better every single year. Not everyone can say that.
He can.
The rest of the list:
No. 5: Ryan Broyles, WR, Oklahoma
No. 9: A.J. Klein, LB, Iowa State
No. 10: Sean Porter, LB, Texas A&M
No. 11: Terrance Ganaway, RB, Baylor
No. 12: Jake Knott, LB, Iowa State
No. 13: Landry Jones, QB, Oklahoma
No. 14: Henry Josey, RB, Missouri
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
