These five Big 12 players have a chance to become breakout stars in college football this season.
In Big 12 football, there is nothing more exciting than a high scoring game. The conference isn’t known for its defense, albeit the Big 12 does have historically good defenses. But the Big 12 thrives on the high-octane, fast-paced, 70 plus plays per game kind of offense that they’re known for.
With the Big 12 looking like a brand new conference, there are some offensive players who are poised for a break out. Below are five players who have the potential to elevate their offense and be a commanding presence on the field.
Avery Johnson – QB – Kansas State
As a true freshman in 2023, Avery Johnson wasn’t even on anyone’s radar. Well, maybe his hair was.
You can’t tell me Avery Johnson isn’t the girl from We Are The Titans. You can’t https://t.co/jCbcKrllia pic.twitter.com/Fxlfq3V0Uz
— Willy Foosball 🍊🤠 🐎 (@WillyFoosball) July 10, 2024
(He’s giving Trevor Lawrence a run for his money for “Best Hair in Football”).
Will Howard was firmly in place to be the starter for the 2023 season, while Johnson was a backup piece with the intention to become the starter in 2024. Luckily, fans got a taste on what to expect from the former four-star recruit.
Johnson played in eight games for the season, starting in two of them. That included starting in the Pop-Tart Bowl, with Howard opting out, where he earned the MVP award and a win for Kansas State.
During his short time in 2023, Johnson threw for 479 yards and five touchdowns with no interceptions. This is a mobile quarterback who broke records for the team. He had the second most rushing touchdowns for a true freshman with seven total on the season.
Johnson is poised for a breakout this year. This team retained a lot of talent on the offensive side. He is paired with running back DJ Giddens, and a corps of wide receivers that totaled almost 1,000 receiving yards and seven touchdowns.
Jalon Daniels – QB – Kansas
For those who have been around college football for awhile, the Kansas Jayhawks use to be the laughing stock of not only the Big 12, but for all of the NCAA. In the past 20 years, they have had two seasons with zero wins, an overall record of 80-160, and just five bowl appearances. But the 2023 season saw the Jayhawks get their first season above .500 since 2008.
So hey, maybe Kansas is back. And Jalon Daniels has been a big part of the turnaround.
Maybe I wouldn’t call Daniels a breakout for the league, but more of a comeback. The last time we saw Daniels was in 2022, when he had more than 2,000 passing yards, 425 rushing yards, and 25 total touchdowns with five interceptions. Daniels was poised for a true breakout in 2023, but then he went down with a back injury in the third game of the season. Kansas pieced together a winning season despite losing Daniels.
2024 is a different story. Daniels’ health is key to the team winning this year, and their true chance for a conference title. Vegas has their win total at 8.5, and that is mostly due to their quarterback.
The Jayhawks still have running back Devin Neal on the roster, and a group of talented receivers to handle the volume. As long as Daniels stays healthy, he could bring Kansas back to true football relevance in the Big 12.
Jaden Bray – WR – West Virginia
The West Virginia Mountaineers established themselves as a run heavy team in 2023. They led the Big 12 in rushing with 2,976 rushing yards and 32 touchdowns. Vegas has West Virginia winning 6.5 games this year, and they added Jaden Bray from the portal to help with that.
Bray went to Oklahoma State as a three-star prospect. He played for three years, but lost one year due to injury. During that time he racked up 686 yards and four touchdowns. During his time at Oklahoma State he had to compete with top receiver Brennan Presley, and could never establish a rapport with the quarterback of the moment in 2023.
Now he arrives in West Virginia expecting to be the guy for the Mountaineers.
WVU HC Neal Brown on adding transfer WR Jaden Bray and taking him from Oklahoma State.
“Jaden, he scored a touchdown, as you know, from Stillwater. He scored a touchdown against uslast year. Once he went into the portal, we couldn’t beat him; so we felt like we needed to get…
— Mike J. Asti (@MikeAsti11) July 11, 2024
With an established offensive line, and a quarterback looking to build on his second year, Bray’s breakout is inevitable.
Micah Hudson – WR – Texas Tech
The Texas Tech Red Raiders are going into a true rebuild season. They lost 16 players to the transfer portal, and had to rebuild an offense from a lot of new recruits.
But one of those new recruits is five-star prospect wide receiver, Micah Hudson.
Micah Hudson is good at football. pic.twitter.com/tUyHhp9wDf
— Coach Beans (@CoachBeansTTU) October 14, 2023
“He’s one of those guys I’ll be shocked if he’s not an instant contributor,” said Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire on signing day. “We’re expecting him to play as a freshman. I don’t think you’ll ever hear me say we’re going to redshirt Micah Hudson. I think from day one, from the time that he’s here, he will have a presence on this football team.”
Hudson did receive surgery in January for an injury dating back to high school, but the coaching staff is confident he will be fully healthy by the summer. That’s plenty of time to establish a rapport with quarterback Behren Morton. Look for Hudson to be involved heavily in this Red Raider offense this season, and catapult himself to top receiver status in college football.
Dorian Singer – WR – Utah
Dorian Singer may be a name that’s familiar to college football fans. He’s been around the block in the league, playing for two seasons at Arizona before transferring to USC. During his time at Arizona, he established himself as a leading receiver for the team. He ended his season with more than 1,100 receiving yards and six total touchdowns.
His time at USC was short lived and frankly, unmemorable. However, he now arrives in Utah with much fanfare.
USC WR Dorian Singer earned a 99.9 receiving grade from PFF on deep routes last season.
That’s essentially a perfect score.
I am particularly interested to see how Lincoln Riley maximizes Singer’s ability to go on bombing runs within his scheme…
Because Singer’s efficiency… pic.twitter.com/Acb4vH5RjI
— Cole Topham (@crtopham_) August 21, 2023
The head coaches have already talked up the former three-star receiver, and plan to feature him in the offense. The Utah offense is loaded with returning starters, but with how aggressively the team pursued Singer this off-season, expect him to make an immediate impact on the field. Don’t be surprised if Singer ends the season as one of the top receivers in Big 12 football.
Erika Brown
Erika Brown is a fantasy football writer for The League Winners. A journalism graduate from Oklahoma State University, she enjoys watching OkState football games and writing about college football.