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Big 12 Spotlight: September grades for each program
September has wrapped up so there’s no better time to take a look across the Power Four conferences to see which teams are performing well – or poorly – on the field and in recruiting. We finish with the Big 12.
THIS SERIES: September grades for each program in the Big Ten | SEC | ACC
ARIZONA (No. 6 in Big 12, No. 40 nationally)
FULL LIST: Arizona’s 2025 recruiting class
For the first time in nearly a decade last season, Arizona won 10 games and then coach Jedd Fisch left for Washington. But first-year coach Brent Brennan has kept the Wildcats’ success alive. Other than a hiccup against Kansas State, Arizona has won every game this season and routed Utah last weekend in a big upset. There are some challenges ahead but it wouldn’t be a shocker to see Arizona in every game.
Ranked sixth in the Big 12 team rankings, Arizona has only one four-star pledge in under-recruited running back Wesley Yarbrough but high three-star QB Robert McDaniel was really impressive at the Elite 11 this summer. There have been no commitments for the Wildcats since mid-July.
Grade: B+
ARIZONA STATE (No. 3 in Big 12, No. 32 nationally)
FULL LIST: Arizona State’s 2025 recruiting class
Kenny Dillingham won three games total in his first season at Arizona State and the offense was miserable. So far this season, the Sun Devils have already won three games and lost only one heading into the Kansas matchup this weekend. It has been quite a quick turnaround for ASU with a whole lot more room to grow. The rest of October and into November is a tough schedule but the Sun Devils are undoubtedly better than last season.
Recruiting has been solid. Ranked third in the Big 12 team rankings, the Sun Devils landed one September commitment from massive Hawaiian three-star OL Manamo’ui Muti.
Grade: A-
BAYLOR (No. 5 in Big 12, No. 36 nationally)
FULL LIST: Baylor’s 2024 recruiting class
Dave Aranda remains on the hot seat as Baylor had a really tough schedule to start the season and while games were close, the Bears didn’t really answer the bell in losses to Utah, Colorado and BYU. The Colorado loss especially hurts because Baylor basically blew that game late or it would have escaped with a big win. It visits Iowa State this weekend.
With the fifth-best recruiting class in the Big 12 team rankings, the Bears haven’t landed any pledges in September but had a busy summer and got some elite skill players including four-star receivers Taz Williams and Jacorey Watson.
Grade: C+
BYU (No. 15 in Big 12, No. 70 nationally)
FULL LIST: BYU’s 2024 recruiting class
BYU is playing great football evidenced by the Cougars completely putting Kansas State through the buzzsaw two weekends ago and then winning a hard-fought game at Baylor last weekend. The Cougars are undefeated and ranked No. 17 nationally although a difficult schedule week-in and week-out awaits.
BYU’s recruiting class is ranked second-to-last in the Big 12 rankings and the only four-star is receiver Lamason Waller. The Cougars haven’t had any commitments since mid-August but their team recruiting ranking is always tempered because a lot of these kids will take religious missions and then come back to play so it’s always difficult to project that.
Grade: A
CINCINNATI (No. 12 in Big 12, No. 60 nationally)
FULL LIST: Cincinnati’s 2024 recruiting class
After so much success under former coach Luke Fickell, it turned some stomachs when Cincinnati went 3-9 in coach Scott Satterfield’s first season. The Bearcats are 3-2 now but are a few bounces away from being 5-0 after losing to Pitt by only one and Texas Tech by three. The schedule doesn’t get much easier in a balanced Big 12 but maybe the ball goes Cincinnati’s way in the second half.
Recruiting has been slow. Ranked No. 60 overall, Cincinnati is one of only two teams in the Big 12 along with Iowa State that has no four-star commitments. More needs to be done to build up the high school recruiting as the portal could be a major focus as well.
Grade: B-
COLORADO (No. 16 in Big 12, No. 85 nationally)
FULL LIST: Colorado’s 2025 recruiting class
Colorado won a total of four games in Deion Sanders’ first year and the Buffaloes have already matched that in their first five games. The most impressive win came last week as double-digit underdogs by going to UCF and blowing out the Knights, 48-21. From hardly competitive just two seasons ago to this has been a monumental change and Sanders deserves a lot of credit as a challenging Big 12 schedule continues after the bye week with Kansas State.
The Buffaloes are ranked last in the Big 12 team rankings with only eight commitments but half of them are four-stars. Look, Sanders is just going to recruit differently with very little focus on the high school side (although more could be coming) and an intense focus on the portal.
Grade: A
HOUSTON (No. 9 in Big 12, No. 48 nationally)
FULL LIST: Houston’s 2024 recruiting class
Houston is not playing good football. There are no two ways about it as the Cougars have been shut out in back-to-back weeks by Iowa State and Cincinnati to fall to 1-4. They’re averaging just over 10 points per game and quarterback Donovan Smith, who threw for 2,801 yards and 22 touchdowns last season, has two touchdowns and five interceptions.
Recruiting is sort of average, too, as Houston ranks ninth out of 16 teams in the Big 12 and it has a lone four-star pledge in defensive back Jacob Bradford.
Grade: D
IOWA STATE (No. 14 in Big 12, No. 68 nationally)
FULL LIST: Iowa State’s 2024 recruiting class
The Cyclones have had a phenomenal start to the season by beating rival Iowa early, whipping Arkansas State and then blanking Houston this past weekend to go to 4-0 and ranked No. 16 nationally. The schedule gets a lot tougher especially in late November but this is a sound football team that has shown more life on offense.
Ranked No. 14 in the Big 12 team rankings, Iowa State has not necessarily capitalized with big names in recruiting yet. But Matt Campbell does things his way, with his guys, and there is always a sense many of those commits are underrated.
Grade: A
KANSAS (No. 13 in Big 12, No. 63 nationally)
FULL LIST: Kansas’ 2024 recruiting class
It has been a frustrating start to the season for Kansas, which has three losses by one score or less and then led midway through the third quarter against TCU only to see that slim lead evaporate into a double-digit loss. Kansas went 9-4 last season, its best record since 2007, but the Jayhawks already have four losses so a big run will be needed to match last season’s output.
Recruiting has been on the lower half of the Big 12 where Kansas sits at No. 13 in the conference rankings. Lone four-star Julian Marks leads the way but it feels like the Jayhawks need more firepower.
Grade: C-
KANSAS STATE (No. 10 in Big 12, No. 52 nationally)
FULL LIST: Kansas State’s 2024 recruiting class
Other than walking into a buzzsaw at BYU, Kansas State is perfect on the season and dodged some early-season landmines in wins over Tulane, Arizona and Oklahoma State. Four-star quarterback Avery Johnson is playing well through some growing pains and things look on track for another impressive season.
Getting Linkon Cure was absolutely huge. The four-star tight end from Goodland, Kan., is a complete game-changer in the passing game and an argument could be made that he’s the best tight end in the class. Oregon is still trying to flip him so that’s something to watch.
Grade: A-
OKLAHOMA STATE (No. 8 in Big 12, No. 45 nationally)
FULL LIST: Oklahoma State’s 2024 recruiting class
After an impressive win over a disciplined South Dakota State team and then a come-from-behind victory over Arkansas along with a blowout of Tulsa, Oklahoma State has stumbled in recent weeks. The Cowboys lost by three to Utah and then got run by Kansas State last week. We might see what this team is made of against West Virginia this weekend.
More than most coaches, Mike Gundy is going to recruit to his system and not necessarily chase stars. Still, Oklahoma State – right in the dead middle of the Big 12 rankings – landed QB Jett Niu in September and has two four-star pledges in WR Jaden Perez and DE Michael Riles.
Grade: B-
TCU (No. 1 in Big 12, No. 23 nationally)
FULL LIST: TCU’s 2024 recruiting class
It’s been a few way up or way down years for TCU, which played for the national championship two seasons ago only to collapse last year and go 5-7. This year so far it’s been right in the middle with a 3-2 record which included a one-point loss to UCF and an 11-point win over Kansas last weekend.
On the recruiting front, it’s going great for the Horned Frogs. They have the top-rated class in the Big 12 led by four-star QB Adam Schobel, WR Dane Jones, DE Chad Woodfork and DB Micah Strickland for a top-25 class although TCU added no pledges in September.
Grade: A-
TEXAS TECH (No. 10 in Big 12, No. 52 nationally)
FULL LIST: Texas Tech’s 2024 recruiting class
After surviving an overtime scare against Abilene Christian and then losing at Washington State, Texas Tech has rallied for three-straight wins over North Texas, Arizona State and Cincinnati to be sitting pretty at 4-1. A big test is coming up this week, though, as the Red Raiders travel to Arizona to face Noah Fifita, Tetairoa McMillan and a good Wildcats football team that just upset Utah.
The Red Raiders are recruiting OK this cycle but not knocking anybody’s socks off. They’re ranked No. 10 in the Big 12, No. 52 nationally and are led by four-star wide receivers Tristian Gentry and Bryson Jones.
Grade: A-
UCF (No. 2 in Big 12, No. 24 nationally)
FULL LIST: UCF’s 2024 recruiting class
UCF entered the Colorado game last weekend riding a three-game win streak to start the season only to get walloped by the Buffaloes in a matchup where UCF was double-digit favorites. The Knights have to make sure not to let one loss bleed into a second one as they visit Florida this weekend. That game could have massive recruiting implications as well.
Ranked as the second-best recruiting class in the Big 12, UCF didn’t get any September commitments but landing high four-star receiver Jayvan Boggs from Cocoa, Fla., was huge, and the Knights are after his five-star defensive end teammate Javion Hilson as well. With a top-25 class, UCF boasts seven four-star pledges.
Grade: A-
UTAH (No. 7 in Big 12, No. 44 nationally)
FULL LIST: Utah’s 2025 recruiting class
Utah was cruising through the early-season schedule with wins over Southern Utah, Baylor, Utah State and Oklahoma State but the Utes hit a roadblock last weekend when Arizona came to town and handily beat up on them. Still ranked No. 18 nationally, Utah has an off week before heading to Arizona State.
Four four-star commitments lead Utah’s No. 7 class in the Big 12 but again this is a program that usually develops players as well as any team in the country so their rankings are sometimes low. There were no September commitments but four-star offensive lineman Aaron Dunn, linebacker Christian Thatcher and DE Karson Kaufusi can all play.
Grade: A-
WEST VIRGINIA (No. 4 in Big 12, No. 33 nationally)
FULL LIST: West Virginia’s 2024 recruiting class
You are what your record says you are although West Virginia is a talented 2-2 with a season-opening defeat to Penn State and a four-point decision to Pitt where the Mountaineers were leading the game late. Coming off a nine-win season, West Virginia is looking to build on it and a big showdown against Oklahoma State is this weekend.
The Mountaineers have the fourth-best recruiting class in the Big 12 but only two four-star pledges and none came in September. Running back Deandre Desinor and defensive tackle Amir Leonard-Jean Charles lead the way.
Grade: B
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