Big 12 Media Days: Texas

An interesting sidenote when reviewing, covering and recapping Big 12 media days; Texas and Oklahoma were the only two teams with four player representatives.  Everyone else, just three.  Coincidence?

For Texas, much like Oklahoma, this is a year where they are replacing a few big names and familiar faces.  Texas fans got an unwelcome preview of their future quarterback in the national title game after Colt McCoy's arm went numb for two weeks. 

Whether good or bad at the time, the experience certainly can't hurt and Mack Brown talked a little about that moment and that day where Garrett Gilbert found himself tossed into the fire.

It was funny. When Colt got hurt and we turned to Garrett, and I said, Garrett, get your helmet, his eyes were as big as silver dollars. He looked at me like you got to be kidding. And he couldn't find his helmet, and it's got No. 7 on it.

So he wasn't planning on playing. I saw him in pregame. He ate all of his steak, so he wasn't nervous. You can always tell the guys that say "can I get some of your steak" aren't going to play.

And someone asked him this morning, What did you say to the team when you first got in the huddle? And he said, I really can't remember. I don't know that I said anything. I probably called the play they told me to.

Mack Brown also gave some hints as to why no one would give a straight answer on any Big 12 questions.  Besides the fact that these are all politicians as much as coaches that is.

We were told that we needed to stay away from the future of the Big 12 and our opinions about the future of the Big 12.

I think the contract for Dallas and for the Cotton Bowl and the state fair is through 2015, and I'm sure that a lot of people now will look at the possibilities of what will we do in the Big 12 if we do not have a championship game to fill championship Saturday.

So I think all of those are issues that our athletic directors and our presidents will start looking at immediately, I'm sure.

Dan Beebe and the Big 12 AD's/Presidents doing there best impression of an Iraqi war general.  "Nothing to see here, the Americans are not bombing our cities...all is well!!"

As for the "red out" in Lincoln and the much anticipated rematch.

I haven't looked down the schedule. We open up with Rice.

No. A lot has been said about the video and the game and the matchup and last year's conference championship game. I really -- I think that's a compliment to us, very honestly, for a program like Nebraska to be talking about Texas this time of the year.

Top 5 Concerns for Garrett Gilbert in 2010

1. Jared Crick and the Husker Defense.
2. Not being able to eat all his steak.
3. Can he fish? Who is he going to go fishing with? and will they be roommates?
4. Running into Vince Young at a strip club.
5. A healthy Oklahoma at the Red River Shootout.

- Owen K(denverjhawk@hotmail.com)