Big 12 Football Media Days arrive this week in Frisco, Texas, and with them comes the first real checkpoint of the college football season. All 16 teams will spend two days talking through offseason changes, roster upgrades and what they expect when the fall kicks off. The schedule is packed, but a few storylines stand above the rest.
At the top of the list is Texas Tech, and that’s not going away anytime soon. Joey McGuire and the Red Raiders are the center of attention for plenty of reasons: they won the Big 12 last year, reached the College Football Playoff and keep recruiting at an elite level.
But the Brendan Sorsby saga, which wrapped up in the last couple of weeks, only adds more heat to the room. McGuire is going to get the toughest questions of the week, from how firmly he defends Tech’s handling of the situation to what he says about the future of sports gambling in college athletics.
How he navigates all of that will be one of the defining scenes in Frisco.
The spotlight will also be bright on the conference’s four new head coaches making their media days debut: K-State’s Collin Klein, Iowa State’s Jimmy Rogers, Oklahoma State’s Eric Morris and Utah’s Morgan Scalley. Two have already been head coaches, two have worked as top-level coordinators, but all four are stepping into a new level of scrutiny.
This is the first time they’ll face the full media crush that comes with the job, and there’s usually at least one awkward moment when a first-time podium appearance gets rolling. The bigger question is which of them will end up having the best first season on the sideline.
There’s another layer of intrigue around the coaches in Waco and Cincinnati. Dave Aranda and Scott Satterfield are sitting on what look like the two hottest seats in the league.
Aranda is back for 2026, and the Mack Rhoades resignation likely helped keep him in place. Still, both coaches need a strong season - and probably a few eye-catching upsets - if they want to feel good about their chances of being back in 2027.
That pressure will be obvious this week, especially in The Star.
Quarterback buzz is always a major part of media days, and this year’s group of returning passers should be worth watching closely. BYU’s Bear Bachmeier, Colorado’s Julian Lewis, Houston’s Conner Weigman, Arizona’s Noah Fifita, K-State’s Avery Johnson and Utah’s Devon Dampier are all set to be in Frisco.
Some are established veterans, including Dampier, Weigman and Fifita, while others like Bachmeier and Lewis are still building off their freshman seasons. The way they carry themselves, and the way they look physically and emotionally, can tell you plenty about what might be coming this fall.
Then there’s Brett Yormark, who steps into the middle of one of the most unsettled stretches in college sports history. The Big 12 commissioner is expected to address the Protect College Sports Act pending in Congress, the NCAA’s power, the future of college sports on television, the NCAA Tournament’s upcoming expansion and the ongoing debate over whether the College Football Playoff should grow to 16 or 24 teams.
He’ll also have to deal with the Brendan Sorsby drama. Whatever Yormark says in Frisco could shape conversations around college sports for weeks.
In Other News...
JT Tuimoloau Headlines July 4 Recruiting Wins Ohio State Won't Forget
July 4 has become a surprisingly fertile date on the recruiting calendar, and the latest reminder came with a handful of high-profile commitments that have already shaped major programs. The group includes names like JT Tuimoloau, Caleb Williams, Francis Mauigoa and Dakorien Moore, a mix that underscores how one summer decision can ripple from the college game into the professional ranks and across the broader recruiting landscape.
For Texas Tech, the most relevant piece of that holiday backdrop is the way the Red Raiders keep showing up in conversations usually reserved for blue bloods. The program has been in the mix for elite talent before, and the latest July 4 buzz only adds to the sense that recruiting battles on this date can carry real weight well beyond the holiday itself. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Techs 2026 Schedule Creates One Early Playoff Pressure Point
Texas Techs 2026 football schedule gives the Red Raiders plenty to think about beyond the usual grind of a Big 12 title defense. The slate is loaded with the kinds of details coaches study closely this time of year, from nonconference tuneups to league games shaped by rest, travel and whatever shape an opponent is in the week before it arrives in Lubbock. For a program trying to stay in the College Football Playoff conversation, those margins can matter almost as much as the matchup itself.
One of the more interesting pressure points comes when Houston makes the trip to West Texas for its first road game of the season, with Texas Tech getting the home crowd and a short-week edge. Arizona State also looms as a compelling measuring stick, with the Red Raiders set to host the defending Big 12 champs after a bye in a game that carries real conference weight. Even the quieter spots on the schedule have texture, and that is what makes this release worth a closer look for anyone trying to map out where the toughest nights might land. [Read more 🡒]
Texas Tech's All-American Legacy Still Has New Stars Chasing It
Texas Techs All-American history has always carried a certain weight, from the programs earliest standouts to the names that still resonate with Red Raiders fans today. The distinction is not handed out casually, either, with unanimous and consensus honors reflecting how a player stacks up across the major selectors and how rare it is to rise above a crowded national field.
Now the conversation is shifting again, because the next wave of Red Raiders is already putting itself in position to join that lineage. David Bailey and Jacob Rodriguez are part of the current standard-bearers, while Brice Pollock and A.J. Holmes have also put themselves into the mix with seasons that drew attention well beyond Lubbock, leaving Texas Tech with a familiar kind of hope: the sense that the programs All-American list may not be done growing anytime soon. [Read more 🡒]