Big 12 Football: 5 Most Crucial 2014 Fall Camp Battles

With media days behind us, the 2014-15 season is rapidly approaching—thank God. 

In a few weeks, fall camp will begin for teams around the country as they look to prepare for the first season of the College Football Playoff. The Big 12 is bound to have a few contenders for the playoff, but nearly every team has yet to solidify who exactly will take the field in Week 1. 

Around the conference, there are plenty of position battles to be settled. At Iowa State, Paul Rhoads has yet to settle the quarterback race. Bill Snyder hasn't found a replacement for running back John Hubert at Kansas State, and TCU coach Gary Patterson is now scrambling to find someone who could end up being a permanent replacement for the embattled Devonte Fields. 

With that, let's checkout the top five position battles in the Big 12 this fall. 

Iowa State Starting Quarterback

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The race between Grant Rohach, Sam Richardson and Joel Lanning to see who will be the next starting signal-caller in Ames has yet to be decided. 

According to Randy Peterson of The Des Moines Register, Coach Rhoads will hope to name a starter early in the fall. 

While there are three candidates for the job, Iowa State could very well be making the best of a bad situation at quarterback. Rohach and Richardson split starts last season, and neither was effective. Lanning was a redshirt last year and has yet to establish himself over the two incumbents. 

The Cyclones offense has sputtered over recent seasons, but the addition of Mark Mangino as the team's offensive coordinator will hopefully bring some life to that side of the ball. But it all starts with the quarterback, so whoever wins the battle will have a world of expectations cast upon them. 

Kansas State Starting Running Back

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With Hubert, a three-year starter, now graduated, and quarterback Daniel Sams transferred to McNeese State, the running game at K-State is far and away the biggest question mark for Coach Snyder this year. 

The Wildcats have three options at running back going into fall camp—DeMarcus Robinson, Jarvis Leverett and Charles Jones. The latter two played well in the team's spring game, while Robinson was out with an injury. 

Robinson came into the program in 2010 with plenty of hype, rated as one of the top prospects in the state of any position at the time, per 247Sports. But he's been buried on the depth chart since his arrival. 

Whomever Snyder picks to fill Hubert's shoes, they'll be charged with taking the load off Jake Waters' shoulders, a quarterback more known for his arm than his mobility. 

Baylor Starting Left Guard

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Undoubtedly the biggest challenge offensively for head coach Art Briles this offseason is filling the role of left guard, which was vacated by perennial All-Big 12 member Cyril Richardson. 

However, according to Shehan Jeyarajah of The Dallas Morning News, Briles already has a replacement in mind. 

The projected replacement for Richardson in 2014-15 is LaQuan McGowan, who stands at a whopping 6'6" and 385 pounds. McGowan showed plenty of promise in the spring and is the favorite to win the job. 

His top competitor is Jarell Broxton, a JUCO transfer who disappointed during the spring season but still has plenty of time left to make a run at the job. 

Texas No. 3 Wide Receiver

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The depth the Longhorns have at wide receiver is alarmingly shallow, especially with the recent suspensions of Kendall Sanders and Montrel Meander for sexual assault charges. 

According to Taylor Gaspar of B/R, only two receivers on the roster have appeared in five or more games—Jaxon Shipley and Marcus Johnson. And only one other receiver—Jacorey Warrick—has even played in a game. 

It's presumed that Shipley and Johnson will take the top two receiver spots this season. So the battle for the No. 3 spot is on, with Warrick leading the way almost solely because of experience. 

Other candidates include Jake Oliver, a redshirt freshman, and six true freshmen. 

Someone's going to have to step up in this battle if David Ash, Charlie Strong and Co. want to have any shot of having a competent passing attack this season. 

TCU Starting Defensive End

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The Associated Press reported on July 25 that TCU defensive end Devonte Fields, the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year, surrendered to an arrest warrant tied to misdemeanor assault charges. 

Fields was shortly "separated" from the team until the situation resolves, meaning the Horned Frogs must now find a replacement for one of the nation's best defensive ends. 

According to the depth chart for the Horned Frogs on Rivals, the top backups at the position include James McFarland and Matt Anderson. 

McFarland will likely be the top option for Coach Patterson, as McFarland performed well last season with 17 tackles, including five for a loss and three sacks. 

It's tough for TCU to lose such a crucial piece of its puzzle, making this position battle to replace Fields arguably the most important in the entire conference.