Big 12 Football: Power Ranking Each Team's Quarterback Situation in 2012

The Big 12 is home to so some of the best offenses in college football. From top to bottom the Big 12 is filled with teams that can light up the scoreboard.

A large reason for this offensive explosion is the conference's reputation for great quarterback play. From Sam Bradford and Colt McCoy to Robert Griffin III and Brandon Weeden some of the country's most elite quarterbacks play in the Big 12.

As 2011 comes to a close and most potential draftees already deciding whether to stay or go, each team's quarterback situation is starting to clear up.

Between big name transfers, returning stars, veterans looking to improve and highly touted first-year starters there should be no shortage on great quarterback play in the conference again.

Here's how each team's situation stacks up.

10.) Baylor Bears

Baylor may not have the worst quarterback situation, but they certainly suffered the most traumatic downfall.

The drop from Heisman winner Robert Griffin III to senior quarterback Nick Florence is akin to Niagra Falls.

Florence was the team's starter two years ago and struggled to even put up pedestrian numbers, throwing nine interceptions to six touchdowns and completing 62 percent of his passes.

Two years of backing up Griffin and developing could have a positive impact so all is not lost, but Florence will struggle to match the playmaking ability that RGIII provided last season.

9.) Texas Longhorns

Perennial Big 12 powerhouse Texas is used to having solid quarterback play (see McCoy, Colt and Young, Vince). However, the position has become a thorn in the program's side of late.

Texas has all the ingredients to make a leap next year and regain their prominence, a great defense, a solid running game and experience, the only thing missing is good quarterback play. The duo of Case McCoy and David Ash were subpar to downright awful last year.

At times Texas was just hard to watch offensively.

Most people thought that McCoy would transfer in the face of being replaced by Ash down the stretch, but he has decided to stay and it remains to be seen if he will be in the mix.

The X-factor in next year's quarterback situation will be 4-star recruit Connor Brewer. Brewer is a promising prospect and could very well be the future for the Longhorns.

If Mack Brown had his druthers he would redshirt Brewer and give him a year to develop as he has done with many great Texas quarterbacks in the past. Whether or not they have the luxury of sitting him for a year will show just how much faith they have in Ash moving forward.

8.) Iowa State

The good news?

Iowa State will be returning two quarterbacks with starting experience.

The bad news?

Neither of them were all that great in 2011.

Sophomore quarterback Jared Barnett will compete with senior quarterback Steele Jantz for the starting position after both had stints as the team's starting quarterback in 2011.

Barnett, the athletic dual threat sophomore, led the team to its historic upset of Oklahoma State in Ames and looked very impressive in the national spotlight while doing so. However, he looked downright marginal in his other appearances as the team's starter.

Jantz, a senior in 2012, has more experience and has had his moments as the signal-caller. He too has struggled with inconsistency though.

Iowa State will likely go with the higher upside and name Barnett the starter in 2012. While they have more depth than many teams in the Big 12, Jantz and Barnett simply aren't in the upper echelon of quarterbacks in the conference.

7.) Oklahoma State Cowboys

Perhaps the most mysterious team when it comes to quarterback situations for 2012 is the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

With Brandon Weeden graduating and top wide receiver Justin Blackmon NFL bound, the Oklahoma State passing game will need to find the right guys to step up and fill the huge void left. The good news is that head coach Mike Gundy has reloaded before.

The Cowboys always have a good pass attack and with the return of standout running back Joseph Randle it is hard envisioning the Cowboys falling flat in the passing game. They may not be what they were in 2011 but they should still be one of the better passing teams in the conference.

Backup Clint Chelf has looked solid in what little time he has spent on the field as Weeden's backup, but he will definitely face competition from former elite 11 quarterback J.W. Walsh.

Walsh is definitely a talented option and presents a running threat, while Chelf may be the most polished passer at this point. This could be a nice set up for a two-quarterback system but those can be dangerous so this situation has figuring out left to do but the potential is there.

6.) Kansas Jayhawks

New head coach Charlie Weis definitely has his work cut out for him as he takes over the Kansas Jayhawk football program. Taking over the reigns of a team that went 2-10 including a 10-game losing streak is never the ideal situation.

One thing Weis will have is quarterbacks.

In addition to returning starter Jordan Webb, who has shown good accuracy without many playmakers around him, Weis will also be reunited with former Notre Dame quarterback Dayne Crist.

Crist, a former Weis recruit will come in as a transfer and is expected to start right away. Jake Heaps, another transfer at quarterback, will not be eligible to play.

Webb will provide solid backup for Crist, who showed promise as a starter in 2010 for Notre Dame before being supplanted as starter by Tommy Rees in South Bend.

Weis is known for developing quarterbacks and he definitely has a pair of quarterbacks with potential, but they will have to shoulder a large load without much talent surrounding them.

5.) Texas Tech Red Raiders

Despite throwing for over 4,000 yards last season, returning senior quarterback Seth Doege was a bit of a disappointment for the Red Raiders in 2011.

In the beginning of the season Doege was about as efficient and productive as a quarterback can be, but as the season wore on inconsistency became an issue. He looked awful in games against Oklahoma State and Iowa State after weeks of playing near perfectly in the team's signature win against Oklahoma.

Doege will need to improve his consistency if he wants to lead the Red Raiders to a bowl game in his second year of starting.

Texas Tech could be placed in a worse situation, but Doege is the only quarterback on the roster with significant experience and he is just average when it comes to Texas Tech quarterbacks.

4.) TCU Horned Frogs

After 2010's historic Rose Bowl run, many thought that TCU would struggle to replace NFL-bound four-year starter Andy Dalton.

They were wrong.

Stepping in for the charismatic Dalton in 2011 was redshirt sophomore Casey Pachall. TCU's offense didn't miss a beat.

With a deep supporting cast of receivers and a steady running game, Pachall was able to put up numbers that rivaled Dalton's and showed potential to be even better than Dalton.

The Frogs will need Pachall to continue his progression as they make the jump from the Mountain West to the rigors of a full Big 12 schedule.

Fortunately, Pachall has shown that he's completely comfortable with a shootout when he outdueled Kellen Moore in Boise by throwing for 473 yards and five touchdowns to take the victory, 36-35.

Backup Matt Brown ran for six touchdowns in 2011 and is capable of coming in for special formations to add a wrinkle to the offense.

TCU should have continued productivity from the quarterback position in 2012.

3.) Oklahoma Sooners

Going into 2011 it certainly looked like it would be star quarterback Landry Jones' last year as a Sooner before becoming a top-10 draft pick.

Then came the fall.

After starting the year living up to the hype, Jones' stock plummeted toward the end of the season. In the final three games of the regular season he threw five interceptions without even throwing for a touchdown as the Sooners wilted down the stretch.

Now Jones returns to school aiming to resurrect his draft status and lead the Sooners from bitter disappointment to success story along the way.

The Sooners will be one of very few teams in the country that will feature a four-year starter at the quarterback position, and with Jones' combination of skills and experience anything less than a run at the Heisman would be a disappointment.

2.) West Virginia Mountaineers

As if the Big 12 needed another explosive offense here comes West Virginia and senior quarterback Geno Smith.

Smith and the Mountaineers showed they could light up the scoreboard by being the sixth-ranked passing attack in the country and putting up a record 70 points against Clemson in an Orange Bowl victory.

Smith's abilities as a passer were on full display in 2011 as he threw for well over 4,000 yards and threw 31 touchdowns. He also showed how proficient he can be by only tossing seven interceptions while throwing a whopping 526 passes.

Smith's production put him up with the best quarterbacks in the country and should be able to duplicate his success in the pass-happy Big 12.

Welcome to the Big 12 Geno Smith, you'll fit right in.

1.) Kansas State Wildcats

Sure Colin Klein only threw 13 touchdowns. Sure he only completed 57.3 percent of his passes.

But who has meant more to their team than Klein?

Lost in how far Baylor went with Robert Griffin III in 2011 is just how far Colin Klein took the Wildcats of Kansas State. Not many players can claim they led their team in both passing and rushing, but Klein can.

Add in the fact that he rushed for an astounding 27 touchdowns and you have yourself a one-man offense.

With Klein coming back for one more season there's a good chance he could have a repeat performance, and who wouldn't want a 1,000-yard rusher with 27 touchdowns?

Kansas State should contend next year and it's all thanks to Klein.