2022 Big 12 Media Days - Day 2

ARLINGTON, Texas — Talking season has arrived. Inside Texas is on location at AT&T Stadium, the home of the Dallas Cowboys, for the annual Big 12 Media Days.

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This is a place where media can ask Big 12 administrators for the latest info available regarding conference realignment and coaches and players about what to look for from their teams this upcoming season. Joe Cook, Ian Boyd, and Justin Wells are on hand for the latest.

Greg Burks, Head of Officiating:

Very interesting here from Greg Burks’ presentation. Probably going to result in a lot of drives starting at the 10 in CFB this year. pic.twitter.com/ldWqxobS0A

— Joe Cook (@josephcook89) July 14, 2022

This one is going to be very interesting. Holding the edge is going to look a lot different. Team A = offense, Team B = defense pic.twitter.com/kU0mUUL21E

— Joe Cook (@josephcook89) July 14, 2022

The rules official at Big 12 Media Days just went over some new rules on cut blocks which might be remarkably impactful on this coming season.
Advancing OL can't dive at a LB's legs. May have been a prohibition on split zone cut blocks too, need clarification.

— Special asst to the special asst to the HC (@Ian_A_Boyd) July 14, 2022

Here's the specifics. I think this means an off-ball tight end can only cut block if his inside foot is inside of the tackle.

Which would mean no more free release tight end angles to run routes if they're going to be throwing cut blocks on split zone. https://t.co/CNOqo4GdOU

— Special asst to the special asst to the HC (@Ian_A_Boyd) July 14, 2022

Greg Burks clarified the rule about catching a ball in the end zone. The rule is NOT the old “force out” rule. It does not apply to passes caught in the end zone near the side line. It applies to when a player catches a ball in the end zone one yard deep then is pushed back into the field of play. So if you’re in the end zone and catching a ball near the sideline, you still need a foot down. If you successfully catch a ball while airborne, say, one yard deep in the end zone in the middle of the field THEN are forced back into the field of play before landing, it is a TD.

Oklahoma HC Brent Venables

Brent Venables says 40 percent of the roster has not yet put on an OU jersey yet. Not the only team in the Big 12 with a lot of roster turnover. Says 243 starts join the roster from the transfer ranks.

Brent Venables: “I’m just thankful to be here. As y’all know, I’m the new head coach at Oklahoma, but I’m not new to Oklahoma.”

Brent Venables, “I learned from Bill Synder that the grass isn’t greener. Try to be great right where you’re at.”

Brent Venables: “We’ve got a lot of work to do. There’s no question about it, but I think our issues are first-world problems in the landscape of college football.”

Texas Tech head coach Joey McGuire

Joey McGuire: “The thing at Texas Tech that we really believe is success off the field translate into success on the field.”

Joey McGuire: “I believed they would buy into what we were going to do, but I didn’t think it would be as fast as it has been. It’s just been incredible the trust they’ve put into us and the hard work they’ve put in over the spring and summer.”

Joey McGuire on offensive coordinator Zach Kittley: “The one thing about Kittley is he’ll say ‘we have air raid concepts but we’re not a true air raid.’ We’ve been talking a lot over the last couple of years, but in the interview he said I’m going to find our best 11 players, we’re going to get them on the field, and we’re going to score a lot of points.”

Joey McGuire: “I’m a high school coach that gets to coach college football. My DNA is a high school coach.”

Joey McGuire is confident in the future of Texas Tech in the changing college landscape: “The way (Texas Tech athletic director Kirby Hocutt) approaches things puts us in a really good position.”

Joey McGuire: “When my feet hit the floor in the morning, I make the choice to be fired up and excited.”

Joey McGuire: “What’s really cool is everywhere I go, there’s a Red Raider.”

Joey McGuire: “It’s really important to this fan base to get this team right and to win games.”

Joey McGuire: “We’re not going to rotate quarterbacks, but you’re possibly going to see packages with all three of them.”

Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell

Matt Campbell: “It’s an honor to be going into our seventh season here at Iowa State.”

Matt Campbell: “There’s not an easy out for you in the football conference.”

Matt Campbell: “Greatness is never overcoming others. The ability to find greatness is overcoming yourself.”

Matt Campbell on Texas WR Tarique Milton: "Speed is probably the #1 strength that I would say he had. Honestly my favorite part about Tarique isn't that he was just this incredible football player, because he was and he made big plays for us, but really who he is as a human." pic.twitter.com/P4ni1JC0ko

— Joe Cook (@josephcook89) July 14, 2022

TCU head coach Sonny Dykes

Sonny Dykes: “Really excited to be at TCU. I think this is a great opportunity. This is a great university, this is a university that cares deeply about football. They’ve had a tremendous amount of success through the years.”

Sonny Dykes on Chandler Morris: “He comes from a football background that is very similar to mine.”

Sonny Dykes: “The strength of our offense is going to be the offensive line.”

Sonny Dykes on being an analyst: “Learned a ton. One of the things I learned was a management style that was different than mine and incredibly successful. I had a chance to adapt and learn some things.”