Jake Trotter, ESPN Staff Writer 9y

Big 12 morning links

As Ron Burgundy would say, that escalated quickly...

  • Remember Devonte Fields, who was the preseason Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year before getting booted from TCU in late July? Well, Fields, who spent last year at Trinity Valley (Texas) Community College, is taking a visit to Louisville this weekend. Our man Max Olson, by the way, broke the story. Hopefully Fields has his life in order, and is able to put his football career back on track. No doubt, Fields is an immense talent with loads of potential. Which, considering they did it without Fields, makes the Horned Frogs' remarkable 2014 turnaround all the more remarkable. 

  • Speaking of the Horned Frogs, ex-TCU cornerback Kevin White was one of the "winners" from the Senior Bowl over the weekend, according to NFL.com's Chase Goodbread. "White showed the skills needed to play either cornerback or nickelback," Goodbread wrote, "and such versatility could help his draft status significantly." Goodbread wasn't so high on former Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty, though the writer noted Petty had the quickest release of any Senior Bowl QB.

  • Texas' recruiting class got more good news when ESPN 300 wideout John Burt committed back to the Longhorns after reopening his recruitment earlier this month and giving Auburn a hard look. The Longhorns now have 10 ESPN 300 commitmentsInsider and counting. New wide receivers coach Jay Norvell, who had previously been an assistant at Oklahoma since 2008, has already begun to make an impact in Austin; he appeared to have a hand in Burt's reaffirmation.

  • New Kansas coach David Beaty continued his delve into the Lone Star State, landing a pair of Texas prospects in College Station receiver Jeremiah Booker and Dorance Armstrong, a three-star defensive end from Houston. The Jayhawks did lose DeSoto, Texas, receiver Kevin Thomas to SMU over the weekend. But Beaty now has 16 commitments on board from the state of Texas. That is a development that should excite the Kansas fan base.

  • Former Oklahoma offensive coordinator Josh Heupel has landed on his feet as the playcaller at Utah State, noted The Oklahoman's Berry Tramel. Heupel had some great seasons as a QB coach at OU, then some good ones as the offensive coordinator. After the Sooners struggled to an 8-5 finish with a pistol zone-read that Heupel never seemed comfortable calling, he ultimately became the fall guy. But Heupel should look no further than Manny Diaz for inspiration of how to bounce back. After flaming out at Texas, Diaz went to Louisiana Tech and coordinated a top-40 defense. Now, he's back in the Power 5 as the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State. Likewise, Heupel could make a quick bounce back.

^ Back to Top ^