Big 12 football 2018 preview: Breakout stars, biggest games, predictions

Breakout star to watch-Kyler Murray, QB, Oklahoma

Oklahoma hopes Murray is the breakout player in the Big 12. He certainly has big enough shoes to fill. Mayfield threw for 12,292 yards and 119 touchdowns as the three-year starter for the Sooners.

Murray has an elite pedigree, as he was a five-star recruit out of Allen, Texas in 2015. He started his career at Texas A&M in 2015, sharing time at quarterback with Kyle Allen. As an Aggie, Murray completed 72-of-121 passes for 686 yards, with a 5-7 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

Serving as Mayfield’s backup, Murray made three appearances for Oklahoma in 2017. Two in blowout wins and one when Mayfield served a partial-game suspension. He completed 18-of-21 passes for 359 yards and three touchdowns.

Murray is a dual-threat quarterback. He has run the ball 67 times in his college career for 477 yards, and an average of 7.1 yards per carry. As mentioned above, Murray doubles as an outfielder for the Oklahoma baseball team, and will pursue a professional career on the diamond instead of the gridiron after this season.

Oklahoma has plenty of help to offer Murray as he takes over under center. Five Sooners were named to the preseason All-Big 12 team on the offensive side of the ball. Running back Rodney Anderson, as mentioned above, is a candidate for Offensive Player of the Year. He and offensive lineman Ben Powers were named All-Big 12 Second-Team in 2017.

Wide receiver Marquise Brown, tight end Grant Calcaterra and offensive lineman Bobby Evans were also on the team and were honorable mention All-Big 12 in 2017.