Richard Reese Named to 2023 Pre-Season All Big 12 Team

The Big 12 released its pre-season all-conference team today, naming Baylor’s Richard Reese as one of the top 2 running backs in the conference. Reese is the only Baylor player honored for 2023, after 5 players were honored ahead of the 2022 season.

Reese had a stellar freshman campaign, racking up 972 yards on 198 attempts in a crowded backfield. He added 14 rushing TDs and 89 receiving yards on 13 catches. The rookie back was one of the bright spots on a 2022 offense that left much to be desired from the Baylor faithful. With a full season under his belt, another offseason of learning the offense, and a clear road to being the number one back for the team, expect to see much more of the success we saw last season. At least the media voters who submit ballots for the pre-season think so. That includes me, as I included Reese (and a handful of other Baylor players) on my official ballot.

Reese is joined by Kansas’ Devin Neal in the RB room for the pre-season honor, while Kansas State RB Treshaun Ward was selected as Newcomer of the Year, but did not make it on the pre-season team. Kansas also landed its QB, Jalon Daniels on the list. Daniels was voted not only as the top rated QB, but also as the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year. Kansas tied with Kansas State and Texas on the offensive side of the ball, with 3 selections each. Baylor, Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, BYU, TCU, and West Virginia each had 1 player selected for offense. Oklahoma, Cincinnati, Iowa State, UCF, and Houston were all left without an offensive player selected.

On the defensive side of the ball, Baylor was left without a selection. In 2022 the Bears had Siaki Ika and Dillon Doyle selected. The Bears were not alone in being left out on defense, though. Similar to the offensive team, Houston and UCF did not land a player (making them the only teams without an all-conference selection), as well as BYU and West Virginia also not having a defensive player selected. TCU led the way on defense, with 3 players. Oklahoma State, Texas, and Cincinnati each had 2 players, while Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Iowa State, Kansas, and Kansas State each had 1 player selected.

Texas LB Jaylan Ford was named Defensive Player of the Year, a solid selection considering his level of play and the hype around his abilities heading into this season after being a first team all-conference selection after the 2022 campaign.

Overall, Texas had the most players selected with 5. Kansas, Kansas State, and TCU each had 4 players taken, while Oklahoma State had 3, Texas Tech and Cincinnati had 2, and Baylor, BYU, West Virginia, Oklahoma, and Iowa State each had 1 player selected.

big12sports.com

What are your thoughts on the pre-season selections? Who was left out and who shouldn’t be there?