I suppose the first question one might ask regarding the problem of defense in the Big 12 is, "Is there really a serious problem with defense in the Big 12 or is it merely a case of a widely-held but incorrect perception?"
While this may be a very valid question, there are two problems with even asking this question that are imperative truths regarding its potential answer. First, the most likely truthful answer is that it is a combination of both options given, rather than one or the other. Second, it doesn't matter whether it is more one or the other; the facts simply are at this point that virtually everyone outside the Big 12, and many within, view its defenses as of lesser quality than those found in other Power 5 conferences - specifically the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC. This perception is also held by those in the NFL, as the vast majority of defensive players who have been drafted and successfully transitioned into the NFL recently have largely not come from the ranks of the Big 12. Even if it is completely an incorrect perception, that last fact presents a major problem in and of itself.
Just to illustrate this particular symptom, let's look at the last two NFL drafts. There have been a total of 260 defensive players taken in the last two NFL drafts. Of those, only 14 hailed from the Big 12 conference. Compare that to 57 from the SEC. Of those 14 defensive players drafted from the Big 12, only two of them were drafted in the first three rounds. Interestingly, with 15 defensive players drafted in total and with 10 of them drafted in the first three rounds, Alabama by itself has put more overall and far more elite defensive talent into the NFL over the past two drafts than the entire Big 12 conference.
So, the next question one might ask is, "Why is there a problem with defense in the Big 12?"
I believe it primarily, if not completely, is due to the current climate of the Big 12. No, not the weather. Rather, the football-political climate. The Big 12 has become completely an offensive arms race. The effects of this race can be seen in several areas...
1. Fan attitudes.
It has become more and more prevalent to the point of seeming ubiquity that Big 12 fans are perfectly happy simply trying to outscore their opponents. While it is, always has, and likely always will be the case that whoever scores the most points wins the game, there's a big difference between merely dominating your opponent offensively and dominating your opponent in all phases of the game. Whereas most SEC fans, and certainly almost all Alabama fans, view making an effort to completely dominate in all three phases over all opponents a requirement, Big 12 fans seem to view this as a mere nicety in general and have basically resigned it to an impossibility against their best opponents.
2. Recruiting.
If every team had the same grading system for its recruiting prospects - D = not interested, C = we'll take him only if we have extra room, B = great to have and bumped only for A-level player, A = vital to our success - then the vast majority of A and B level rated players on Big 12 teams' recruiting boards would be offensive players and virtually no defensive players would garner an A rating unless, of course, they were a defensive back who was also an elite receiver and/or returner.
While it is true that a self-fulfilling perception of less-than-stellar defensive play in the Big 12 could potentially sway defensive recruits away from the conference, there are more than enough top-quality defensive players within the Big 12's footprint for the conference to get its full share of recruits. However, looking at the last four years of 247sports.com's top 250 composite recruiting rankings shows that the entire Big 12 conference has recruited during that time:
- 4 five-star defensive recruits (all to Texas)
- 20 top-100 defensive recruits (almost all to Texas or Oklahoma with most going to Texas)
- 47 top-250 defensive recruits
In contrast, Alabama by itself during that time has recruited 9 five-star, 19 top-100, and 37 top-250 defensive recruits.
If Big 12 programs were placing any sort of a priority on defensive recruiting, the entire conference would have far more top-quality recruits than any single team over a period of four years. It doesn't, which signifies that it doesn't place a priority on defensive recruiting.
3. On the field.
Actually, this is on two fields: the practice field and the playing field. By placing such an overarching emphasis on the offensive arms race throughout the conference, Big 12 defenses are at a disadvantage from the word practice. In addition to not being able to practice against smash-mouth, power football as they might face out of conference, Big 12 defenses face a much larger mental hurdle. All but fantastical seems the idea of pitching a shut-out against a quality opponent. With so many more elite athletes on the offensive side of the ball plus the added emphasis on relentless scoring, Big 12 defenses have to quickly become desensitizes to being scored against like it's prom night early in the movie Armageddon and resign themselves to merely hoping to get a few stops in any given game.
In addition, the overarching offensive philosophy of the Big 12 results in more drives and more plays being run against Big 12 defenses which, at least somewhat, does inflate their defensive stats. Over the past four seasons, Big 12 defenses play on average over 10% more plays per game against Power 5 competition than does the average Power 5 team. Now, 10% more doesn't inflate the stats enough to change the narrative of the overall quality of their defensive play but it does somewhat inflate the stats.
As a result of all of the factors, the on-field stats show a dearth of quality defensive play across the conference over the past four seasons. Looking at four key defensive stats - passing efficiency, yards per play, yards per rush, and points per game - against Power 5 competition is a fairly good barometer for overall conference quality since it weeds out aberrative results against lesser competition. Being very friendly on the first one here, let's classify a good defense as one that ranks in the top half of all Power 5 teams in all four of those stats and an elite defense as one that ranks in the top 15 in three out of four plus at least top 25 in the other.
Given those classifications, the highest number of good defenses the entire Big 12 conference has fielded in any of the past four seasons is two. For comparison, the SEC averages more elite defenses than that every year. The highest number of elite defenses the entire Big 12 conference has fielded in any of the past four seasons is zero.
Finally, the last question one might ask is, "How can it be fixed?"
The usual answer to fixing problems in college football centers around coaching hires. Unfortunately, given the current climate of the Big 12, top-shelf and even aspiring defensive coordinators would be wise to avoid taking a defensive coordinator job in the Big 12, unless a lot of guarantees are made. Being forced to place a lower priority on recruiting defensive players, having to fight an uphill mental battle from the start of spring ball with your defensive players, and having to face more snaps overall is a recipe for ugly-ing up a resume quickly. It's easier - or, more accurately, made less difficult - to improve a defensive unit at a middling program in the ACC, Big Ten, or SEC than at any program in the Big 12 if for no other reason than you're likely going to be allowed to recruit better defensive talent.
Until the overall climate of the conference shifts away from this offensive arms race where, functionally, the only priority is trying to outscore your opponents I don't see Big 12 teams being able to even hire enough quality defensive coaches, much less recruit enough defensive talent, to fix the problem of defense in the Big 12.
While this may be a very valid question, there are two problems with even asking this question that are imperative truths regarding its potential answer. First, the most likely truthful answer is that it is a combination of both options given, rather than one or the other. Second, it doesn't matter whether it is more one or the other; the facts simply are at this point that virtually everyone outside the Big 12, and many within, view its defenses as of lesser quality than those found in other Power 5 conferences - specifically the ACC, Big Ten, and SEC. This perception is also held by those in the NFL, as the vast majority of defensive players who have been drafted and successfully transitioned into the NFL recently have largely not come from the ranks of the Big 12. Even if it is completely an incorrect perception, that last fact presents a major problem in and of itself.
Just to illustrate this particular symptom, let's look at the last two NFL drafts. There have been a total of 260 defensive players taken in the last two NFL drafts. Of those, only 14 hailed from the Big 12 conference. Compare that to 57 from the SEC. Of those 14 defensive players drafted from the Big 12, only two of them were drafted in the first three rounds. Interestingly, with 15 defensive players drafted in total and with 10 of them drafted in the first three rounds, Alabama by itself has put more overall and far more elite defensive talent into the NFL over the past two drafts than the entire Big 12 conference.
So, the next question one might ask is, "Why is there a problem with defense in the Big 12?"
I believe it primarily, if not completely, is due to the current climate of the Big 12. No, not the weather. Rather, the football-political climate. The Big 12 has become completely an offensive arms race. The effects of this race can be seen in several areas...
1. Fan attitudes.
It has become more and more prevalent to the point of seeming ubiquity that Big 12 fans are perfectly happy simply trying to outscore their opponents. While it is, always has, and likely always will be the case that whoever scores the most points wins the game, there's a big difference between merely dominating your opponent offensively and dominating your opponent in all phases of the game. Whereas most SEC fans, and certainly almost all Alabama fans, view making an effort to completely dominate in all three phases over all opponents a requirement, Big 12 fans seem to view this as a mere nicety in general and have basically resigned it to an impossibility against their best opponents.
2. Recruiting.
If every team had the same grading system for its recruiting prospects - D = not interested, C = we'll take him only if we have extra room, B = great to have and bumped only for A-level player, A = vital to our success - then the vast majority of A and B level rated players on Big 12 teams' recruiting boards would be offensive players and virtually no defensive players would garner an A rating unless, of course, they were a defensive back who was also an elite receiver and/or returner.
While it is true that a self-fulfilling perception of less-than-stellar defensive play in the Big 12 could potentially sway defensive recruits away from the conference, there are more than enough top-quality defensive players within the Big 12's footprint for the conference to get its full share of recruits. However, looking at the last four years of 247sports.com's top 250 composite recruiting rankings shows that the entire Big 12 conference has recruited during that time:
- 4 five-star defensive recruits (all to Texas)
- 20 top-100 defensive recruits (almost all to Texas or Oklahoma with most going to Texas)
- 47 top-250 defensive recruits
In contrast, Alabama by itself during that time has recruited 9 five-star, 19 top-100, and 37 top-250 defensive recruits.
If Big 12 programs were placing any sort of a priority on defensive recruiting, the entire conference would have far more top-quality recruits than any single team over a period of four years. It doesn't, which signifies that it doesn't place a priority on defensive recruiting.
3. On the field.
Actually, this is on two fields: the practice field and the playing field. By placing such an overarching emphasis on the offensive arms race throughout the conference, Big 12 defenses are at a disadvantage from the word practice. In addition to not being able to practice against smash-mouth, power football as they might face out of conference, Big 12 defenses face a much larger mental hurdle. All but fantastical seems the idea of pitching a shut-out against a quality opponent. With so many more elite athletes on the offensive side of the ball plus the added emphasis on relentless scoring, Big 12 defenses have to quickly become desensitizes to being scored against like it's prom night early in the movie Armageddon and resign themselves to merely hoping to get a few stops in any given game.
In addition, the overarching offensive philosophy of the Big 12 results in more drives and more plays being run against Big 12 defenses which, at least somewhat, does inflate their defensive stats. Over the past four seasons, Big 12 defenses play on average over 10% more plays per game against Power 5 competition than does the average Power 5 team. Now, 10% more doesn't inflate the stats enough to change the narrative of the overall quality of their defensive play but it does somewhat inflate the stats.
As a result of all of the factors, the on-field stats show a dearth of quality defensive play across the conference over the past four seasons. Looking at four key defensive stats - passing efficiency, yards per play, yards per rush, and points per game - against Power 5 competition is a fairly good barometer for overall conference quality since it weeds out aberrative results against lesser competition. Being very friendly on the first one here, let's classify a good defense as one that ranks in the top half of all Power 5 teams in all four of those stats and an elite defense as one that ranks in the top 15 in three out of four plus at least top 25 in the other.
Given those classifications, the highest number of good defenses the entire Big 12 conference has fielded in any of the past four seasons is two. For comparison, the SEC averages more elite defenses than that every year. The highest number of elite defenses the entire Big 12 conference has fielded in any of the past four seasons is zero.
Finally, the last question one might ask is, "How can it be fixed?"
The usual answer to fixing problems in college football centers around coaching hires. Unfortunately, given the current climate of the Big 12, top-shelf and even aspiring defensive coordinators would be wise to avoid taking a defensive coordinator job in the Big 12, unless a lot of guarantees are made. Being forced to place a lower priority on recruiting defensive players, having to fight an uphill mental battle from the start of spring ball with your defensive players, and having to face more snaps overall is a recipe for ugly-ing up a resume quickly. It's easier - or, more accurately, made less difficult - to improve a defensive unit at a middling program in the ACC, Big Ten, or SEC than at any program in the Big 12 if for no other reason than you're likely going to be allowed to recruit better defensive talent.
Until the overall climate of the conference shifts away from this offensive arms race where, functionally, the only priority is trying to outscore your opponents I don't see Big 12 teams being able to even hire enough quality defensive coaches, much less recruit enough defensive talent, to fix the problem of defense in the Big 12.
