Also, be sure to see Defense and Overrated.
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1st Team Offense
QB Colt McCoy Texas Jr
RB Kendall Hunter Oklahoma St Jr
My apologies to a league full of good QBs, but Colt is the man. I give McCoy the edge over Bradford because of his legs (576 yards rushing, 10 TDs) and his amazing consistency with an offensive supporting cast that's debatably the league's 3rd or 4th strongest. Setting the NCAA Completion % mark and throwing for 3,445 doesn't hurt either. No team is more reliant on one player for their offensive production and Colt has come through in every game.
WR Dez Bryant So
WR Michael Crabtree So
WR Dezmon Briscoe So
TE Jermaine Gresham Jr
Bryant and Crabtree are obvious. Crabtree is the next Michael Irvin - including roommate preference. Dezmon Briscoe isn't a popular choice, but I'll happily defend Briscoe here to anyone. Amazing hands, deceptive speed, great body control. He also got his against Texas, OU, & arch rival Missouri - OU CB Brian Jackson is still looking for his jockstrap. Combined statline for those three games? 30 catches, 499 yards, 3 TDs. You can argue for any of the league's three dominant TE's and I won't debate you. They're all that good. Still, Gresham is the Goldilocks solution - a better blocker than Coffman, a more productive receiver than Pettigrew. 50 catches, 800+ yards, 12 TDs is outstanding and he did it in the games that mattered most.
OT Jason Smith Baylor Sr
OG Matt Slauson Nebraska Sr
C David Washington Oklahoma St Sr
OG Duke Robinson Oklahoma Sr
OT Russell Okung Oklahoma St Jr
In a league of mastodon OTs, I like Okung and Smith for their athleticism and motor. Picking guards in the Big 12 is best done by lots and the top six are separated only by subtle shades of mediocrity, but I love what Matt Slauson did in the running game for Helu/Lucky and OU's Duke Robinson was dominant at times despite some weird lapses. I don't dislike much-heralded Jon Cooper - he's a nice enough player working in concert with a guard, but one-on-one the elite DTs of the league heaped much abuse on him. No one really took David Washington's candy all year and that gets him the nod at center.
2nd Team Offense
QB Sam Bradford Oklahoma So
RB DeMarco Murray Oklahoma So
Bradford is the purest pro-style QB in the history of the league. Murray improved over the course of the year and he's as complete a back as you'll find - 1,000 yards rushing, 400 receiving, good on kick returns, and a very willing blocker.
WR Jordan Shipley Texas Sr (sort of)
WR Quan Cosby Sr Texas
WR Jeremy Maclin So Missouri
TE Chase Coffman Sr
I'm a huge Jeremy Maclin fan and placing him on the 2nd team feels like a dirty betrayal, but Briscoe's play against the very best in the league compelled me to place Mr Maclin down with Shipley and Cosby - not exactly slumming, mind you. Shipley is a walking receiver clinic with great quickness and the the league's best double move; Cosby is a mean SOB with 500 thread count hands. Apologies to Iglesias, a fine player who demonstrated great improvement over the course of his career. I offer you Coffman over Pettigrew with a guilty shrug. Coffman's ability to turn 3rd and 9 into a sunny day can't be discounted and Brandon missed some games. Plus Chase hurdles dudes and that means STYLE POINTS!
OT Phil Loadholt Oklahoma Sr
OG Louis Vasquez Texas Tech Sr
C JD Walton Baylor Jr
OG Cedric Dockery Texas Sr
OT Marlon Winn Texas Tech Jr
Winn is Tech's most athletic OL. Loadholt struggles with elite speed rushers when he can't spoon them, but he has great value in the run game. Vasquez is an average run blocker but an important protection anchor in Tech's interior OL. JD Walton gets the nod over Jon Cooper and Ryan Cantrell for being more physical at the point of attack. Dockery is an enigma, but he rarely gave up negative plays against a league of good DTs and he can be inspiring as a pulling blocker.
3rd Team Offense
QB Graham Harrell Texas Tech Sr
RB Chris Brown Oklahoma Jr
Graham Harrell gets the nod over a strong remaining QB field - though it's criminal to place ballers like Reesing and Daniel at Honorable Mention. Graham has tremendous accuracy and a great knowledge of his system though I despise his demeanor when faced with adversity. At RB, I'd take Tech's Baron Batch if he was healthy down the stretch, but OU's Chris Brown was just as solid as DeMarco Murray running the ball.
WR Joaquin Iglesias Oklahoma Sr
WR Brandon Banks KSU Jr
WR Kerry Meier KU Sr
TE Brandon Pettigrew Oklahoma St Sr
Sorry, Joaquin - you picked the wrong year to be good in a conference of receiving greats. Brandon Banks is Herkie Walls II and Meier is as consistent a possession receiver as I've seen. Pettigrew on the 3rd team seems as wrong to me as Maclin on the 2nd, but I had to make tough choices. Pettigrew missed a few games and OSU's weakness at RT in pass protection made him stay in a bit more than I would have liked. He's a more dominating blocker on the edge than 90% of the tackles in the league.
OT Adam Ulatoski Texas Jr
OG Kurt Gregory Missouri Jr
C Jon Cooper Oklahoma Sr
OG Adrian Mayes Kansas Sr
OT Dan Gay Baylor Sr
Ulatoski cost himself 2nd team status with his play against A&M - he was our best OL all year though. Adrian Mayes and Kurt Gregory aren't that great, but I just couldn't pull the trigger on Tech's Brandon Carter, who was abused by good DTs when he wasn't putting on a holding demo. Dan Gay is an athletic OT in the Jason Smith mold.