It’s time, once again, to work our way through the summer with our Big 12 position rankings. With these posts we give our opinions on each of the offensive and defensive position groups and rank them from first to worst. We only defend our top three and bottom two in the rankings and while we’re sure to say something that’s out of this world crazy it’s also a great way to get football conversations going. So, enjoy and make sure to sound off with your opinions in the comments section below.
This time around the Heartland Sports writers give their take on the defensive lines across the conference, ranking them from first to worst. Then they are asked to defend their top three and bottom two rankings.
The consensus rankings below come from a points system. A first place selection is worth 14 points, second place is 13 points, and they continue in descending order with tenth place equaling 1 point.
Heartland Sports Consensus Defensive Line Rankings
| RANKING | POINTS |
|---|---|
| 1. Cincinnati | 41 |
| 2. Texas | 38 |
| 3. Oklahoma | 37 |
| 4. Kansas State | 28 |
| 4. Texas Tech | 28 |
| 6. TCU | 25 |
| 7. Baylor | 22 |
| 8. UCF | 20 |
| 9. Houston | 19 |
| 10. BYU | 17 |
| 11. Iowa State | 11 |
| 12. Oklahoma State | 9 |
| 12. Kansas | 9 |
| 14. West Virginia | 8 |
Unanimity – The Big 12 has expanded to 14 teams but we couldn’t agree across the board on any of them.
Almost Agreed – We were close on seven different programs but we never found a unanimous selection. That leaves a lot of room for discussion though.
All Over The Place – Two of us had Houston in the middle, at #7, but one of us had them all the way down at #12. One of us was also pretty high on BYU while the other two of us absolutely weren’t.
Individual Thoughts And Rankings
Craig
1. Cincinnati | The Bearcats will be returning two first team All-AAC tackles in Dontay Corleone and Jowon Briggs. Cincinnati is deep on the defensive line as well. Justin Wodtly came off the bench last season and recorded 31 tackles. Eric Phillips is returning as well who led the team in tackles for loss last season with 8. If the Bearcats plan on making a big entrance into the Big 12, it starts with the defensive line.
2. Oklahoma | The Sooners are the only team in the Big 12 to feature two of the highest graded pass rushers. Edge rushers Ethan Downs and Rondell Bothroyd are set to lead the way for the Oklahoma defense in 2023. However, they lost a lot of talent in the middle and will need some defensive tackles to step up.
3. BYU | BYU will need a few others guys to step up in 2023 but by returning Tyler Batty the Cougars will be one of the biggest defensive threats in the trenches.
4. Texas
5. Kansas State
6. TCU
7. Texas Tech
8. Kansas
9. Baylor
10. Iowa State
11. UCF
12. Houston
13. Oklahoma State | The Cowboys are facing a huge turnover on the defensive side of the ball in 2023. Arguably the hardest hit position would be the defensive line. There is a small glimmer of hope in Collin Oliver who returns as a junior and one of the most experienced defensive guys in the conference.
14. West Virginia | The Mountaineers had one of the worst defenses in the conference a year ago. Now they will have big shoes to fill in 2023 as their only guy up front Dante Stills is gone.
Zack
1. Cincinnati | The Bearcats are new to the Big 12, and they are bringing some heat with them. Dontay Corleone could be the best defensive lineman in the country, and with Jowon Briggs by his side, teams will struggle to find any room running the ball against Cincy’s front line.
2. Texas | The Longhorns had one of the best rush defenses in the Big 12 last season, and they should do the same again in 2023 as they return a lot of experience. T’Vondre Sweat is a fifth year senior who was an honorable mention for All-Big 12 last season, and Byron Murphy II is primed to have a big year after acting as a primary reserve for the last two years.
3. Oklahoma | The Sooners were pretty awful defensively last season, but that should improve in a big way this season. Ethan Downs was an All-Big 12 Second Team selection last season, and he’s just a junior, and highly-touted incoming transfer Rondell Bothroyd should have a big impact as he plays his final season of college football as a Sooner. Also, don’t forget about Trace Ford. If he can stay healthy, he could make major waves.
4. Texas Tech
5. Baylor
6. UCF
7. Houston
8. Kansas State
9. TCU
10. Oklahoma State
11. Iowa State
12. West Virginia
13. BYU | The Cougars enter the Big 12 with a questionable defensive line. Tyler Batty is a solid edge rusher, but the Big 12 is a new animal compared to what they’re used to seeing.
14. Kansas | Even though the Jayhawks made major improvements last season, they still struggled to stop the run. With a couple of new faces in Lawrence, it will be Interesting to see if the Kansas defense is any good up front, but for now, they start at the bottom.
Matt
1. Texas | T’Vondre Sweat had a career season in 2022 (30 total tackles, 10 solo tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, and four pass breakups) and returns, for a fifth season, to the 40 Acres to be the man in the middle of what should be a dominant Longhorn defensive line. If he’s the guy that everyone believes he will be upfront then the Longhorns will be a dominant force in the trenches. Sweat will be joined up front by juniors Byron Murphy and Barryn sorrell.
2. Cincinnati | If the Bearcats struggle to adjust to life in the Big 12 it won’t be because of the guys up front. Dontay Corleone was rated as Pro Football Focus’ highest rated defensive player in 2022. He’ll be joined by a pair of experienced seniors on the line with Malik Vann and Jowon Briggs.
3. Oklahoma | The Sooners reached into the transfer portal to pick up defensive end Rondell Bothroyd from Wake Forest. He is coming off a fantastic spring and will be a nice addition to a core of Ethan Downs, Isaiah Coe, and Jordan Kelly.
4. Kansas State
5. TCU
6. Texas Tech
7. Houston
8. UCF
9. Baylor
10. Iowa State
11. West Virginia
12. BYU
13. Oklahoma State | Losing Jacob Lacey to the transfer portal may not be as big of a deal as it appears but for right now it seems really significant. The Cowboys snatched Justin Kirkland from the portal (Utah Tech) and he appears to have locked in a starting spot in the middle. He’ll be surrounded by a pair of redshirt senior defensive ends, with Nathan Latu on one side and Kody Walterscheid on the other.
14. Kansas | As the conference expands the opportunities for Kansas to be at the bottom of these lists should decrease. However, this won’t be the case here. Defensive end Hayden Hatcher played in 12 games for the Jayhawks last season. He’ll be joined up front by transfers Devin Phillips (Colorado State) and Gage Keys (Minnesota).
Follow us on Twitter: @SportsHeartland