Taken in and of itself, the presence of only one Big 12 player in Daniel Jeremiah's Talented Top 50 isn't necessarily some damning indictment of the conference's talent level compared to the rest of college football.
Baylor guard Cyril Richardson just missed out, Jeremiah said in a phone call Thursday morning following his appearance on "NFL AM." TCU corner Jason Verrett and defensive end Devonte Fields were also under consideration for the list, which Jeremiah noted will change as he continues to watch film.
If Texas A&M were still in the Big 12, it would be a different story. The Aggies have three players in Jeremiah's top 29, including the ubiquitous Johnny Football.
But taken in concern with the preseason media poll and all-conference team, signs of a creeping talent drain begin to emerge. Six teams received at least one first-place vote. Preseason favorite Oklahoma State was on the top line of only 15 of the 43 ballots cast, which speaks to the lack of a dominant power.
Oklahoma had only two players recognized, the lowest total since head coach Bob Stoops' first season back in 1999, as The Oklahoman noted. Texas produced four, three from a defense that allowed 29 points and 400 yards per game last season.
The root cause, as it almost always is in college football, comes back to recruiting. The historic powers have whiffed on some major talents in recent years, while the players they did sign have not panned out. Big 12 schools inked all but three of Rivals' top 20 in the state of Texas back in 2011, but superstars have not emerged from that crop.
The returns were better in 2012, but the Big 12 failed to protect their home turf. Teams from outside the conference signed 16 of the top 40 in the Lone Star state over the two most recent recruiting classes, and with seven already pledging for the Class of 2014, four to the now-trendy Aggies, that trend shows no signs of stopping.
Even the one Big 12 player that did make Jeremiah's top 50, Baylor running back Lache Seastrunk, originally signed with Oregon.
And that is something to worry about.
Follow Dan Greenspan on Twitter @DanGreenspan.
