CU Buffs picked 11th in Big 12 preseason poll, Travis Hunter the DPOY | Tyler's Rapid Reaction

Tyler King's Rapid Reaction:

It’s bulletin-board season for Deion Sanders and Colorado.

After the Buffaloes officially rejoined the Big 12 on Monday, there isn’t much confidence they’ll fare much better in 2024 than they did in Coach Prime’s first season — and the program’s last in the Pac-12.

The Big 12 preseason poll, as voted on by the conference’s media, was released Tuesday. CU was picked to finish 11th in the new-look, 16-team conference.

Only Baylor, BYU, Cincinnati, Houston and fellow newcomer Arizona State were picked to finish behind the Buffs.

I’ll reveal my full picks for conference standings and player awards next week in a preview story leading into Big 12 football media days in Las Vegas, but here are my quick thoughts:

The skepticism that CU will suddenly take a massive jump in year two of the Coach Prime era is understandable.

After a 3-0 start caused everyone in Boulder and around the country to quickly raise expectations, the Buffs crashed to earth in Pac-12 play, won only one game in the final eight weeks and finished 4-8.

There was plenty of roster overhaul again this offseason — as will be the norm every year Sanders sticks around. While there was undoubtedly a talent influx on the roster, stability and continuity among both player personnel and the coaching staff are the key to success in college football.

CU doesn’t have a ton of that with a starting lineup that probably will feature 12-13 newcomers and a pair of new coordinators running the offense and defense.

The part of the preseason poll that gets confusing is on the awards side.

Travis Hunter was selected as the preseason defensive player of the year and was joined by quarterback Shedeur Sanders and defensive lineman B.J. Green II (an Arizona State transfer) on the all-conference team.

Is a team with the best quarterback and defensive player really going to finish 11th in the conference?

Last year's Buffs are an example that high-end talent doesn’t guarantee success. But the talent around the likes of Hunter and Shedeur is improved, and that the team is playing in a weaker conference than last year’s Pac-12. It's hard to see a world in which Coach Prime’s team isn’t in the top half of the new-look Big 12.

Preseason Big 12 media poll

1. Utah (20 first-place votes)

2. Kansas State (19)

3. Oklahoma State (14)

4. Kansas (5)

5. Arizona (3)

6. Iowa State

7. West Virginia

8. UCF

9. Texas Tech

10. TCU

11. Colorado

12. Baylor

13. BYU

14. Cincinnati

15. Houston

16. Arizona State

Preseason Big 12 awards

Offensive player of the year

Ollie Gordon II, RB, Oklahoma State

Defensive player of the year

Travis Hunter, DB, Colorado

Newcomer of the year

KJ Jefferson, QB, UCF

Preseason all-Big 12 team

Offense

QB Shedeur Sanders, Colorado

RB Ollie Gordon II*, Oklahoma State

RB Tahj Brooks, Texas Tech

FB Stevo Klotz, Iowa State

WR Tetairoa McMillan, Arizona

WR Kobe Hudson, UCF

WR Jayden Higgins, Iowa State

WR Brennan Presley, Oklahoma State

TE Brant Kuithe, Utah

OL Jonah Savaiinaea, Arizona

OL Luke Kandra, Cincinnati

OL Dalton Cooper, Oklahoma State

OL Joe Michalski, Oklahoma State

OL Wyatt Milum, West Virginia

* - unanimous selection

Defense

DL Tyler Batty, BYU

DL Dontay Corleone, Cincinnati

DL B.J. Green II, Colorado

DL Lee Hunter, UCF

DL Junior Tafuna, Utah

LB Jacob Manu, Arizona

LB Nick Martin, Oklahoma State

LB Collin Oliver, Oklahoma State

DB Tacario Davis, Arizona

DB Travis Hunter, Colorado

DB Jeremiah Cooper, Iowa State

DB Cobee Bryant, Kansas

DB Mello Dotson, Kansas

Special Teams

PK Tyler Loop, Arizona

P Jack Bouwmeester, Utah

KR/PR Drae McCray