Ollie Gordon Leads 13 Big 12 Players on ESPN’s Top 100 College Football Players in 2023
The 2023 season has come to a close for the Big 12, marking the end of one era and the start of another. But before we get into what’s ahead in 2024, there were some big-time performances and surprise superstars around the league this season.
ESPN has released its list of the top 100 players in college football from 2023, and 13 players from the Big 12 made the list, led by Oklahoma State running back Ollie Gordon, who checks in at No. 11. The 2023 Doak Walker Award winner was undoubtedly the best running back in all of college football, and was a fringe Heisman contender when the regular season came to a close.
Here’s what ESPN had to say about Gordon, as well as a dozen other players from the Big 12.
11. Ollie Gordon, RB, Oklahoma State
Notable 2023 stats: 285 car, 1,732 yards, 21 TD
Gordon broke out this year, becoming a unanimous All-American, the Doak Walker Award winner and Big 12 Offensive Player of the Year after running for 1,732 yards and 21 TDs in the season. He had more than 250 scrimmage yards against Kansas, West Virginia and Cincinnati, the only FBS player in the past 10 years to do so in three straight games.
17. T’Vondre Sweat, DL, Texas
Notable 2023 stats: 45 total tackles, 2 sacks
The 6-4, 362-pound intimidator brought home the first Outland Trophy for Texas in 46 seasons, leading a defense that allowed just 80.9 rushing yards per game, fourth-best nationally. Despite facing double-teams all year, Sweat did it all, finishing with 45 tackles and two sacks. He also blocked a kick and caught a TD pass in the Big 12 championship game.
28. Dillon Gabriel
Notable 2023 stats: 3,660 yards, 30 TD, 6 INT
Gabriel has already moved on to Oregon, but he cemented his place as an Oklahoma legend when he became the first OU QB with at least 250 passing yards and 100 rushing yards against Texas, driving the Sooners 75 yards in 1:02 and throwing a 3-yard TD pass to Nic Anderson with 15 seconds left in a 34-30 win. He passed for 3,660 yards, 30 TDs and 6 INTs and ran for 373 yards and 12 touchdowns.
36. Cooper Beebe, OL, Kansas State
Notable 2023 stats: 1 sack allowed in 456 pass-block snaps
Kansas State’s first Outland Trophy finalist, Beebe started 48 games for the Wildcats, allowing just one sack since 2021. This year, playing mostly left guard, he helped power a run game that averaged 204 yards per game and 5.0 yards per carry.
37. Jonathon Brooks, RB, Texas
Notable 2023 stats: 1,139 yards, 10 TD
Brooks stepped into big shoes, replacing Bijan Robinson as Texas’ starter, and despite tearing his ACL late in the season against TCU, ran for 1,139 yards and 10 touchdowns in 10 games, which ranked sixth in the FBS in rushing yards and seventh in rushing yards per game (113.9 YPG). He had eight straight games with at least 98 rushing yards, including 218 against Kansas on Sept. 30. In the Big 12 championship win over Oklahoma State, coach Steve Sarkisian sent him out to get the ball on the last play of the game to commemorate his role in getting there.
56. Xavier Worthy, WR, Texas
Notable 2023 stats: 1,014 yards, 5 TD
Worthy led the team in receiving yards with 1,014 yards on 75 catches, adding five touchdowns. His presence allowed transfer Adonai Mitchell to add another 845 yards and 11 TDs opposite him, with Mitchell saying it’s wild how much attention the speedy Worthy draws. Worthy was also a catalyst on special teams, with 371 yards on punt returns this season, including a 74-yard return TD against BYU.
62. Tahj Brooks, RB, Texas Tech
Notable 2023 stats: 1,541 yards, 10 TD
After an 0-2 start, Tech rebounded to win seven games by handing the ball to Brooks. Over the final 11 games, Brooks averaged 24.6 carries and 130.2 yards. He finished with 1,541 yards, and the Red Raiders won six of his eight 100-yard games. The best news? He’s returning in 2024.
71. Will Howard, QB, Kansas State
Notable 2023 stats: 2,643 yards, 24 TD, 10 INT
In his first full season as K-State’s starter, Howard threw for 2,643 yards, rushed for 455 more (not including sacks) and produced 33 combined TDs. He produced a QBR of 82 or higher in half his games, and the Wildcats went 6-0 and averaged 43 points per game when he did so.
79. Jaylan Ford, LB, Texas
Notable 2023 stats: 47 solo tackles, 1 sack, 1 FF
Texas’ leading tackler the past two seasons, Ford had 101 total tackles with 10.5 tackles for loss, adding one sack and two interceptions. Ford, a vocal leader at linebacker for the Longhorns, was a first-team All-Big 12 selection and a semifinalist for the Butkus Award.
81. Collin Oliver, LB, Oklahoma State
Notable 2023 stats: 45 solo tackles, 6 sacks, 4 FF
After 11.5 sacks as a freshman in 2021, Oliver moved from the defensive line to linebacker in OSU’s new 3-3-5 defense this year, becoming an every-down player with 73 tackles, 6 sacks, 5 passes defended and 4 forced fumbles, including 4 tackles, 2.5 sacks and a forced fumble in a 39-32 win over Kansas on Oct. 14. He was named to the All-Big 12 second team.
86. Devin Neal, RB, Kansas
Notable 2023 stats: 1,280 yards, 16 TD
In 11 starts this year, Neal ran for 1,280 yards, fourth most in Kansas single-season history, and 16 TDs, second most in a season. He averaged 6.3 yards per carry and had six 100-yard games on the season. Against UCF, he had a 75-yard TD run. The 5-11, 215-pounder has started 31 career games for the Jayhawks.
89. Danny Stutsman, LB, Oklahoma
Notable 2023 stats: 51 solo tackles, 3, sacks, 2 FF, 1 INT
Stutsman, the Sooners’ leader on defense, led OU in tackles for the second straight year, with 104 total stops, adding 3 sacks, an interception and 2 forced fumbles despite missing half of the Kansas game and all of the Oklahoma State game, both OU losses. He was named a third-team AP All-American and is bypassing the NFL draft and returning to Oklahoma next season, big news for the Sooners.
90. Quinn Ewers, QB, Texas
Notable 2023 stats: 3,479 yards, 22 TD, 6 INT
Ewers made a big leap this season, throwing for 3,479 yards and 22 TDs to six INTs, completing 69% of his throws. He led Texas to a huge win in Tuscaloosa, going 24-of-38 for 349 yards and three TDs in a 34-24 win over then-No. 3 Alabama in a game that went a long way toward getting the Longhorns into the College Football Playoff. But those 452 yards and four TDs in the Big 12 title game against Oklahoma State didn’t hurt, either.
