While some Big 12 teams are being hammered with departures on the offensive line, like UCF graduating all five starters, others are heading into 2024 as strong as ever, like Cincinnati returning all five along the line. Other teams like TCU and Kansas State are losing both tackles, while Oklahoma State and Baylor return both bookends.
Such is life in the modern college football world. With so many changes across the board, let’s look at how the 2024 Big 12 OT Rankings stack up ahead of the upcoming campaign.
2024 Big 12 OT Rankings
10) Savion Washington, RT, Colorado Buffalos
After three seasons at Kent State (2020-2022) with 12 starts, Savion Washington transferred to Colorado before last season. He started nine games at RT in a tough season for the Buffalos.
The Buffs’ blocking wasn’t pretty last season, but Washington is a massive returner (6’8″, 320 pounds) heading into his final season with LT Gerad Christian-Lichtenhan transferring to Oregon State.
9) Caleb Rogers, LT/RT, Texas Tech Red Raiders
A four-year starter across multiple positions for the Red Raiders, Caleb Rogers is back for a fifth season in Lubbock. He has started 42 consecutive games at either right or left tackle dating back to his true freshman season, including 13 at right tackle last season.
The 6’5″, 310-pound super senior could man the left side in 2024 with Monroe Mills transferring to Louisville.
8) James Neal, LT, Iowa State Cyclones
James Neal went to Junior College to start his career, playing one season at Independence CC (the same school featured in Last Chance U) before joining the Cyclones in 2022. After no starts in two appearances and taking a redshirt his first year, he started all 13 games at left tackle for the Cyclones last season.
The 6’6″, 330-pound tackle still has two seasons left as he heads into his junior year as the clear starter on QB Rocco Becht’s blindside.
7) Jake Springfield, RT, Oklahoma State Cowboys
Starting his career as a walk-on in 2019, Jake Springfield was put on scholarship after his first year. Since then, he has started 40 games for the Cowboys, including 11 at right tackle last season. Listed at 6’6″, 323 pounds, Springfield was a 2022 All-Big 12 Honorable Mention after starting all 13 games that season.
After a redshirt in 2019 and open eligibility in 2020, Springfield is back for a sixth season on a strong OSU OL unit.
6) Deondre Buford, RT, Cincinnati Bearcats
Deondre Buford transferred to Cincy after three seasons at Kentucky. After starting just twice for the Wildcats in that time, Buford started all 12 games at right tackle his first season with the Bearcats, helping one of the best rush attacks in the nation.
MORE: 2024 Big 12 Weekly Football Schedule
The 6’4″, 318-pound, fifth-year senior helped pave the way for the fifth-best rushing offense in the country (217 yards per game), and he’ll be back, along with the four other OL starters for Cincinnati.
5) John Williams, LT, Cincinnati Bearcats
John Williams waited in the wings for his turn with the Bearcats for four seasons, starting only three times in 2021 with 28 total appearances from 2020-2022. He finally got his chance in 2023 and made the most of it, starting all 12 games at left tackle for one of the top OL units in the country.
It wasn’t a great year for Cincy (3-9), but they return every piece of one of its strongest units with all five OLs back, including the 6’5″, 320-pound Williams.
4) Spencer Fano, LT, Utah Utes
Spencer Fano’s quick ascent into the top five of the 2024 Big 12 OT Rankings is partly due to attrition, but the main factor was his fantastic true freshman season. Fano was named 2023 CFN Freshman All-American First Team selection after starting all 13 games for the Utes.
The 6’5″, 304-pound sophomore is back with Utah to capitalize on his strong freshman campaign.
3) Dalton Cooper, LT, Oklahoma State Cowboys
With 47 career starts at left tackle, 34 at Texas State (2019-2022), and 13 at Oklahoma State last year, Dalton Cooper is headed towards his sixth season, second in Stillwater, as the elder statesman in the Big 12 OT Rankings. He was instrumental for an offense line that ignited the Big 12’s leading rusher, Ollie Gordon II.
At 6’7″, 311 pounds, Cooper is back, along with a handful of other key offensive players like Gordon II, QB Alan Bowman, and fellow OT Jake Springfield, for an OSU offense that finished 4th in the conference in passing (276.5 yards per game).
2) Jonah Savaiinaea, RT, Arizona Wildcats
A 6’5, 335-pound true junior from Tafuna, American Somoa, Jonah Savaiinaea has been a full-time starter since he arrived in Tuscon from high school.
He’s started all 25 games the last two seasons, allowing just two sacks in 889 snaps last season. A Freshman All-American at RG in 2022, Savaiinaea showed off his versatility last year, starting 10 games at right tackle and two at right guard.
With left tackle Jordan Morgan off to the NFL, Savaiianea may have to show off that versatility further in 2024, but he’s proven he’s up for the task.
1) Wyatt Milum, LT, West Virginia Mountaineers
A regular starter since he was a true freshman in 2021, Wyatt Milum has been a consistent rock for the Mountaineers offensive line since he arrived. He didn’t give up a sack in eight starts as a true freshman at RT before starting all 12 games at LT in 2022. He earned 2023 All-Big 12 Second Team at LT after starting all 12 games for the Mountaineers last fall.
KEEP READING: 2024 Big 12 QB Rankings
Milum, listed at 6’6″, 312 pounds, is the unquestioned leader of West Virginia’s strong OL unit that propelled the top rushing attack in the conference (229 yards per game).
2024 Big 12 OT Rankings | 11-20
11) Campbell Barrington, Baylor
12) Alvin Ebosele, Baylor
13) Caleb Etienne, BYU
14) Carver Willis, Kansas State
15) Tanoa Togiai, Utah
16) Max Iheananchor, Arizona State
17) Nick Malone, West Virginia
18) Ty Buchanan, Texas Tech
19) Shamar Hobdy-Lee, Houston
20) Calvin Clements, Kansas
Miss any action from the top college QB Rankings during the 2023 football season? Want to track all the movement with the college football transfer portal? College Football Network has you covered with that and more!