Prepping for the NFL: How Big 12 coaches compare at developing defensive stars

Bryan Fischer

College Football Writer

Editor’s note: This is part of an ongoing series on how college coaches fare at developing players for the NFL. Check out previous stories on Big 12 offensive players, Pac-12 offensive players, Pac-12 defensive players, Big Ten offensive players and Big Ten defensive players.

As much as the Big 12 has earned the reputation for being a conference that throws the ball around on nearly every snap and is the home to a shootout during every TV window of every weekend, the pendulum has started to swing back to becoming much tougher and defensive-minded than the league has ever been.

Toss in a wave of new hires with “defensive coordinator” listed on their résumé, plus a handful of newcomers who know the importance of defense, and one can understand how the ethos of the Big 12 has started to re-focus on actually getting stops when things matter most nowadays. 

Despite all that, everyone understands that college football remains mostly driven by the underlying principle of having better players than your opponent. Before you even get to the Xs and Os that are on display each Saturday, having the Jimmys and the Joes tends to be the best prognosticator of success on the field.

But just how good are coaches when it comes to finding all those good players and, well, coaching them up?

Following the 2023 NFL Draft, FOX Sports pulled decades worth of recruiting data and looked into just how productive (or not) each active Power 5 coach was at both recruiting and developing players — and at what positions — when it came to the ultimate eye in the sky of the NFL.

More stories on ‘Prepping for the NFL’

In the sixth part of a series about developing talent in college football, here’s a look at how some of the coaches in the Big 12 have fared over the years at producing defensive talent:

Defensive ends

The Best: Dana Holgorsen (Houston)
Others of note: Gus Malzahn (UCF), Steve Sarkisian (Texas), Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State)
Surprisingly disappointing: Kalani Sitake (BYU)

Given that so many current Big 12 coaches call offensive plays, perhaps it’s not completely abnormal to see slightly lower production on the defensive side of the ball. Still, it’s a bit eye-catching that despite a collective 131 seasons spent as head coaches in college football, the 14 active coaches in the conference have produced just 23 drafted defensive ends over the years. One would think that the more opportunities the pass-happy league would offer, the better showcase for pass rushers off the edge, but that hasn’t quite been the case.

Houston’s Dana Holgorsen still seems to know what to look for and has helped his defensive staff really develop some prospects over the years. His very first draft pick while coaching at West Virginia was Bruce Irvin, a former two-star recruit who went the junior college route before winding up in the first round. With the Cougars, Payton Turner had a similar trajectory outside his JUCO stop, rising from two-star in 2017 all the way to the point where the New Orleans Saints traded up to get him in the first round.

In fact, three of the four defensive ends Holgorsen has coached to the league wound up as top-100 picks, and none of the four were rated higher than two-stars coming out of high school. That’s really making diamonds out of the rough.

Texas’ Steve Sarkisian has also done okay in terms of defensive end development, having had at least one drafted at all three of his coaching stops, with two of the three being rated three-stars. The exception was Leonard Williams while at USC, who eventually became a top-10 pick and more than confirmed his high four-star label from his prep days in Florida.

Now at UCF, Gus Malzahn has a built-in advantage, having coached in the league Sarkisian will soon join — the SEC. While his overall total of three in 11 seasons doesn’t stand out, he has had two of the three go in the top 100 and has recruited two five-stars at the position who were both drafted as well. Lone first-rounder Dee Ford carried the banner in terms of development, rising from a three-star into the first round.

That’s something that hasn’t really happened all that much for BYU’s Kalani Sitake, whose track record is surprising given the reputation he has and the quality defenses he’s produced. Sitake hasn’t had a single defensive end drafted (and just one defensive lineman period) during his seven years in charge in Provo, Utah.

Defensive Tackles

The Best: Gus Malzahn (UCF)
Others of note: Steve Sarkisian (Texas)

While six Big 12 coaches haven’t had a big defensive tackle drafted during their tenures, Malzahn seems to be making up the shortfall by having produced six of them over the course of his career. This includes his lone selection while in charge at UCF — former two-star Kalia Davis in 2022 — and five during his time at Auburn. 

Three of those five wound up as top-100 players. Among the group, ex-five-star Derrick Brown lived up to his prep label after going seventh overall in 2020, while fellow five-star Montravius Adams was taken on Day 2. Angelo Blackson rounded out the trio as a solid development project having been a former three-star.

Elsewhere around the Big 12, there’s really not much else to note. Of the eight active coaches who have had a DT drafted, Sarkisian is the only coach besides Malzahn to have more than one. Both Keondre Coburn this past draft and Alameda Ta’amu while at Washington were former four-stars, too, but didn’t get selected until Day 3 of the draft. 

Linebackers

The Best: Steve Sarkisian (Texas)
Others of note: Kalani Sitake (BYU), Dana Holgorsen (Houston)
Surprisingly disappointing: Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State)

Despite being an old quarterback who got tackled by linebackers too many times for comfort, Sarkisian has a pretty good record producing linebackers.

The Texas coach has had the most total selections at the position in the Big 12, and over the course of his nine seasons had at least one taken across all three of his tenures in charge of a program. More impressive, three of the four have been top-100 picks, including DeMarvion Overshown going in the third round to the Dallas Cowboys this past spring. He, like former USC linebacker Hayes Pullard, was a four-star coming out of high school, while the other two were three-stars in Mason Foster and Donald Butler.

That’s a nearly unmatched combination of quality and quantity, even if the latter could possibly be a tick higher given the locales where Sarkisian has coached.

Not far behind is Sitake, who has seen both of his linebackers taken within the first three rounds. Former four-star Fred Warner has blossomed into one of the best to play the position after being taken 70th overall, too.

If there is somebody on the opposite end of the spectrum in terms of production, it’s OSU’s Mike Gundy. Despite being around for 18 seasons, he’s had just two drafted — both in the 2022 class with “Hard Knocks” star Malcolm Rodriguez and fellow sixth-rounder Devin Harper. It’s tough to say what is more telling on the lack of development at the position: waiting 17 years for your first linebacker to be drafted; or averaging only one LB per decade through a lengthy coaching career.

Defensive backs

The Best: Dana Holgorsen (Houston)
Others of note: Gus Malzahn (UCF), Dave Aranda (Baylor), Steve Sarkisian (Texas), Mike Gundy (Oklahoma State)

On the back end of the defense, Holgorsen’s nine defensive backs drafted is tied for the most among active Big 12 coaches. He gets the edge over fellow league newcomer Malzahn, though, for finding more under-the-radar recruits and sending them to the next level.

Consider that of the DBs drafted under Holgorsen, just two were considered four-stars or better, and both went in the third and fourth round, respectively. Conversely, seven of Malzahn’s nine defensive backs were rated as four-stars coming out of high school. The current Houston coach also has the edge (4-to-3) in defensive backs taken in the top 100. 

Beyond those lofty absolute numbers, the only other coach that really comes close — and it’s mostly due to length of tenure — is Gundy. He’s sent eight members of the secondary to the NFL, including at least one in each of the past three drafts. However, just one of those has gone inside the top 100.

One coach who is trending up in this department, despite just three full campaigns under his belt, is Dave Aranda. The cerebral defensive mind had three defensive backs go in just the 2022 draft alone. Two of them, Jalen Pitre and J.T. Woods, wound up in the first 80 picks, which is noteworthy considering both were former three-stars.

Fellow Big 12 and Lone Star State coach Sarkisian has yet to have a secondary player drafted while in Austin. However, he can lay claim to four defensive backs over the years prior, including first-rounder Desmond Trufant emerging from his first recruiting class at Washington with an initial three-star ranking.

Bryan Fischer is a college football writer for FOX Sports. He has been covering college athletics for nearly two decades at outlets such as NBC Sports, CBS Sports, Yahoo! Sports and NFL.com among others. Follow him on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.

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