Big 12

Over the past few months, the blog has received many, many -- MANY -- notes like these:

Engelbert from Topeka writes : Hey, when are you going to change the name to the Pac-12 blog?

Myrtle from Papua, New Guinea, writes : The only thing more distasteful than your constant favoring of every team other than Oregon and your indefensible determination to prioritize what NFL scouts say about Jake Locker over the opinions of more knowledgeable Oregon fans is that your blog is still called the Pac-10 blog when it should be the Pac-12 blog. You should be boiled in oil after being forced to watch a "Jersey Shore" marathon. How can you live with yourself?

Your notes and tweets and entreaties have been answered.

Look around. The blog made its official transition Monday. Some of you noticed, too.

The change was made because some smart people did extra work in the home office in Bristol, Conn. The Pac-10 doesn't officially become the Pac-12 until July 1. You might notice the conference continues to officiallycall itself the Pac-10, in large part because sports seasons are still on-going with Pac-10 teams, just as Colorado and Utah are still part of theBig 12andMountain West, officially.

But we are now moving forward as a big, happy family of 12.

Ah, but my mailbag just won't be the same.

Tags:

Pac-10 general,Pac-10,USC Trojans,Washington State Cougars,Oregon State Beavers,Jake Locker,Mountain West,Washington Huskies,UCLA Bruins,Arizona State Sun Devils,California Bears,Stanford Cardinal,Big 12,Colorado Buffaloes,NFL,Arizona Wildcats,Oregon Ducks,Utah

TUCSON, Ariz. --Nick Folesand Seth Littrell almost sound sympathetic. The Arizona quarterback and offensive coordinator realize that it's not easy for a secondary to match up with oneJuron Criner. So it figures to be even more taxing to matchup with two.

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Chris Morrison/US Presswire Arizona has high expectations for receiver Dan Buckner, a transfer from the Texas Longhorns who sat out last season.

Criner, the Pac-10's best receiver in 2010, is 6-foot-4, 210 pounds. Texas transferDan Buckneris 6-4, 220. He caught 45 passes for 442 yards and four touchdowns in 2009 and ranked as the Longhorns' No. 3 receiver as a true sophomore.

Gifted with size and speed, both will present matchup problems. Secondaries that would prefer to double-cover Criner might find that Buckner has the ability to punish them for taking that approach.

"He's a hard matchup, I would think, for a lot of corners," Littrell said. "He's definitely a deep threat. If people want to play tight coverage on him, he's a matchup problem. If people want to matchup with Juron and try to bracket Juron, you're going to leave someone one-on-one. So pick your poison. If a team wants [to double Criner], I'm fine with that."

Then, when you toss in the Wildcats' other receivers --David Douglas,David RobertsandRichard Morrison-- well, suffice it to say that more than a few defensive coordinators will be stressed in advance of facing the Wildcats' passing attack.

"We've got a great receiving corps. We don't have just one guy. We have several guys," Foles said. "If I were teams, I'd still try to bracket [Criner]. They probably will try to make us beat them elsewhere. But [bracketing Criner] is going to be tough to do with the receivers we have."

Buckner is the wild card. Though his performance fell off over the final half of the 2009 season, keep in mind that he was good enough to be a contributor to a team that played for the national title. He's not your typical transfer who arrives with only message-board fanfare and then turns out to be one of those "looks like Tarzan, plays like Jane" sorts.

Of course, there's a backstory. Buckner is in Tucson -- he sat out last season due to NCAA transfer rules -- because he got into trouble at Texas. He was arrested in College Station, Texas in January of 2010 on charges of criminal trespassing and resisting arrest. TheArizona Daily Star, citing police reports, said Buckner "was visiting a female acquaintance in College Station, Texas, when a dispute broke out. Officers arrived on the scene, but couldn’t get him to leave."

"I got into some trouble and made some bad decisions like a lot of people do. I needed a change. I needed to get out of there," Buckner said. "I think it was a blessing in disguise. I feel like it humbled me. I've seen things in life that I may not have seen."

Buckner, described as "goofy" by Foles, doesn't seem like a bad seed. He's bright, outgoing and quick with a joke.

Still, Foles said meshing Buckner into what was already one of the nation's best receiving groups is still a work in progress.

"We're still working to get on the same page," Foles said.

When asked about complementing Criner, Buckner is quick to take on the role of No. 2: "Juron is getting me open," he said.

As for the transition from Texas and the Big 12 to Arizona and the Pac-12, Buckner, a native of Allen, Texas, seems to feel right at home.

"I like the West Coast," he said. "It's sunny and pretty and there are palm trees. It's a change, and at that point in my life I just needed a change."

Tags:

Arizona Wildcats,NCAA,Richard Morrison,Nick Foles,David Douglas,Big 12,Texas Longhorns,Juron Criner,Arizona Wildcats,Dan Buckner,David Roberts,Seth Liittrell

Seven Pac-12 players were included on the 42-man watch list for the 2011 Lott IMPACT Trophy, which honors the top collegiate defensive player in the country, it was announced Tuesday.

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Gary A. Vasquez/US Presswire USC's T.J. McDonald, 7, is among the Pac-12 players on the watch list for the 2011 Lott IMPACT Trophy.

The Pac-12 players on the list are: Arizona State cornerback Omar Bolden (who is likely out for the season after suffering an ACL injury this spring), USC safety T.J. McDonald, UCLA safety Tony Dye, Oregon cornerback Cliff Harris, Stanford safety Delano Howell, Stanford linebacker Shayne Skov and California linebacker Mychal Kendricks.

The 2011 list of 42 (Lott's uniform number) includes 19 defensive backs, 14 linebackers and nine defensive linemen. There are 11 players from the ACC, eight from the SEC, seven from the Big Ten, seven from the Pac-10, six from the Big 12, one from the Big East, one from the Mountain West, one from the Western Athletic Conference and one from Notre Dame.

Source: http://espn.go.com