The countdown can begin. We’re under 100 days until the start of the 2026 college football season.

To get you ready, The Denver Gazette will preview the upcoming campaign throughout the month of June with a four-part series on the Big 12, ahead of the conference’s annual media days in early July in Frisco, Texas.

Today, we continue with the best returning player for each program:

Arizona

QB Noah Fifita

Fifita has had a wild ride in Tucson, and it continues into his fourth season as the starting quarterback. After bursting onto the scene for a 10-win Arizona team in 2023, Fifita took a major step back under new coach Brent Brennan in 2024 before sticking it out with the Wildcats and turning in his best season in 2025 with 3,228 passing yards and 29 touchdowns to six interceptions, earning All-Big 12 first team honors. He’s a favorite to be the Offensive Player of the Year in the conference. 

Arizona State

DL C.J. Fite

Fite is another player who has been contributing since he was a freshman and played a big role in the Sun Devils’ Big 12 title and trip to the College Football Playoff in 2024. The run-stuffing defensive lineman had a down season in 2025, per his standards, but is one of the most experienced defensive players in the conference and will be a big piece if ASU can return to contention this fall.

Baylor

S Jacob Redding

One of the breakout players for the Bears in 2025, Redding returns as a big play waiting to happen at safety with three interceptions, including one pick-six, to go with 53 total tackles last season. Redding was the highest-rated defender on the team, per Pro Football Focus, and will lead a mostly new-look unit this fall.

BYU

RB LJ Martin

Even though Fifita is the biggest name returning to the Big 12, Martin is the conference’s reigning Offensive Player of the Year after rushing for 1,305 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2025. He thrived as the engine of the Cougars’ offense, pairing well with freshman QB Bear Bachmeier to produce one of the conference’s best rushing attacks, one that will almost certainly continue in 2026.

Central Florida

LB Lewis Carter

After transferring in from Oklahoma as part of coach Scott Frost’s large portal haul last winter, Carter was an instant contributor to the Knights’ defense, leading the team in tackles with 92 after starting all 11 games he appeared in. The Tampa, Florida native also racked up a pair of sacks and a pair of forced fumbles, earning All-Big 12 honorable mention honors and establishing himself as a linebacker to watch this fall.

Cincinnati

LT Joe Cotton

A key cog in an offensive line unit that was one of the best in the country last season, Cotton proved that there are quality players at the FCS level after playing three seasons at South Dakota before transferring to Cincinnati last summer. The Sioux Falls native was named All-Big 12 first team after starting all 13 games in 2025. 

Colorado

QB Julian Lewis

It’s slim pickings in terms of returners in Deion Sanders’ program as the Buffaloes had to undergo another roster makeover with a bunch of seniors and promising young players exiting the program. Lewis takes over as the face of the CU roster. He is set for his first full season as the starting quarterback after appearing in four games in 2025, eventually supplanting veteran Kaidon Salter as the starter by the end of the season. The Buffs have a lot of hopes in Lewis producing at a level that Shedeur Sanders did.

Houston

QB Conner Weigman

After playing parts of three seasons at Texas A&M, moving in and out of the starting quarterback role multiple times, Weigman finally found a home at Houston in 2025. The former five-star recruit out of nearby Cypress, Texas, Weigman racked up over 3,400 passing and rushing yards and 36 total touchdowns for a Cougars team that enters 2026 as a dark horse contender in the Big 12. 

Iowa State

K Kyle Konrardy

It’s a complete reset in Ames. The Cyclones lost 10-year coach Matt Campbell to Penn State and with him went just about every potential returning starter Iowa State had. It’s likely going to take new coach Jimmy Rogers a while to rebuild a winner as the Cyclones aren’t exactly a historical power, but they should have a reliable kicking game thanks to Konrardy, who is 35-for-46 on field goals across his first two seasons with a career-best 63-yarder. 

Kansas

LB Trey Lathan

The West Virginia transfer was unsurprisingly an instant impact player for the Jayhawks defense last fall, leading the team in tackles with 86 after starting all 12 games. He was more than just a tackles machine, however, racking up seven tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks, two fumble recoveries and an interception. He’ll be a big piece of KU’s bounceback effort this fall.

Kansas State

QB Avery Johnson

Thanks to program legend and Loveland native Collin Klein taking over as head coach, there is real optimism that Johnson finally breaks out in 2026. The dual-threat quarterback took a step back in terms of production during his second season as the full-time starter, but is still a player capable of combining for over 4,000 passing and rushing yards and could thrive in an offense that saw Texas A&M QB Marcel Reed in the Heisman Trophy race for much of 2025.

Oklahoma State

CB LaDainian Fields 

Like Iowa State, the Cowboys also underwent a massive roster overhaul this offseason after hiring Eric Morris, bringing several stars with him from North Texas. But Morris did hold onto a few key pieces, most notably Fields, who emerged as a key piece of the OK-State secondary in 2025, starting the final six games and finishing with two interceptions, including a pick-six at Arizona.

TCU 

S Jamel Johnson

An under-the-radar candidate to be preseason Defensive Player of the Year in the Big 12, Johnson is coming off a productive 2025 season in Fort Worth. Johnson had a career-best 96 tackles and five interceptions, which were second and first on the team, respectively. TCU has a veteran defense full of quality returning players, led by Johnson.

Texas Tech

LB Ben Roberts

He may have been out of the spotlight for much of last season due to teammate Jacob Rodriguez garnering Defensive Player of the Year honors, but Roberts played as big of a role in Texas Tech’s defensive success as anybody with 90 tackles, two forced fumbles and four interceptions. He’s a lock for preseason all-conference. 

Utah 

QB Devon Dampier

After earning All-Big 12 third team honors, Dampier was put in a difficult situation this offseason when his offensive coordinator of multiple seasons, who he followed from New Mexico to Utah, left the Utes to join Kyle Whittingham at Michigan, who has an established starting quarterback. Dampier stayed in Salt Lake City and now will lead an offense coordinated by Kevin McGiven, a veteran play caller in college who spent last season at Utah State. 

West Virginia

OL Nick Krahe

No Mountaineers offensive player was on the field for more snaps last season than Krahe, who saw significant playing time for the first time in his collegiate career. The offensive line should anchor the West Virginia offense again this season as that unit looks to spark a step forward in the win column and Krahe will be asked to play a big role in that.