ESPN Big 12 Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Tim Griffin

I had  a chance to do some heavy thinking this morning. It made me wonder if the Big 12's most valuable player wouldn't be the player with the gaudiest statistics.

Here my compilation of the the five most valuable offensive and defensive players of the season so far. Statistics don't matter as much as sheer value of the player to the team. And we could obviously have a change over the last two weeks, depending on how the divisional races and championship game turns out.

But here's my "fab five" for both offense and defense.

OFFENSE

1. Colt McCoy, Texas - He doesn't have nearly as good a running game or as veteran an offensive line as any of the other major Heisman contenders. And he leads his team in rushing, boosting his value to them. It's hard to think of a more valuable player in the country. Mack Brown had it right when he said that McCoy is valuable to this team like Vince Young was to the 2005 national championiship team.

2. Graham Harrell, Texas Tech - Harrell will go down in history as the best of Mike Leach's quarterbacks. His experience gives him an advantage that his predecessors never had. Before the season is over, he'll have piled up statistics that will surpass every other Big 12 quarterback in history. But I saw the best glimpse of his value Saturday night in Norman. When he was struggling against Oklahoma, the rest of the team fell with him. You can see that the Red Raiders get a lot of their swagger from him.

3. Sam Bradford, Oklahoma - Some of his statistics supercede the two players in front of him, but neither of them have the collection of talent around him like Bradford does. DeMarco Murray and Chris Brown give him the best backfield tandem. His collection of wide receivers are as good as any in the league. Jermaine Gresham will be playing for a long time on Sundays, as will several members of Bradford's offensive line. Bradford has gotten more proficient as the season continues with Oklahoma's lethal no-huddle offense. But he has a lot more tools to work with than either McCoy or Harrell.

4. Joe Ganz, Nebraska - Here's the statistic that puts it all into perspective for Ganz. He's going to end up the season with better numbers than Zac Taylor notched when he won the Big 12's Offensive Player of the Year in 2006. Ganz would be an all-conference player and maybe even a Heisman contender in several other conferences if not for the stellar seasons of the players above him. Ganz's leadership has also mushroomed as the season continues, directing the Cornhuskers to the cusp of a New Year's Day bowl. Not many forecasters who have  expected that before the season.

5. Robert Griffin, Baylor - They call him "The Franchise" around Baylor, for good reason. He single-handedly has pumped  some hope back into the Baylor program along with new coach Art Briles. The Bears came close to becoming bowl-eligible as Griffin learned as the nation's youngest starting quarterback. He'll only get better in the future. A lot better.

CLOSE - Michael Crabtree, Texas Tech; Chase Daniel, Missouri; Duke Robinson, Oklahoma; Dez Bryant, Oklahoma State; Kendall Hunter, Oklahoma State.

DEFENSE

1. Brian Orakpo, Texas  - His value was best seen in the second half of the Oklahoma game when his pass-rushing skills helped turned the game around and lead a comeback victory. And his value could be seen with the difficulties the Longhorns have shown playing without him, particularly down the stretch against Texas Tech in their only loss of the season. He helped a young Texas defense develop a swagger as the season progressed.

2. Travis Lewis, Oklahoma - It's hard to believe that Lewis is only a freshman, considering his impact on the Sooners' defense. When Ryan Reynolds went down with an injury, Lewis became the active focal point of the Sooners' swarming defense. Notice that he always seems to be around the ball - a knack that many young defenders don't seem to grasp. He has almost double the number of tackles as any other Oklahoma player.  

3. Lendy Holmes, Oklahoma - Whether it's on defense or special teams, Holmes has been the glue that has helped keep the Sooners' secondary together. He's the biggest playmaker the among the Sooners' defensive backs, leading them in interceptions and fumble recoveries. And he's not bad in pass coverage, either.

4. Joe Pawelek, Baylor - It would be interesting to see what kind of buzz Pawelek would receive on a bowl-bound team. As it is, he just leads all FBS linebackers in interceptions, the Big 12 in tackles and has notched double-figure tackle numbers in eight of his 11 games this season. It would be hard to imagine the Bears' defense without him as its integral part.

5. Sean Weatherspoon, Missouri - One of the brightest spots of the Tigers' back-to-back North Division title teams, he leads them in tackles, tackles for losses and interceptions. He's a gutsy leader who the team seems to always look to when a big play is needed.

CLOSE - Ndamukong Suh, Nebraska, Nic Harris, Oklahoma, Darcel McBath, Texas Tech; Colby Whitlock, Texas Tech: James Holt, Kansas.    

Obviously, there could be some other candidates. I'm curious who might be some others that might deserve mention. And again, this is not a statistically-driven list, but meant to honor those players who are most value to their respective teams.