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          Big 12 Blog

          Top 25 players in the Big 12: No. 12

          • Jake Trotter, ESPN Staff WriterJan 28, 2014, 03:00 PM
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              Jake Trotter covers the Cleveland Browns for ESPN. He joined ESPN in 2011 covering college football. Before that, he worked at The Oklahoman, Austin American-Statesman and Middletown (Ohio) Journal newspapers. You can follow him on Twitter @Jake_Trotter.
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          With signing day quickly approaching, we're closing the chapter on the 2013 season by counting down the Top 25 players in the Big 12 in 2013 with a list collaboratively selected by Jake Trotter, Brandon Chatmon and Max Olson. We’re down to the Big 12's No. 12 player.

          No. 12: Lache Seastrunk, RB, Baylor

          Previous ranking: Seastrunk was No. 5 in the blog’s preseason list of the Big 12’s Top 25 players.

          Making the case for Seastrunk: Seastrunk’s midseason groin injury played a major part in him dropping seven spots from the preseason ranking. But even though he didn’t have the Heisman-caliber season he’d hoped for, Seastrunk still had a very productive final season in Waco.

          He led the Big 12 with 1,177 rushing yards and was the only player in the league to average more than 100 yards rushing per game. Seastrunk also topped the Big 12 averaging 7.45 yards per carry. The only other running back in the league with an average above 6.0 was teammate Shock Linwood, who filled in admirably when Seastrunk was injured.

          The balance of Seastrunk, quarterback Bryce Petty and receivers Antwan Goodley and Tevin Reese spurred Baylor to feature the top-scoring offense in college football. With defenses focused on slowing Seastrunk and Baylor’s running game, Goodley and Reese got plenty of opportunities in man coverage downfield. As a result, Baylor led the country in 30-, 40- and 50-yard plays from scrimmage.

          Seastrunk wasn’t the only prolific performer on Baylor’s offense. But he was an important one, and, when healthy, one of the most unstoppable forces in the Big 12.

          The rest of the list: