12) Keenan Robinson, senior LB, Texas
Name a national defensive award that linebackers can win, and Robinson is on the preseason watch list.
The athletic senior earned those spots with a stellar junior season that saw him earn second-team All-Big 12 honors after he made 113 tackles, including eight for loss. He also had a hand in four turnovers, picking off two passes and recovering two fumbles, while he forced another. Robinson did that by churning loose his considerable athleticism — one of the league's most athletic linebackers, he won the district title in the triple jump as a high school junior — from the outside.
But now, Robinson will operate from the middle, and he's bulked up to more than 240 pounds to handle the challenge. If previous years are any indication, he'll be one of the few true sideline-to-sideline middle linebackers in the league, and a successful three-down player who can operate in a variety of situations.
The Longhorns are also expecting more from Robinson as a leader, a task that he's taken very seriously in the offseason. Robinson said at Big 12 Media Days that the Longhorns needed to assume more of a "get better day-by-day" attitude to bring the program back, and Robinson himself said he expected Texas to go back to the days of winning 10 games a season.
If Texas is to reach that point, they'll need a big season from Robinson, one of the Longhorns' most talented players. The good news is that it looks like they'll probably get one.
2010 Stats: 113 tackles, eight tackles for loss, two sacks, two interceptions, two fumble recoveries, one forced fumble
No. 13: Oklahoma DE Frank Alexander
No. 14: Texas A&M QB Ryan Tannehill
No. 15: Oklahoma DB Tony Jefferson
No. 16: Texas LB Emmanuel Acho
No. 17: Oklahoma DB Demontre Hurst
No. 18: Baylor WR Kendall Wright
No. 19: Oklahoma OL Ben Habern
No. 20: Oklahoma State OL Lane Taylor
No. 21: Iowa State LB Jake Knott
No.22: Oklahoma State S Markelle Martin
No.23: Missouri DL Brad Madison
No. 24: Missouri WR T.J. Moe
No. 25: Texas Tech OL Mickey Okafor
No. 26: Missouri TE Michael Egnew
No. 27: Texas A&M CB Coryell Judie
No. 28: Texas DB Kenny Vaccaro
No. 29: Oklahoma DE/LB Ronnell Lewis
No. 30: Texas A&M RB Christine Michael
No. 31: Kansas OL Jeremiah Hatch
No. 32: Texas Tech OL Lonnie Edwards
No. 33: Missouri DE Jacquies Smith
No. 34: Oklahoma WR Kenny Stills
No. 35: Texas WR Mike Davis
No. 36: Texas DE Jackson Jeffcoat
No. 37: Kansas State DB David Garrett
No. 38: Oklahoma OL Gabe Ikard
No. 39: Texas Tech RB Eric Stephens
No. 40: Baylor OL Philip Blake
No. 41: Missouri LB Zaviar Gooden
No. 42: Texas DL Alex Okafor
No. 43: Texas A&M DL Tony Jerod-Eddie
No. 44: Kansas RB James Sims
No. 45: Texas Tech S Cody Davis
No. 46: Iowa State CB Leonard Johnson
No. 47: Kansas State S Ty Zimmerman
No. 48: Baylor DE/LB Tevin Elliot
No. 49: Kansas State DE Brandon Harold
No. 50: Kansas DE Toben Opurum