Players to watch next season in the Big 12 Conference

Players in the Big 12 Conference this spring who could have big impacts for their teams in the fall:

QB Noah Fifita had a superb first season after becoming the starting quarterback in 2023, throwing for 2,869 yards and 25 touchdowns with six interceptions while setting a school record with a 72.4% completion rate. He threw for 2,958 yards with 18 TDs last season, but his interception total doubled and he completed only 60.5% of his passes.

WR Jordyn Tyson was one of the Big 12's best wideouts last season, but missed the conference championship game and CFP quarterfinal game after a left shoulder injury in the regular-season finale. He had 29 catches for 444 yards the last three games, finishing with 75 catches for 1,101 yards and 10 TDs overall. He went through spring practice after surgery.

LB Keaton Thomas played one game at West Virginia in 2022, then went to junior college for one season before having 114 tackles last year for the Bears. The linebacker had four games with at least 10 tackles while teaming up with Matt Jones to give the Bears their first duo of 100-tackle players since 2012. Jones is now gone after six seasons in Waco.

QB Jake Retzlaff made major strides at quarterback last season, throwing for 2,947 yards with 20 touchdowns and showing a knack for putting together late game-winning drives on multiple occasions. BYU can challenge for a Big 12 title if Retzlaff can improve on his accuracy. He had 12 interceptions last season while only completing 57.9% of his pass attempts.

Nose tackle Dontay Corleone has 110 tackles (55 solo) and 9 1/2 sacks in his 34 games the past three seasons, and played last year after dealing with a blood clots in his lungs that forced him to miss the opener. The 6-foot-1, 325-pounder known as “The Godfather” opted to return for his senior year with Cincinnati, part of the four-team College Football Playoff in 2021 but 8-16 in its two Big 12 seasons.

Kaidon Salter and Julian Lewis are believed to be the frontrunners at QB from the departed Shedeur Sanders. The Buffaloes will need multiple players to replace Heisman Trophy winner and two-way standout Travis Hunter, the second overall pick in the NFL draft. RJ Johnson, who played mostly on special teams last year after transferring from Arkansas, appears to be in line to be Hunter's replacement at cornerback. Among the receivers who could try to fill Hunter's void on offense are Omarion Miller, who missed the last seven games in 2024 due to injury, and Dre'lon Miller, who as a true freshman last season started the opener.

Former five-star QB recruit Conner Weigman is getting a fresh start while being among a dozen players added to Houston's offense. He passed for 2,694 yards with 19 TDs and seven interceptions in 15 games with Texas A&M the past three seasons, but had a season-ending foot injury two years ago and sustained a shoulder injury in the opener last year. He has two seasons of eligibility remaining.

East Carolina transfer WR Chase Sowell is a major addition to an Iowa State offense that lost a pair of 1,000-yard receivers: Jayden Higgins and Jaylin Noel were both drafted by the Houston Texans. The 6-foot-4, 195-pound Sowell is out of the Higgins mold. The redshirt junior had 81 catches for 1,300 yards and four TDs the past two seasons with the Pirates after starting his career at Colorado.

QB Jalon Daniels has had a history of meteoric success and injury-filled low points while starting 33 games for the Jayhawks the past five seasons. He did start all 12 games last season and struggled before leading the Jayhawks to three consecutive wins over ranked opponents, but also was limited in spring practice after what was called a minor knee surgery. He threw for 2,454 yards and 14 TDs, but also had 12 interceptions last season. He will be behind an offensive line that lost a lot of experience.

Avery Johnson showed flashes of brilliance in his first season as K-State's starting quarterback, throwing for 2,712 yards with 25 TDs, and also running for 605 yards and seven scores. But he struggled with inconsistency. Can he thrive with Matt Wells taking over as offensive coordinator? Johnson will be relying on a new group of wide receivers this season with transfers Jaron Tibbs, Jerand Bradley and Caleb Medford.

Rodney Fields had a 74-yard touchdown run in Oklahoma State's spring game. The running back had 21 carries for 99 yards, and two catches for 23 yards in four games last year, maintaining his freshman status while Ollie Gordon II played his final season. Fields' quickness and versatility should be a good fit in new offensive coordinator Doug Meacham’s system, and a boost for a team with only one returning offensive starter.

Idaho transfer Jordan Dwyer could fill a big hole for the Horned Frogs, who had receivers Jack Bech and Savion Williams both taken in the first three rounds of the NFL draft. Dwyer had 78 catches for 1,192 yards and 12 TDs for the Vandals last season, with at least 100 yards receiving in four of the last five games. He had 11 catches for 189 yards and two TDs in an FCS playoff game last fall.

Terrance Carter Jr. was the top tight end in the Sun Belt last season before transferring to Texas Tech, where he has two seasons of eligibility. Carter had 76 catches for 944 yards and seven TDs the past two seasons for the Ragin' Cajuns at Louisiana-Lafayette. The Red Raiders' top two tight ends last season exhausted their eligibility.

Myles Montgomery, now in his fifth college season, gets his shot at being the top running back. He first backed up 1,000-yard rusher Corey Kiner at Cincinnati before transferring to UCF last season behind 1,577-yard rusher R.J. Harvey, who also ran for 22 TDs. Montgomery had 293 yards and three TDs while averaging 5.7 yards on his 51 carries last season for the Knights. He also had three catches for 66 yards and a score.

Dual-threat QB Devon Dampier followed offensive coordinator Jason Beck from New Mexico, and beat out Isaac Wilson for the Utes' starting job in spring practice. Dampier had a breakout season with the Lobos last year, throwing for 2,768 yards and 12 touchdowns while rushing for 1,166 yards with 19 TDs. Dampier will need to improve his accuracy to give Utah’s offense a similar boost this fall. He completed just 58% of his passes last season while also throwing 12 interceptions.

DL Jimmori Robinson. The 6-5 Robinson amassed 10 1/2 sacks and 17 tackles for loss as a linebacker at UTSA last season, and was named the American Athletic Conference’s defensive player of the year. He had 15 sacks and 30 TFLS in 42 games over the past four seasons in San Antonio.

AP college football: https://apnews.com/hub/ap-top-25-college-football-poll and https://apnews.com/hub/college-football

FILE -Idaho wide receiver Jordan Dwyer (21) celebrates his touchdown during the second half of the team's NCAA college football game against Washington State, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2022, in Pullman, Wash. Washington State won 24-17. (AP Photo/Young Kwak, File)

FILE - Arizona State wide receiver Jordyn Tyson (0) watches play against Iowa State in the second half of the Big 12 Conference championship NCAA college football game, in Arlington, Texas, Saturday Dec. 7, 2024. (AP Photo/LM Otero, File)

FILE - New Mexico quarterback Devon Dampier, right, pitches the ball as Washington State's Adrian Wilson (6) defends during an NCAA college football game Saturday Nov. 16, 2024, in Albuquerque, N.M. (AP Photo/Roberto E. Rosales, File)

FILE - Baylor linebacker Keaton Thomas, left, pursues Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders, right, in the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Sept. 21, 2024, in Boulder, Colo. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)

FILE - Central Florida running back Myles Montgomery, left, finds running room against Arizona State linebacker Caleb McCullough (22) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 9, 2024, in Tempe, Ariz. (AP Photo/Darryl Webb, File)

RHO, Italy (AP) — No ice is colder and harder than speedskating ice. The precision it takes has meant that Olympic speedskaters have never competed for gold on a temporary indoor rink – until the 2026 Milan Cortina Winter Games.

In the pursuit of maximum glide and minimum friction, Olympic officials brought on ice master Mark Messer, a veteran of six previous Olympic speedskating tracks and the ice technician in charge of the Olympic Oval in Calgary, Canada — one of the fastest tracks in the world with over 300 records.

Messer has been putting that experience to work one thin layer of ice at a time since the end of October at the new Speed Skating Stadium, built inside adjacent trade fair halls in the city of Rho just north of Milan.

“It’s one of the biggest challenges I’ve had in icemaking,’’ Messer said during an interview less than two weeks into the process.

If Goldilocks were a speedskater, hockey ice would be medium hard, for fast puck movement and sharp turns. Figure skating ice would be softer, allowing push off for jumps and so the ice doesn’t shatter on landing. Curling ice is the softest and warmest of all, for controlled sliding.

For speedskating ice to be just right, it must be hard, cold and clean. And very, very smooth.

“The blades are so sharp, that if there is some dirt, the blade will lose the edge,’’ Messer said, and the skater will lose speed.

Speedskater Enrico Fabris, who won two Olympic golds in Turin in 2006, has traded in his skates to be deputy sports manager at the speedskating venue in Rho. For him, perfect ice means the conditions are the same for all skaters — and then if it's fast ice, so much the better.

"It's more of a pleasure to skate on this ice,'' he said.

Messer’s first Olympics were in Calgary in 1988 — the first time speedskating was held indoors. “That gave us some advantages because we didn’t have to worry about the weather, wind blowing or rain,’’ he said. Now he is upping the challenge by becoming the first ice master to build a temporary rink for the Olympics.

Before Messer arrived in Italy, workers spent weeks setting up insulation to level the floor and then a network of pipes and rubber tubes that carry glycol — an antifreeze — that is brought down to minus 7 or minus 8 degrees Celsius (17.6 to 19.4 degrees Fahrenheit) to make the ice.

Water is run through a purification system — but it can’t be too pure, or the ice that forms will be too brittle. Just the right amount of impurities “holds the ice together,’’ Messer said.

The first layers of water are applied slowly, with a spray nozzle; after the ice reaches a few centimeters it is painted white — a full day’s work — and the stripes are added to make lanes.

“The first one takes about 45 minutes. And then as soon as it freezes, we go back and do it again, and again and again. So we do it hundreds of times,’’ Messer said.

As the ice gets thicker, and is more stable, workers apply subsequent layers of water with hoses. Messer attaches his hose to hockey sticks for easier spreading.

What must absolutely be avoided is dirt, dust or frost — all of which can cause friction for the skaters, slowing them down. The goal is that when the skaters push “they can go as far as possible with the least amount of effort,’’ Messer said.

The Zamboni ice resurfacing machine plays a key role in keeping the track clean, cutting off a layer and spraying water to make a new surface.

One challenge is gauging how quickly the water from the resurfacing machine freezes in the temporary rink.

Another is getting the ice to the right thickness so that the Zamboni, weighing in at six tons, doesn’t shift the insulation, rubber tubing or ice itself.

“When you drive that out, if there’s anything moving it will move. We don’t want that,’’ Messer said.

The rink got its first big test on Nov. 29-30 during a Junior World Cup event. In a permanent rink, test events are usually held a year before the Olympics, leaving more time for adjustments. “We have a very small window to learn,’’ Messer acknowledged.

Dutch speedskater Kayo Vos, who won the men’s neo-senior 1,000 meters, said the ice was a little soft — but Messer didn’t seem too concerned.

“We went very modest to start, now we can start to change the temperatures and try to make it faster and still maintain it as a safe ice,’’ he said.

Fine-tuning the air temperature and humidity and ice temperature must be done methodically — taking into account that there will be 6,000 spectators in the venue for each event. The next real test will be on Jan. 31, when the Olympians take to the ice for their first training session.

“Eighty percent of the work is done but the hardest part is the last 20 percent, where we have to try to find the values and the way of running the equipment so all the skaters get the same conditions and all the skaters get the best conditions,’’ Messer said.

AP Winter Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/milan-cortina-2026-winter-olympics

Serpentines are set on the ice of the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Workers clean the ice surface during a peed skating Junior World Cup and Olympic test event, in Rho, near Milan, Italy, Saturday, Nov. 29, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)

Ice Master Mark Messer poses in the stadium where speed skating discipline of the Milan Cortina 2026 Winter Olympics will take place, in Rho, outskirt of Milan, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2025. (AP Photo/Luca Bruno)