National signing day for the 2014 class is still a long way away. However, teams will be recruiting hard all the way up until then. The recruiting classes won't be set in stone until then, but taking an early look at each teams recruiting class will give fans a glimpse into what to expect. This is by no means how the classes will look come the 5th of February, but lets take a look at the early winners and losers of the Big-12 classes so far.
Winners
Baylor
Baylor has to be the big winner here. Just a few years removed from being one of the worst teams in the Big-12 and the country, Baylor has the 17th-best recruiting class in the nation and second best in the Big-12. Their class is led by four-star safety recruit, Davion Hall. Hall is getting a lot of interest from SEC teams, so if Baylor can hold onto him it will be a huge victory. Baylor currently has 22 recruits, three of which are four-star recruits and the other 19 are three-star recruits.
Texas
After having one of their lower ranking classes in 2013, the Longhorns are on their way to a top-10 class this year. They currently have the ninth-ranked class nationally and the number one class in the Big-12. Texas has six four-star recruits, which are led by dual-threat quarterback Jerrod Heard. Texas also landed 15 three-star prospects to round out their 21 recruits. They also got three-star receiver Emanuel Porter to flip from TCU and come to Texas which is a big win for them.
Oklahoma State
Oklahoma State has so far pulled in another nice recruiting class this year. They currently sit with 17 total recruits, two 4-star, 12 3-star and one 2-star. They sit with the 30th national ranked recruiting class and the fourth best in the Big-12. The big win for them was running back Devon Thomas. Thomas originally committed with Oklahoma, but then decommitted and went to Oklahoma State. Being able to get players from Oklahoma is a big win for them.
Texas Tech
Kliff Kingsbury is keeping Texas Tech recruiting on the rise. It's always hard to keep the recruiting up to par when your are a new coach taking over a program, but he is doing a good job of it. Tech currently sits with a recruiting class that is ranked 35th nationally and fifth in the Big-12. He has so far pulled in 16 recruits, which are all three-star recruits. Their class so far is loaded up on offensive skill players and lineman, which Kingsbury knew out to get the best out of when he played quarterback for Texas Tech.
Kansas
It's hard to rank a team who only has 7 commits as a winner, but they pulled in three very good recruits. Running back Traevohn Wrench should be a workhorse for them for the next four years. On defense they picked up Andre Maloney, a talented CB and Kyron Watson, a linebacker who chose Kansas over Michigan. Their class consists of one four-star recruit, four three-star recruits and two two-star recruits. If they can get more depth, this could be a very good class for them.
Iowa State
Iowa State isn't never going to have a top of the country recruiting class. It's never going to look great on paper, which will most of the time put them in the loser column. However I put there in the winners for one reason, Allen Lazard. Lazard is a 6'4" receiver who chose Iowa State over Oregon and Notre Dame. The 4-star commit was a huge get for the Cyclones. Other than him, eight three-star recruits and three two-star recruits round out their class. However, if Lazar can open the door for other big recruits to come to Iowa State, it was a huge win.
Losers
Oklahoma
It's always hard to list Oklahoma as a loser in recruiting, especially when they have four four-star recruits to go along with eight three-star commits. However, they only have 12 total commits, which isn't a lot of depth in a class. Oklahoma ranks 27th nationally and third in the Big-12. Both of those numbers are low for what is expected from recruiting for the Sooners. Oklahoma hasn't had a recruiting class ranked lower than 15th nationally in the past five years. In the end I expect Oklahoma to be there again.
West Virginia
West Virginia has some talent in this recruiting class but it lacks depth right now. According to 247sports.com the Mountaineers have 12 total commits, 11 of which are three-star recruits. Things last year fell off the map for them on the field and they lost a lot of talent to the NFL. They need some strong, deep recruiting classes to build that talent back up. West Virginia has the 40th-ranked national class and the sixth class in the Big-12.
TCU
TCU needs to pull in come good classes to show they can hang with the big boys in their new conference. So far, they have the 45th ranked national class and the seventh-ranked Big-12 class. They only have 10 total recruits, one of which is a four-star and the other nine are three-star. They also had three-star receiver Emanual Porter flip from them to Texas which was a big loss.
Kansas State
It is always hard to put Kansas State in the losers column because Bill Snyder always has recruiting classes like this. He always goes after JUCO transfers and never the big named, five-star recruits. However they got no four-star commits, but did get 13 three-star commits. They are ranked 48th nationally and eighth in the Big-12. Even though the recruiting class doesn't look great on paper, there is a good chance Snyder gets more out of these kids than any other coach in the country.