The Houston area is well-represented in the Big 12 Conference and especially in the South division, which features Baylor, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, Texas A&M, and Texas Tech.  These six schools have about 650 players on their football rosters.  The state of Texas has produced 479 of those players, with the Houston area alone accounting for 20%.

Houston natives you will be hearing a lot about this year include Bobby Reid (QB-Oklahoma State/Galena Park North Shore), Tony Hills (OT - Texas/Alief Elsik), Drew Kelson (S - Texas/Houston Lamar), Robert Killebrew (LB - Texas/Klein), Chris Ogbonnaya (RB - Texas/Strake Jesuit), Brian Orakpo (DE - Texas/Houston Lamar), Mike Goodson (RB - Texas A&M/Klein Collins), Martellus Bennet (TE - Texas A&M/Alief Taylor), Kirk Elder (OL - Texas A&M/Klein Oak), Chris Harrington (DE - Texas A&M/St. Pius), and Danny Amendola (WR - Texas Tech/The Woodlands).

The Houston area also sent a lot of players from the Class of 2007 to the Big 12, who will work hard to become the future of the conference.  Pearland's Foswhitt Whittaker (Texas) and Sam Proctor (Oklahoma), Westbury's Russell Carter (Texas) and Mickey Okafor (Texas Tech), Beaumont West Brook's Billy Chavis (Texas A&M), and Cy Falls' Derrick Stephens (Texas A&M) are just a few of the players you can look forward to seeing in the Big 12 South over the next four years.

Because of the large number of local players in the South division, staff writer Kyle Porter has put together a division preview to get you up to speed on the probable winners, losers, and the names you should remember.  Kyle predicts how the teams will finish, from worst to first, and who will be representing the South in the Big 12 Conference title game at the Alamodome in San Antonio on December 1.

In Part I, we take a look at the predictions for fourth, fifth, and sixth place.  Enjoy.