Pardon me while my mind runneth over:
n Much has been made of the Big 12's small collection of 2017 NFL draft picks. Fourteen were chosen from the conference this year, compared to the 15 taken from the Group of Five's American Athletic Conference. Obviously, when Temple and Houston are churning out more picks than Texas and Oklahoma, that's not good at all. Having only one-first rounder - 10th overall pick Patrick Mahomes of Texas Tech to the Chiefs - stings, too.
But could it get better? The Big 12 had 26 draft picks last year and 25 picks two years ago, so there's a chance what was seen in 2017 was just a down year. And looking at some of the early 2018 mock drafts, while there's no predicting quantity, there's a shot that the Big 12 can produce some quality.
Of course, projecting out nearly a year in advance is dicey. Dark horses from small schools can emerge, top players can get hurt and some prospects can either surprisingly declare early or surprisingly stay in school. But there are some signs of hope for the beleaguered Big 12.
Todd McShay of Scouts, Inc., has a pair of Big 12 players in his first-round projections - Texas linebacker Malik Jefferson at No. 6 and Oklahoma offensive tackle Orlando Brown at No. 31. Dane Brugler from CBSSports.com has a quartet from the conference in his first round - Texas offensive tackle Connor Williams at No. 11, Jefferson at No. 24, Oklahoma receiver/tight end Mark Andrews at No. 28 and Oklahoma State quarterback Mason Rudolph at No. 29.
Eric Galko at Sporting News also has a foursome - Brown at No. 10, Rudolph at No. 11, Jefferson at No. 13 and Oklahoma State receiver James Washington at No. 27. Chris Burke at Sports Illustrated has his own four - Jefferson at No. 17, Rudolph at No. 20, Oklahoma corner Jordan Thomas at No. 25 and Brown at No. 31.
What we see now probably won't be what we see next year. North Carolina quarterback Mitchell Trubisky and Temple linebacker Hasson Reddick, among others, sprung up as first-rounders when they were nowhere to be found in early mock drafts. Yet it shows that Big 12 players should be on draftniks' minds come next April.
n Speaking of draft picks, Ryan Switzer joined the ranks of the National Football League this past weekend, taken in the fourth round, 133rd overall by the Dallas Cowboys. While no contract has been formally announced for the former George Washington High and UNC star receiver, we can get an idea of what it might look like.
According to Spotrac.com, which tracks NFL contracts, the 133rd overall pick last season, LSU corner Rashard Robinson, signed a four-year deal with San Francisco totaling $2,723,393 with a $383,393 signing bonus. The website projects Switzer's deal to come in at $2,965,757 with a $565,757 signing bonus.
Needless to say, the days in college of scrounging through the couch cushions for pizza money should be long gone.
n And once more on the subject of the draft, the selections of corner Rasul Douglas in the third round and receiver Shelton Gibson in the fifth round, both by Philadelphia, extends West Virginia University's streak of multiple NFL draft picks to seven straight years. The last time WVU finished the draft with a single pick was when Selvish Capers was taken in the seventh round by Washington in 2010. Since 2003, West Virginia has had just three years where only one player was taken - Capers in 2010, Dee McCann (sixth round, Detroit Lions in 2006) and West Virginia State assistant coach Quincy Wilson (seventh round, Atlanta Falcons in 2004).
Contact Derek Redd at 304-348-1712 or derek.redd@wvgazettemail.com. Follow him on Twitter @derekredd.