If you read last week’s Big 12 countdown, you know it’s the golden age of pass-catchers in the conference. That explains the supply of wide receivers and tight ends on this week’s list: the league’s top dozen NFL prospects. Only juniors and seniors - and no newcomers - were eligible for this list.

Once again, heavyweights Oklahoma and Texas top the list, which should be expected considering of the Big 12’s 39 first-round draft picks since 1997, 22 came from those programs.

On to the list …

12. Matt Slauson, OL, Nebraska (junior): Name the last Nebraska offensive player drafted in the first round? How about Lawrence Phillips, all the way back in 1996. Even more unthinkable, Nebraska hasn’t had an offensive lineman taken in the first round since Dean Steinkuhler in 1984. Slauson, who has played guard and tackle, probably won’t make the jump after this season, but he’s the best O-line prospect the Huskers have.

11. Cody Wallace, OL, Texas A&M: There’s not a lot of good, experienced offensive linemen left in the league. Consider Wallace, a natural center, the best of a weak bunch.

10. Martin Rucker, TE, Missouri: Rucker looked into leaving Missouri a year early, but despite a shallow draft pool of tight ends, the NFL’s advisory committee projected he’d be a fifth-round pick. A productive senior year should boost his stock.

9. Aqib Talib, CB, Kansas (junior): Accurate quarterbacks don’t mind testing Talib’s side of the field - check out Chase Daniel’s 2006 game against Kansas - but the Jayhawks’ ball hawk will make you pay for an errant throw. The 6-foot-1 corner shared the league lead with six interceptions last year.

8. Zackary Bowman, CB, Nebraska: Serious injuries to both knees have afflicted Bowman’s career, but if he recovers from the latest setback - a ruptured patellar tendon - he could make a fine NFL coverman.

7. Reggie Smith, CB/PR, Oklahoma (junior): Smith has played safety and cornerback for the Sooners - versatility that should pay off at the next level.

6. Chase Coffman, TE, Missouri (junior): With great size and sticky hands, Coffman fits the mold of an NFL tight end. The only question is, does he stick around for his senior season?

5. Darien Williams, S, Oklahoma: Eight Oklahoma defensive backs have been drafted since Bob Stoops took over the program in 1999. Add another to the pile.

4. Malcolm Kelly, WR, Oklahoma (junior): Don’t be surprised if this is Kelly’s last year in an Oklahoma uniform, especially if he has more outings like the Big 12 championship game, when he caught 10 passes for 142 yards.

3. Limas Sweed, WR, Texas: Sweed could have left Austin for the NFL, but the 6-5 touchdown machine will get his paycheck soon enough. He could turn out as good as former Longhorn wideout Roy Williams.

2. Adarius Bowman, WR, Oklahoma State: Last week, we ranked Bowman the best wideout in what might be the Big 12’s best-ever class of receivers. He has all the tools to excel in the NFL, too.

1. Frank Okam, DT, Texas: It’s a crock that Texas’ 6-5, 320-pound mammoth doesn’t make everyone’s all-conference ballot. He doesn’t put up statistics, but statistics don’t explain his value to UT’s front four. Built along the lines of former Texas star Casey Hampton and Oklahoma’s Tommie Harris, Okam’s mere presence demands a double team, freeing up other defensive playmakers.

Okam could have been a first-day pick in April, but he’s sticking around Austin to enhance his stock after an injury-marred junior season.

● Others worth mentioning: Jamaal Charles, RB, Texas; Jorvorskie Lane, RB, Texas A&M; Allen Patrick, RB, Oklahoma; Dantrell Savage, RB, Oklahoma State; Todd Blythe, WR, Iowa State; Will Franklin, WR, Missouri; Martellus Bennett, TE, Texas A&M; Corey McKeon, LB, Nebraska; Bo Ruud, LB, Nebraska; Darnell Terrell, CB, Missouri.

● RECRUITING RECAP: Missouri had mostly hits and one significant miss last week in the recruiting game. According to reports by Rivals.com, the Tigers picked up four verbal commitments, three for 2008 and their first for 2009.

Robert Steeples, a 6-1 cornerback from DeSmet High School; Michael Egnew, a 6-5 wide receiver from Plainview, Texas; and Gahn McGaffie, an all-purpose athlete from the Houston area, all pledged commitments to sign next year, the Web site reported.

McGaffie has played quarterback at Galena Park High School but has drawn interest as a wide receiver and running back by several schools. The 5-10 prospect reportedly has offers from Nebraska, Kansas State, Baylor and Houston.

Steeples also had offers from Northwestern, Mississippi and Missouri State.

Missouri got an early start on its 2009 class with a surprise commitment from Sheldon Richardson, a tight end/defensive lineman from Gateway High School in St. Louis. He caught MU’s attention earlier this month at a one-day camp in St. Louis.

It wasn’t all good news for Missouri. Wes Kemp, a heralded wide receiver from DeSmet, announced a verbal commitment to Wisconsin, a school that has plucked top players from St. Louis since the mid-1980s.

Kemp had narrowed his list to five schools earlier this month, excluding the Tigers from serious consideration.

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