Brock Huard is very high on Texas Tech quarterback Patrick Mahomes, calling his talent "truly unique." (0:45)

Eight years ago, Kliff Kingsbury had only begun to learn the art of whispering to quarterbacks. He worked as a quality-control assistant at Houston, sharing an apartment with offensive coordinator Dana Holgorsen as they cooked up schemes for coach Kevin Sumlin.

Kingsbury, at age 29 and fresh out of the professional ranks, knew a thing or two about great quarterback play, though, and as he peered over the landscape, he marveled at the passers in the Big 12 -- seven who topped 3,000 passing yards in 2008 and five who led their teams to more than 40 points per game.

Mason Rudolph threw for 300 or more yards in five games last season and400-plus three times. Rob Ferguson/USA TODAY Sports

It was the dawn of a prolific era in college football, on the wings of which Kingsbury has refined a passing empire at Texas Tech in three seasons. The coach recalls with fondness his view of the Big 12 quarterbacks. No group was better nationally.

And Kingsbury issues these words of wisdom about the current crop of QBs in the conference: It's just as good. If not better.

Big 12 quarterbacks experienced a renaissance in 2015 -- from former walk-on Baker Mayfield at Oklahoma, fourth in the Heisman voting, to breakout stars Patrick Mahomes at Texas Tech, Seth Russell at Baylor and Oklahoma State's Mason Rudolph. Every team but TCU returns its primary starter this fall. While QB battles will rage in August at