Aaron Dickens: I think that’s been happening for years. Part of that can be attributed to the Big 12’s diminished stature relative to the SEC, but I also think the league’s member institutions shoulder some of the blame as well.

Over the last seven years, the Big 12’s standard-bearers have either been middling (Texas) or not what they once were (Oklahoma). Programs like Kansas State, Oklahoma State, Baylor and TCU have, at different points, have parlayed that power vacuum into Big 12 titles but have not been able to translate that on-field success into better recruiting results.

Until that happens, the Big 12’s spot in the recruiting pecking order will continue to diminish.

Will McKay: I think you're already seeing some of the negative affects of the Big 12's play, as kids have been heading out of state to the SEC and Big 10 in the last handful of years.

Now it's becoming more and more pronounced, and I definitely think a higher percentage of prospects will continue to leave the Lone Star State.

So how do you fix it?

Well, you've got to start winning more games out of conference first. Second, as much as fans of other schools in the Big 12 and state might not like it, I think you need Oklahoma and Texas to be Oklahoma and Texas again.

There's no flash at the top of the league right now from the blue blood teams.

It also doesn't help that A&M, Nebraska, Colorado, and Mizzou are all gone. Losing those teams, which are all either traditionally good or blue blood, and replacing them with TCU and WVU has hurt this conference more than I'd have ever thought six years ago.

Drew Kohnle: With the uncertainty of the Big 12, how soon will top Texas options opt for schools in different conferences other than the Big 12? Well, it’s actually already happening at a pretty high rate and with the way the conference is heading, the numbers are well on their way to becoming even more skewed.

Looking at the 2017 Texas Top100 list, 30 out of the 100 prospects remain uncommitted. So out of 70 committed recruits, how many of them are opting to stay close to home and play in a power-five conference that has six top programs in the area? 26. 26 recruits can be found committed to the likes of any of the Big 12 schools, compare that to 44 committed to conference schools elsewhere. To continue the comparison, Oklahoma leads the Big 12 with eight Texas Top100 commits and Texas isn’t that far behind with seven. Compare their totals to Texas A&M’s nine or even Iowa or Houston who have five a piece. What about Texas Tech and TCU who have three Texas Top100 commits of their own? Colorado has four Texas Top100 commits for their current 2017 class.

Are these other schools gaining traction in Texas due to the Big 12’s fall from grace or are the current Big 12 members just on a down turn as a whole? Whatever it is, the conference’s instability and perception have taken a big hit, and it will only continue to get worse on the recruiting trail.