IRVING, Texas -- Missouri linebacker Sean Weatherspoon didn't waste any time helping coach Gary Pinkel adjust to life without Chase Daniel and Jeremy Maclin.

The Tigers were moments removed from an Alamo Bowl win over Northwestern last year when questions about the NFL draft came up. While Maclin eventually decided to leave early for the pros, Weatherspoon immediately declared he was returning for his senior season.

"I was underneath the table going like this," said Pinkel, reaching down to clap his hands at the podium Tuesday during Big 12 media days. "If he's not the best linebacker in the country, show me who is."

Missouri has to find a new quarterback and go-to receiver, but at least the Tigers don't have to replace 149 tackles, including 18 for losses, and five sacks.

The leadership void will be particularly acute without Daniel, who was given loads of credit for guiding a program that won 30 games in three years and made consecutive trips to the Big 12 championship game.

Pinkel thinks Weatherspoon can fill that void.

"He's a lot more than just tackling and hitting people," Pinkel said. "He's a great person and a great student. He's a great team player. He's the whole package. You lose those guys, they're a little bit hard to replace."

After Weatherspoon, four of Missouri's next five leading tacklers are gone, and the Tigers lost more than 2,000 receiving yards and 20 touchdowns with the departures of Maclin and Tommy Saunders. Also gone is the career NCAA tight ends receptions leader, Chase Coffman, who scored 10 touchdowns last year and signed with the NFL's Cincinnati Bengals this week.

Running back Derrick Washington is likely to be the offensive leader after rushing for 1,036 yards and 17 TDs in 2008.

Pinkel said Blaine Gabbert was the starter at quarterback, but freshmen Ashton Glaser and Blaine Dalton got a head start by going through spring training.

"Chase Daniel's legacy is over," Weatherspoon said. "We've got another guy stepping in. He's excited about his opportunity."

Tough talk

Mark Mangino's Kansas teams have been accused of playing soft schedules, and some say the Jayhawks might be soft on defense this year.

The coach just doesn't want people to think he has a soft team. The former Oklahoma assistant said that was the perception of Kansas before he took over seven years ago.

While he intended to toughen up the Jayhawks, he said it takes more than tough talk.

"It's not that you shout and holler and tell them they've got to be tougher and get after them," said Mangino, the first coach to lead Kansas to four bowl games. "You finish every drill. You finish every play. When you don't think you have anything else, you're able to give a little bit more."

Stoops voting again

Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops acknowledged Tuesday he plans to vote in the USA Today coaches poll after declining to do so last season.

Stoops never said why he didn't vote last year in the poll that is a component of the Bowl Championship Series standings that determine the teams in the national title game.

As for why he decided to start voting again, he said, "You don't need to make a point twice."

The Sooners were at the center of the controversy over who should play for the BCS title last season. They lost to Texas but finished in a three-way tie for first in the Big 12 South with the Longhorns and Texas Tech. The Sooners went on to the Big 12 title game because they were ranked higher than Texas and Texas Tech in the BCS standings.

"It got me out of a lot of debate, though," Stoops joked about skipping the vote last year.