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Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel joins the College GameDay crew to talk about life after winning the Heisman Trophy, his goals for the upcoming season, and the hype surrounding the Aggies' rematch with Alabama.

Bob Stoops turned plenty of heads this week when a Sporting News story quoted him showing his less-than-compassionate side in regards to the pay-for-play debate surrounding college athletes.

The two choice quotes:

“I tell my guys all the time,” Stoops says, “you’re not the first one to spend a hungry Sunday without any money.”

"I don't get why people say these guys (players) don't get paid. It's simple, they are paid quite often, quite a bit and quite handsomely."

I'm not here to debate the merits of Stoops' argument. You can make a decent case either way. For one, players do receive a lot for their efforts on the football field, including high-quality training and health care, as well as housing and food.

They also produce a whole lot of money and exposure for the university that goes unappreciated when you consider players' respective bank accounts.

However, that argument is for another day. You know who else isn't real interested in debating whether or not players should be paid?

Their parents. Not every family is the same, but there are a whole lot of families of players who would love a few thousand dollars a month, and that kind of money would mean a whole lot, whether a player had a future in the NFL or not.

You might think Stoops has a point. You might think he's a blowhard. Regardless, it's easy to see plenty of parents not loving the idea of Stoops feeling his players are compensated well enough. Coaches speaking out against paying players is, above all else, bad for business.

Whether coaches believe it or not, it behooves them to support giving their players -- the same guys who help cement coaches' reputations and salaries -- any and everything possible.

"I'm for anything we can do within the rules to help our kids," Texas coach Mack Brown told me last year. "I do realize coming up with a plan to subsidize a scholarship with some form of payment for student-athletes is a very challenging task for athletics directors and presidents around the country, but if there is a plan they can come up with, I'd certainly support it."

Added Tommy Tuberville, then coach at Texas Tech: "You can talk to coaches all you want, and 99 percent of them are going to be 'Hey, I’d love to do more for the players.'"

Well, it appears that if you referred to Stoops as "the 1 percent" you'd be correct in more than one way.

Like I said, I'm not here to debate Stoops. Agree or not, his argument isn't terrible.

He did, however, give his competitors an opportunity to get a leg up in recruiting.

Say you're a parent struggling to pay the bills, or even a parent who can't afford to give their child any extra cash. One coach wants to fight to give your player every advantage possible, or help influence legislation to change the rules. Another says, "You’re not the first one to spend a hungry Sunday without any money."

Parents have plenty of influence in the recruiting process. Who are a whole bunch going to favor?

Some things are better left unsaid.

Athlon Sports ranked all 125 coaches heading into 2013, and that includes the 10 coaches in the Big 12. First on the list is no surprise and won't get any argument from me.

Kansas State's Bill Snyder checked in at No. 3, behind only Alabama's Nick Saban and Ohio State's Urban Meyer.

"As long as Snyder roams the sidelines in Manhattan, regardless of how many starters Kansas State loses, never count out the Wildcats from the Big 12 title discussion," writes Steve Lassan.

Well said. That'll be put to the test this season. Only eight starters return from last year's Big 12 title team, more than only three teams in college football.

Oklahoma's Bob Stoops showed up at No. 7 on the list, just three spots ahead of TCU's Gary Patterson, at No. 10.

"The Kansas native had no FBS head coaching experience when he was promoted at TCU in 2000 but has eight seasons of 10 or more wins, including a 13-0 mark in 2010," Lassan notes.

You can't deny the growth Art Briles has developed at Baylor, and he's at No. 13 on the list after taking the Bears to three consecutive bowl games for the first time in school history. Things look like they're only getting better in Waco, too.

It's a little surprising to see him two spots ahead of Oklahoma State's Mike Gundy at No. 15, but you could make the case either way. Briles' job was infinitely harder than Gundy's, but you can't argue with Gundy's Big 12 title ring, the Pokes' first in about three decades.

Texas' Mack Brown is all the way down at No. 28. The past three seasons have taken their toll on his national reputation, no doubt. It's been quite a slide for the Longhorns.

"The Longhorns have the talent to win the Big 12 title in 2013. If Texas fails to surpass its 2012 win total (nine), there will be plenty of calls for a coaching change in Austin," Lassan writes.

I definitely agree with that. Huge season waiting in Austin.

Paul Rhoads is at No. 38, 10 spots lower. His reputation perhaps exceeds the actual on-field results, but his degree of difficulty in this league is probably even greater than what Briles faces. Briles at least has the advantage of being close to big-time talent in Central Texas. Rhoads' talent pool in Iowa is a lot different, and convincing guys to come north isn't easy.

Dana Holgorsen showed up at No. 50, which definitely seems low, but when you've only been a head coach for two seasons and have a five-game losing streak in one of them, you surrender some right to argue your status, I'd say. He's got a conference title and a BCS bowl win, but winning the Big East won't impress too many folks.

Kliff Kingsbury is down at No. 66, which is where I'd say all first-year coaches belong to start. Any new first-time coach has potential, but they haven't proven to be great or poor yet. Put 'em in the middle, I say.

Lassan has Charlie Weis at No. 106 after his 1-11 campaign at KU last season.

Here's the full list:

• No. 3: Bill Snyder, Kansas State
• No. 7: Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
• No. 10: Gary Patterson, TCU
• No. 13: Art Briles, Baylor
• No. 15: Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State
• No. 28: Mack Brown, Texas
• No. 38: Paul Rhoads, Iowa State
• No. 50: Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia
• No. 66: Kliff Kingsbury, Texas Tech
• No. 106: Charlie Weis, Kansas

That gives the Big 12 half of its coaches in the top 15. Not bad.

The first week of the “College Football Live Spring Bus Tour” wraps up with a Friday visit to College Station, Texas, to check in with Texas A&M. We’ll huddle with the Aggies throughout the day, checking in with coach Kevin Sumlin, QB Johnny Manziel and more.

Watch "SportsCenter" throughout the day for updates from Chris Fowler and Kirk Herbstreit. You can also catch them breaking down their visit with the Aggies on “College Football Live” at 3:30 p.m. ET on ESPN2.

Looks like Gary Patterson's hypothesis ended up being correct.

The Frogs won 11 games in 2011, including a win at Boise State. Last season, thanks to injuries, suspensions and players leaving the team, the Frogs limped to a 7-6 season in their first year in the Big 12.

"I think we gained a lot more respect fan-wise from being 7-5 than being 11-2 [and] beating Boise State at Boise State, which to me is an unbelievable win," Patterson told ESPN.com in a recent interview. "To me, that speaks volumes to where we’re at and I think our kids should understand that, what we’re doing."

I actually agree with him and had sensed some similar sentiments from the Big 12's fans, but left it up to you in a vote. You voted loud and clear, and it turns out Patterson was right. Fifty-three percent of voters said 2012's seven-win campaign in the Big 12, highlighted by wins over Texas, West Virginia and Baylor, was more impressive than the 2011 season. Just 47 percent of you voted for the 2011 season.

I'd chalk this up to an exposure issue. I don't think TCU's 2012 team was as good as its 2011 team, or a handful of others the Frogs have had under Patterson, but he and I talked about it a bit, and it's a matter of Big 12 fans being forced to watch TCU on a weekly basis. When they're forced to do that and TCU is hanging around in every game and beating a few teams along the way, Big 12 fans are faced with a truth: TCU is capable of beating my team.

That's easy to scoff at when TCU is bored and struggling with an average SMU team or beating the heck out of a terrible New Mexico team, but when it's going toe-to-toe with Oklahoma or Kansas State, people take notice.

The result: Respect.

Today is the fifth installment in our breakdown of Big 12 schedules, and it’s time to examine the Oklahoma Sooners:

Full schedule:

• Aug. 31: Louisiana-Monroe
• Sept. 7: West Virginia
• Sept. 14: Tulsa
• Sept. 28: at Notre Dame
• Oct. 5: TCU
• Oct. 12: Texas (Dallas)
• Oct. 19: at Kansas
• Oct. 26: Texas Tech
• Nov. 7: at Baylor
• Nov. 16: Iowa State
• Nov. 23: at Kansas State
• Dec. 7: at Oklahoma State

Non-con challenge: Notre Dame. Oklahoma is 1-9 all time against the Irish, including last year’s 30-13 loss in Norman. Notre Dame, with several starters back from its national title game team, will probably be favored to win again. The Sooners will likely begin with their lowest preseason ranking since 2000, but a victory in South Bend would instantly place them in the national title conversation.

Eyeing revenge: at Kansas State. Collin Klein and the Wildcats stunned Oklahoma the second week of the 2012 season with a 24-19 win in Norman. With Klein gone and K-State expected to go through some rebuilding, Oklahoma would love to put it on the ‘Cats in their home stadium.

Gut-check game: at Oklahoma State. If the Sooners have any aspirations of winning the Big 12, they’ll almost certainly have to win in Boone Pickens Stadium. The last time they went there, they were embarrassed by 34 points, and Oklahoma State basically outplayed them in Norman last season, too -- until the fourth quarter and overtime. That game showed that the Cowboys don’t fear their Bedlam rival like they once did, meaning Oklahoma will probably have to bring its best to Stillwater to have a chance to win.

Chance to impress: at Notre Dame, TCU, Texas. This will be the defining three-game stretch in Oklahoma’s season. Win all three, and the Sooners will be in control of the Big 12 title picture, and a serious contender to reach the national championship game. But this stretch could easily derail the Sooners, too. Whoever wins the starting quarterback job among Blake Bell, Kendal Thompson and Trevor Knight will have to be on top of his game -- a tall task considering the defensive talent the Irish, Horned Frogs and even the Longhorns all possess.

Final analysis: The Sooners are capable of winning every game on this schedule. But with a rookie quarterback and few experienced starters on defense, Oklahoma is capable of going 8-4 against this schedule, too. Given that Oklahoma’s first six opponents are coming off bowl appearances, it won’t take long for the Sooners to determine just what kind of team they have.

FORT WORTH, Texas -- TCU has been an official member of the Big 12 less than a year, but TCU coach Gary Patterson has already seen things he'd never seen before in Fort Worth.

Enemy flags.

Some might take offense, but Patterson says it's a good sign for the Frogs' Big 12 impact.

"The thing I enjoy more than anything is the rivalries off the field and the fans and people who never flew their Oklahoma or Oklahoma State flag because they didn’t think it mattered in Fort Worth," Patterson said. "Now, you see all the flags all over the place."

Every team in the Big 12 has a sizeable contingent of alumni in the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex, but they all have to make a drive or get on a plane to see their favorite team play on a regular basis. It's unrealistic to expect those folks to become Frogs fans, but there's a big pool of others who could embrace purple very soon. Scoff if you want, but bandwagon fans are good for business.

"We’re the only team in the Big 12 who can say, if we win a national title, we’re coming back to the Metroplex. So, for me, it’s about understanding that everybody will win in Dallas-Fort Worth if we can pull that off someday," Patterson said. "I feel like I’m part of it, feels like when the Rangers had success, when the Mavericks won the championship and the Cowboys back in the day, I think everybody feels like they’re a part of that, and so for me, it’s one of the goals. We’ve reached out to Fort Worth and become one, so now how do we reach out and make sure everybody feels that way?"

The biggest asset, Patterson says, is an atmosphere that Big 12 administrators, coaches and other people across the league lauded after their visits during the Frogs' inaugural lap around their new league. A new batch of Big 12 teams will head to Fort Worth in 2013 during the opposite cycle of the Frogs' Big 12 schedule (except Oklahoma State, thanks to a scheduling quirk), but he's hoping word got out of what game day is like at Amon G. Carter Stadium these days.

"What most people talk out here fan-wise is just how much they liked the stadium, and if you talk to most people in the Big 12, I don’t think they knew the atmosphere was going to be like it was at TCU, because maybe they’d been here 10-15 years ago when we’d been in the old Southwest Conference," Patterson said.

Every once in awhile, when BYU or Utah might make a trip to Fort Worth, that atmosphere might get ramped up. That was every week in 2012," Patterson said.

"I still remember the year we beat Utah here back in 2009 and there were about four kids who changed their mind that weekend who were committed to somebody else," Patterson said. "I think now a kid comes here and he sees that, he feels that energy. What we have to do is a couple of those ballgames (that we lost). You’ve got to win those games."

Wins could beget a big wave of exposure for TCU in a market full of football fans. Though growing TCU's program to the level Patterson wants is certainly ambitious, one other thing is also certain: The fan base and exposure has already grown in the past year, and will continue to do so. How much more growth will happen is heavily reliant upon what happens on the field in the near future.

The fan base might also grow thanks to more and more top-tier players in the Metroplex signing on with the Frogs.

"I try to think about not just what’s good for TCU in general, but what’s good for Fort Worth in general," Patterson said. "I think when you do that, people keep supporting and appreciating, and it’s not just about wins and losses."

WACO, Texas -- Baylor's football facilities boast a brand-new mural with one of the greatest images in program history. Coach Art Briles has given Baylor a reputation for great offense, but this moment came courtesy of the defense.

No team had been better or more efficient inside the five-yard line than BCS No. 1 Kansas State, but on the Wildcats' first drive of the fourth quarter, a long drive ended with three plays inside Baylor's two-yard line. The defense held all three times to get the ball back and end K-State's comeback bid. The Bears' celebratory stampede to the sidelines provided a defining image for the program's first-ever win over a No. 1 team, but it did a lot more than that moving forward.

Briles and defensive coordinator can offer all the instruction and pep talks in their respective repertoires, but a performance and a moment like that has infinitely more impact.

"To have a chance to be believable, you have to have some realistic results, which, we got some in the Kansas State game," Briles told ESPN.com in a recent interview. "We made some plays that had to be made that kind of spurred us on through the rest of the season and certainly gave us a lot more confidence defensively."

That confidence turned into results, beginning with that Kansas State win. Over the final month of the season, Baylor ascended into the top three in the Big 12 in total defense and were +9 in turnover margin, five more than any team in the Big 12.

It's not a coincidence the Bears won their final four games of the season to finish 8-5 despite an 0-5 start in Big 12 play.

"It’s a process and I think we’re getting closer to the desired end result," Briles said. :We actually flashed in 2011 toward the end with a big turnover ratio in our favor, and then flashed again at the end of 2012. What we’ve got to do is flash early coming out the gates."

That 2011 flash ended in a game tape the defense would love to toss in a bonfire. Heisman winner Robert Griffin III and the Bears' offense put on a show in a 67-56 Alamo Bowl win over Washington, but the defense left San Antonio with a pall hanging over the offseason and their confidence perhaps as low as it had been all season. The Bears had given up more than 56 points just once in 2011.

"We finished the job in 2012 season defensively and it's a lot more mentally uplifting than the 2011 season," Briles said. "Although we won a bowl game, the first bowl game in I don’t know how long, the defense might not have felt like we won a game, and I know they don’t feel that way now, because in the UCLA bowl game, our defense dominated.

"We’re coming off a dominating defensive game that bleeds through all the offseason."

The Bears' held 1,700-yard rusher Johnathan Franklin to just 34 yards on 14 carries, his lowest output of the season. UCLA had scored just 19 points before the game's final play that was erroneously ruled a touchdown. The key for Baylor is clear moving forward. They've seen the results, but in 2013, if it wants to win the Big 12 title it's chasing as a stated goal, it can't afford to wait until November to turn the corner as a defense.

"We’re not going to make it hard, we’re going to make it simple on what everybody’s job is, so I think it’s just a combined fact of being in coach Bennett’s system. The longer consistency stays, the better chance you have to be consistent," Briles said. "After you go through a 2-3 year period, all of a sudden you don’t have to look to your left or right to see who’s standing there. You know who’s there, so we’re getting to that comfort factor from a schematic, athletic standpoint."

FORT WORTH, Texas -- It didn't take long for Gary Patterson to figure out his 2012 freshman class he'd signed in 2012 was different from most he'd encountered as TCU's coach.

For one, it was the first class he'd ever signed with the promise that each player would play out his career in the Big 12 Conference. More than that, though, when Patterson was forced to play 17 of his true freshmen in 2012, he wasn't too surprised when the result wasn't a disaster.

Instead, stars like defensive end Devonte Fields emerged. He won the Big 12's Defensive Player of the Year award, and running back B.J. Catalon, place-kicker Jaden Oberkrom and offensive lineman Aviante Collins earned time as starters. Cornerback Deante' Gray played in the secondary and scored a touchdown on TCU's first touch of the season, a punt return in the season opener against Grambling.

"The freshman class, we knew they were a bit of a different class than what we’d had in the past anyway," Patterson told ESPN.com in a recent interview. "Just the way their mindset is, to the way they approached the summer time and the classwork they did and the offseason work they did with [strength and conditioning] Coach [Don] Sommer."

Before 2012, Patterson had never played more than six true freshmen as a head coach.

Twelve more redshirt freshmen like quarterback Trevone Boykin and receiver LaDarius Brown showed the ability to play immediately and contribute in a tougher conference than the Frogs were used to. Chris Hackett earned a starting safety job less than a third of the way through the season.

Now, it's time for those 28 first-year players to take the next step for the Frogs in one of the most highly anticipated seasons in school history.

"'I want to play and play well,' but playing, you already achieved that," Patterson said of his freshmen. "The biggest thing going forward now, it’s setting goals team-wise, winning championships and playing big and playing well in these kinds of ballgames."

Patterson saw inconsistency in games like losses to Oklahoma State, when the Frogs led 14-9 at halftime but were outscored 27-0 in the second half of the 36-14 loss. He wants consistency, but consistency at a high level.

"So, how do you do that? That comes with maturity and all the other things," Patterson said. "We spent a lot of time talking about the things we have to do to make sure that [inconsistency] doesn’t happen again."

Johnny Manziel's legend in the realm of the college football world grows by the day. With all his celebrity appearances and spring storylines, the Heisman winner's image just continues to expand.

But his legend is growing within the high school ranks as well. Mitch Sherman of ESPN's RecruitingNation explains how Manziel is being looked up to by youngsters attempting to follow in his footsteps:

IRVING, Texas -- A young trio of quarterbacks stared in awe. They listened intently, almost afraid, it seemed, to open their mouths.

Among them was John Lovett of Hyattsville (Md.) DeMatha Catholic, who came here Saturday to compete against the nation's reputed best, and 6-foot-5 gunslinger David Cornwell of Norman (Okla.) North, the eventual MVP of this Elite 11 regional.

In just whose presence, exactly, were they standing near the center of the practice turf at Valley Ranch, the Dallas Cowboys' facility?

Tony Romo? Maybe Trent Dilfer, the former Super Bowl-winning QB who coaches this roster of future big-name field generals? Or George Whitfield, the California-based guru who makes every stop on the Elite 11 circuit and counts a growing list of QB greats among his students?

No. This was better. This was Johnny Manziel.

He's just three years older than the kids in the Class of 2014, but they see something in Manziel that no one else here could match.

The way they stared, it was as though Manziel, the Texas A&M redshirt freshman who's still white-hot four months after he won the Heisman, was carrying the trophy under his right arm.

"He is their Tom Brady," said Whitfield, who coached Manziel for 10 days last summer in San Diego and escorted him around the Valley Ranch facility Saturday.

To read more of Sherman's piece on Manziel, click here.

WACO, Texas -- When Art Briles looks out the back window of his office, he can see the here and now in the immediate foreground: His practice field.

Look a bit further, though, and there's a bunch of red dirt with the beginnings of a promising future sprouting from that dirt. Briles will have a front-row seat for the construction of what's now known as Baylor Stadium, the Bears' new 45,000-seat, $250 million home on the banks of the Brazos River.

"It’s a blessing, definitely. And it’s a reality," Briles told ESPN.com in a recent interview.

Fans can see the construction live, too, with the Bears' new construction cam.

The stadium is expected to open in 2014, and the beginning stages of construction already catch the eyes of the 42 million people who annually will pass by the stadium that will tower over the east side of I-35 in Waco.

"It’s a reality that Baylor didn’t need to have, it had to have, for first of all, national perception, regional perception and for recruiting purposes, not only for our athletics, but for our academics, because it certainly changed 42 million people’s view of Baylor University every time they drive down I-35," Briles said. "They look over there and they say, 'Baylor’s doing it right, all the way across the board.'"

The picturesque venue will feature a bridge across the river to the rest of campus, and based on renderings of the stadium, it will be one of the most scenic in all of college football. Like TCU's new rebuild of Amon G. Carter stadium, Baylor Stadium will include six Founder's suites, but also have 39 more suites, 74 boxes and 1,200 outdoor club seats.

"(People) know it’s a great academic university," Briles said. "I think it just upped peoples image of the university as a whole in their minds, no question."

Most importantly, the new stadium will eliminate the Bears' status as the Big 12's only team without an on-campus stadium. The 2013 season will be Baylor's last at Floyd Casey Stadium, located across I-35 and a few miles southwest of campus. Baylor employed Populous, the same company that helped design Busch Stadium (St. Louis Cardinals), Reliant Stadium (Houston Texans) and the new Yankee Stadium in New York.

Baylor had not been to a bowl since 1994, two year's before the Big 12's creation, and in his first two seasons, Briles equaled Baylor's second-highest win total (4) since 1996. By his third season, the Bears were back in a bowl game. Heading into 2013, the Bears have reached three consecutive bowls for the first time in school history, winning the past two. Briles' efforts were aided by Heisman Trophy winner Robert Griffin III -- Baylor's first -- whose 2011 run to the trophy propelled the Bears onto the national stage, a place quite unfamiliar to the program before the arrival of Briles and Griffin.

More than a few folks would love to see Griffin's and/or Briles' name adorning the stadium or the field. Briles could only laugh at the prospect of the latter.

"I’m not one of those people. Now Robert’s name, I’d love to have," Briles said. "Our story hasn’t been written yet. All we’re concerned with is day-to-day operations of trying to be the best we can be every day."

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Thirteen years ago, Gary Patterson heard all kinds of criticism about his program while on recruiting trail in the thick of Big 12 country. It was his first year as head coach of TCU and the Horned Frogs' first season in Conference USA.

But with the Frogs now in the Big 12 and poised for a promising 2013 season, recruits in the Dallas-Fort Worth metroplex are running out of reasons not to sign close to home at TCU. The program turned heads in December when it swiped longtime Texas recruit Kyle Hicks, who had been committed to the Longhorns since February of 2012.

The Arlington, Texas native is the nation's No. 18 running back and the nation's No. 220 overall recruit. Does flipping a Longhorn commit -- something almost no one did with Mack Brown in charge before the 2013 class -- carry special significance?

"Only if he's a good player," Patterson told ESPN.com in a recent interview. "The key is to go out and find the guy that everybody says what they said about TCU before, is they come in and everybody thinks they’re a 'C' player, and they turn out to be 'A' players. The key is they come in as 'A' players and they’re 'A+' players."

That's what Patterson hopes will be the case with Hicks, whose services shouldn't be needed much in his first season on campus. Running back Waymon James returns alongside B.J. Catalon and blue-chip recruit turned Nebraska transfer Aaron Green, and the trio should be ready to shoulder the load in the backfield in 2013.

Devonte Fields came to TCU from nearby Arlington as a highly-touted recruit. All Petterson did was help turn him into the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year as a true freshman.

"That’s the same thing with Devonte and guys you have down the road. Can you make them live up to their hype? That’s what programs are supposed to do, and if we can do that, then more of them will come," Patterson said. "If you can prove that guy can come here and he can go to the NFL and he can be a great college player and get his degree just like you told him he could then I think what will happen is kids will stay close to home."

The Frogs are trying to turn their location in the thick of a college football talent hotbed into an advantage. Doing so will require more than winning just seven games like they did in 2012 -- their first season back in major conference football as a Big 12 member. Patterson could form a championship-caliber team from DFW high schoolers alone, in theory, but he's going to make sure they answer "yes" to two big questions before any offers are handed out.

"Do they have two things in mind: Do they want to get a degree and do they want to win a national championship?" Patterson said. "Both of them are hard work. There’s no inbetween on either one of them, that’s what our program is built upon: hard work and accountability. That’s how you stay somewhere long enough to do something."

Hicks' answer was "yes," and his legacy is only beginning at TCU. Patterson knows not a soul will remember or care that the Frogs swiped him from Texas if he doesn't take the next step as a player.

"In Kyle’s case, great young man, great player," Patterson said. "Now let’s make him from a great high school player to a great college player, and let’s also get him his college degree."

Ironically, Kansas State saw its program flounder late in Bill Snyder's tenure and throughout Ron Prince's time, despite major recruiting success and beating out national powers for big-time players like future NFL quarterback Josh Freeman. TCU has a chance to see its own recruiting rankings soar annually. But Patterson is focused on making sure his team is full of players with the intangibles that the Frogs have used to build their program over the past decade. Under Patterson, the school has routinely won at least 11 games in a season and their success has led them to membership in a major conference.

"The whole key is to make sure we’re still recruiting the TCU type of guy that is a guy that can come in and he becomes the player that everybody says he was supposed to be," Patterson said. "That’s what my job is, to develop them and not only make them that, but make them better."

FORT WORTH, Texas -- This time last year, Devonte Fields was shuffling to classes as dictated by a bell and gearing up for his high school graduation from Martin High in nearby Arlington, Texas.

TCU coach Gary Patterson says another graduation might be needed for his biggest defensive star.

Fields made a huge impact in TCU's fall camp after showing up to campus in the summer and started every game for the Frogs, making 18.5 tackles for loss and 10 sacks to take home the Big 12 Defensive Player of the Year award from the media as a true freshman, despite being an unknown when the season kicked off.

His return this spring, though, hasn't pleased his head coach.

"He’s not had as good a spring as we would have liked him to have had," Patterson told ESPN.com in a recent interview. "You just expect him to get better and faster, but if I tell you all the things, then everybody knows about him. The biggest thing is sometimes you don’t think you have to work as hard and come back and do some things, so getting him back on the level of why he was the player that he was."

By season's end, Fields' profile (among fans and opposing offensive lines alike) was enormous compared to the rest of the Frogs' 17 freshmen who played in 2013, the most ever under Patterson at TCU. Fields' struggles aren't uncommon, but they're not welcome, either.

"The thing you’ve got to be worried about with freshmen, is they think they get that year over with and now everything’s easy. Well, it actually becomes harder," Patterson said. "People call it the sophomore jinx, so for us, we’re really pushing through and making them understand. I think a lot of them are going through that, including Devonte Fields."

This season, Fields won't have the luxury of an all-conference defensive end across from him attracting attention, especially early in the season. Stansly Maponga fought through foot and ankle injuries in 2012, but he was the Frogs' only preseason All-Big 12 selection last fall. Fields made just 4.5 of his 18.5 tackles for loss in the final six games of the season, and had just two of his 10 sacks over that period. The difficulty level also ratcheted up for Fields well before spring began.

"The reason was he was talented, but he played so hard. When you come back, you have to make sure you still do that every day. We don’t feel like we got that as much so far this spring as much as we need to," Patterson said.

Fields can change that with some more work in the weight room and on the practice field this summer and once fall camp begins, but the real measuring stick will come very soon when the Frogs open the season in Fields' hometown of Arlington, Texas at Cowboys Stadium against LSU.

"Freshmen sometimes they play -- scared’s not the right word -- but with great anticipation of the unknown. For us, how do you get it through now to get back and still want to win a conference championship and have the level of play that you have to do to beat the kind of opponents you have to beat in this league?" Patterson said. "We have to keep working forward and getting better."

WACO, Texas -- Art Briles can think back on all the quarterbacks he's pushed and prodded to greatness and recall countless great moments.

Nick Florence's redemption from a rough start in 2012 to knocking off No. 1 Kansas State followed Robert Griffin III's two nights in 2011 that left a mark on college football: Firing deep balls to knock off TCU and Oklahoma on the way to Baylor's first Heisman trophy.

Before that, he and an NFL-bound Kevin Kolb led Houston from an 0-11 squad to a Conference USA championship. Kolb was the conference's Offensive Player of the Year that season. In 2007, he kickstarted Case Keenum's career with an eight-win season. Keenum developed into the FBS all-time leader in touchdown passes while Briles got to work building Baylor's program.

Now, it's 2013, and Briles is getting ready to groom another quarterback, his third in three seasons at Baylor. His name is Bryce Petty, and you might see him zooming around Baylor's Waco campus on a moped, hunching his NFL-quarterback frame over the handlebars.

"His skill set is off the charts," Briles said.

"He’s Tim Tebow," running back Lache Seastrunk added, "He's like 6-foot-5, 245 pounds!"

Well, more like 6-3 and 231 according to Briles, but you might get a similar scouting report from opposing linebackers soon if Petty gets his way, but more on that later. The skill set Briles refers to is an NFL-quality arm and 4.6 speed with four years of experience in an offensive system that has seen Baylor ranked No. 2 nationally in total offense each of the past two seasons, and No. 13 back in 2010.

"Physically, he has a chance to be a very dominant quarterback, but it’s a very mental game, so what you have to do is match it all together, your physicalness and your intellectualness and creativeness and instinctiveness," Briles said. "It all has to come together."

For now, Briles draws a blank when he thinks back on Petty's greatest moments at Baylor. That might change very soon.

"That moment hasn’t come," Briles said. "That chapter hasn’t been written, and that’s good. It hasn’t been his time. It’s his time to prove it’s his time."

Petty's road to Baylor came after a commitment to Tennessee followed by a coaching change by the Vols from Phil Fulmer to the in-and-out tenure of Lane Kiffin, whose arrival spelled trouble for Petty's future in Knoxville. Before long, Baylor offensive coordinator Philip Montgomery, who had recruited Petty throughout, came calling with a Baylor logo on his shirt.

"It was so cool, because (Briles) reminded me so much of coach Fulmer in that he’s a player’s coach. He wants to be here with you," Petty said. "Succeed on the field and as a man. That’s huge for me."

Once Petty was at Baylor, he watched Griffin win a Heisman. Then last season Petty watched as another experienced backup like himself, Florence, broke Griffin's school record for passing yards and kept Baylor near the top of the national rankings for offense.

The waiting wasn't easy. It wasn't fun.

"As a competitor, it’s hard to sit and watch. You know you can do it. Griff, he won the Heisman. It’s faith. It’s knowing that God has a plan. That plan is coming through right now," Petty said. "You have to be able to seize your opportunity."

That opportunity brings with it mammoth expectations, too.

"No dropoff from Robert. No dropoff from Nick. We have to stay strong at that position," Briles said of his quarterbacks.

Briles says there was no learning curve -- as expected -- for a passer starting his fourth spring in Waco, even though it was his first spring working almost exclusively with the first team. He's not a new face to anyone on the team, and that has paid off as Petty has tried to cement his status as a leader.

" Getting guys to fight for you, at the end of the day, is what it takes to win. You can be as athletically gifted as Griff, but you’ve got to have guys fight for you. That’s something that I want from my guys," Petty said.

How has he approached that goal?

"Being the first one in and last one out. Always watching film and being on your guard. That just comes with an every-day kind of process," he said. "This whole starting thing and this whole season is not a one-day thing. It’s a process. It’s an every-day thing. I’d like to think of myself as a hard worker. It’s no struggle for me to get up out of bed and work."

We can't know until the fall whether or not Petty will be the next great quarterback under Briles or a forgettable chapter of Bears history. The last season in Floyd Casey Stadium will be Petty's first as the Bears' starter, though that status isn't official yet.

It's not hard to see it being a memorable season in Waco.

WACO, Texas -- Lache Seastrunk broke out as the story of the Big 12 in the final month of the 2012 season. He rushed for 831 yards in Baylor's final six games and topped 135 yards in each of the final four games, all victories for the Bears, including 185 yards against BCS No. 1 Kansas State in a blowout upset for the program's first-ever win over a No. 1 team.

Before mid-October, Seastrunk had never carried the ball more than seven times. He didn't have fewer than 15 once November began and the Bears hit a late-season surge.

So what was the deal? We'll never know what might have happened if Seastrunk had been featured more in the Bears' offense early in the season, but why wasn't he?

"You know, he just needed an adjustment, needed time to become a great teammate," Baylor coach Art Briles said. "And he’s done everything by the book since he’s been here. I have a lot of respect for the way he takes care of himself and approaches the game."

It has paid off. Seastrunk, who transferred from Oregon just before the 2011 season began, started to turn his potential into production. Lots and lots of production. The No. 6 running back in the nation's 2010 class and the No. 40 prospect overall looked like the Big 12's No. 1 running back, and not far from its No. 1 player, in the final month of the season. How he did it isn't too complicated.

"He’s good," Briles said with a chuckle. "He’s good. He’s an explosive player that has dynamic ability. That’s a pretty easy equation."

For the 2013 season, Seastrunk is looking to show off a bit more development as a runner.

"Just to make sure I’m a little bit more patient with my runs and letting things develop before I hit full steam," Seastrunk said. "They want me to break through the first line of the defense, but after that it’s just, 'Be you.' They can’t coach me on that."

Any Baylor player would describe Briles as a players' coach. The 57-year-old former high school coach's uncanny ability to relate to players has showed up on the recruiting trail, but any players' coach knows his players' personalities well.

In that case, Briles wasn't too surprised when he heard Seastrunk had told Sporting News he was "going to win the Heisman. I’m going to win it in 2013. If I don’t, I’m going to get very close."

It didn't draw much more than a shrug.

"I know Lache. It’s like water that's on your back. Slides right off," Briles said. "No big deal."

Seastrunk doesn't lack for confidence, and though the quote might have drawn a stern reprimand and perhaps a media ban from plenty of other head coaches, Briles almost sounds encouraged words that more than a few might describe as brash.

"If you walked up to a lot of student-athletes and said, 'Would you like to win the Heisman' or 'Can you win the Heisman?' you certainly wouldn’t want people saying no," Briles said, "or at least I don’t."

Seastrunk will get his chance this fall. Will he win Baylor's second Heisman in three years?

"I hope so," Briles said.