Randy Shannon made several trips to Fort Worth as part of his job for ESPN, which helped land the former Miami coach his new job as TCU's linebackers coach this year.
"I just wanted to see something new," Shannon told Stefan Stevenson of the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. "Coach [Gary] Patterson has had a lot of success at developing a program. It's something you really want to be a part of from a coaching standpoint. Just watching the whole development of their players, the team, the coaches, the administration. Everybody wants to win. It's a great organization top to bottom. It's one of the best places you could be at in America."
Patterson said Shannon probably turned down eight to 10 defensive coordinator jobs. He has his work cut out for him at TCU, where the Horned Frogs only return one experienced linebacker in Kenny Cain.
Red Raiders land 2014 star receiver: Texas Tech got its first commmitment from the class of 2014 and it's a biggie. Junior receiver Jakari Dillard is considered one of the top receivers in Texas and instead of waiting for offers from the Big 12 powers, he choose to commit to Texas Tech.
According to the Dallas Morning News, Dillard, who is from Princeton, Texas, had offers from Syracuse and Mississippi State and also received strong interest from Oklahoma, Texas and Texas A&M.
Little Charlie earns respect of KU's players and coaches: High praise for Charlie Weis Jr. from the fellow KU assistants. The coach's son, a 19-year-old sophomore, has been a great resource for players and coaches, as told to Matt Tait of the Lawrence Journal-World.
"[Running backs coach] Reggie [Mitchell] came up to me, and he said, 'I just want you to know your kid’s ready for his own room,'" the elder Charlie Weis said. "And what that means, and these were Reggie's words not mine, Reggie said he's ready to be a position coach at the Div. I level."
Other news and notes from around the Big 12
- Get to know the name Charlie Moore. The Oklahoma State receiver has only seven career receptions but he caught nine passes for 243 yards and three touchdowns in the spring game and expectations quickly grew. Is Oklahoma State turning into Receiver U? If the Cowboys have a few more breakout stars this year, they might earn that distinction.
- Now, the bad news for Cowboy fans: Backup DT Christian Littlehead was charged with misdemeanor assault and battery on Thursday for an altercation at a party in March.
- Landry Jones is No. 4 on CBSSports.com's Heisman watch list. Read what Jones needs to do to win the Heisman in his senior season.
- Texas Tech sophomore receiver Bradley Marquez played his first season of minor league baseball this summer and is working to get back in football shape.
- West Virginia is trying to change its defense and find linebackers that fit the new system, which means the depth chart is constantly changing, Dave Hickman of the Charleston Gazette reported.
For more up-to-the-minute news and analysis from Big 12 bloggers C.J. Moore and Patrick Southern, follow @CBSSportsBig12.
