HOW TO WATCH, WHAT
TO EXPECT
This weekend's spring game slate features a number of
prominent football programs ready to answer some of our burning questions. Here
are our suggestions on what to scout for and keep an eye on this weekend, and
how to watch your team.
What we're excited to see: It's doubtful Pitt
will offer much in the way of flourishes on its prototypical run-first attack,
but it will be interesting to see whether the Panthers continue to showcase
more spread formations -- as they've done throughout the spring -- now that
fullback George Aston and
tailbacks Darrin Hall and Qadree
Ollison have moved on. Make no mistake: Pitt is still a
ground-and-pound offense, but there could be some nuance to the approach this
year, starting in the spring game.
What we're excited to see: The Orange made huge
strides last season, finishing the year ranked and with 10 wins for the first
time in nearly two decades. Whether they can continue the climb and challenge
for the ACC Atlantic crown likely depends on how good new starting QB Tommy DeVito will
be in 2019. DeVito, a former ESPN 300 recruit, got his share of playing time
last season. But this is still new terrain, and the spring game offers a first
glimpse into what Syracuse's offense will look like with him leading the charge
What we're excited to see: The Hokies have evenly
split their quarterback reps among Ryan Willis, Quincy
Patterson and Hendon Hooker this
spring, and Coach Justin Fuente has been mum on who has the edge to start. But
the bigger story might be the defense, coming off the worst season under
coordinator Bud Foster. Eleven starters return, and rising star Dax
Hollifield has slimmed down and feels much quicker. Definite
progress has been made, but a complete transformation might be in order to get
the Hokies to compete for another Coastal Division title
What we're excited to see: The upstart Bears could
quietly have one of the top offenses in the Big 12 behind junior
quarterback Charlie
Brewer, who passed for 3,000 yards last season. Several of Baylor's
top returning playmakers are sitting out the spring game. That will give
running backs Trestan Ebner and Abram Smith and
wideouts Jared
Atkinson and R.J. Sneed the
chance to show Brewer they can fuel the Baylor arsenal.
What we're excited to see: Les Miles is back in
college football, and he has Kansas fans stoked ... about football. Yes,
football. It's been a physical spring practice for the Jayhawks, and one
question yet to be answered is who the starting quarterback will be. Carter
Stanley is the holdover, and Thomas
MacVittie is the junior college newcomer. They're competing for
the starting job and doing so with a new system that includes run-pass-option
(RPO) elements. The big treat might be seeing Miles' dance moves to the beat of
rap star Rick Ross after the spring game.
What we're excited to see: The legendary Bill Snyder
era is finally over in Manhattan, clearing the way for new coach Chris Klieman
to put his mark on the program. Klieman won with overlooked players -- as
Snyder did for so many years -- while dominating the FCS at North Dakota State.
So in many ways, the Wildcats will look the same. Still, the spring showcase
will provide a glimpse into how K-State might be different going forward.
What we're excited to see: All eyes will be on
quarterback Jalen Hurts,
who will make his public debut in a new shade of red for the first time. Hurts,
who went 26-2 as a starter at Alabama, is among the most high-profile transfers
in recent college football history. If he can improve on his passing efficiency
in Lincoln Riley's Air Raid attack, the Sooners will be a serious threat to
reach the College Football Playoff for the fourth time in five years.
What we're excited to see: Tom Herman is looking for
more explosive playmakers on offense, and the Longhorns might have them in a
pair of freshmen: running back Jordan
Whittington and receiver Bru McCoy should
be fun to watch, as should redshirt freshman receiver Malcolm Epps,
who's emerging as a weapon for the Horns.
What we're excited to see: Not only do the
Mountaineers have a new coach in Neal Brown but they'll have a new quarterback
as well. Leading the pack to succeed Will Grier is
Oklahoma transfer Austin
Kendall, who finally has the chance to show what he can do after sitting
behind Heisman Trophy winners Baker Mayfield and Kyler Murray in
Norman.
What we're excited to see: Quarterback Alan Bowman
was one of the nation's most productive passers when he was healthy last
season, but his season got interrupted when he suffered a collapsed lung. When
he was on the field, the then-true freshman was impressive. He'll have a new
offensive scheme to master, but how he looks on Saturday will be worth
watching. This is also a first impression for new coach Matt Wells and his
staff
What we're excited to see: Last season, the Illini
defense gave up an average of 508.3 yards per game, which was good for third
worst of any FBS team behind Oregon State and UConn. Have they improved?
Additions include Washington transfer linebacker Milo Eifler,
and there are some younger players looking to step up and help. Linebackers Shammond
Cooper and Dele Harding
should be in that conversation as well as Delano Ware,
who was moved from safety to linebacker. Improving the defense is going to be
crucial for the upcoming season's success.
What we're excited to see: Head coach Tom Allen,
looking to get more out of the offense, brought in new offensive coordinator
Kalen DeBoer from Fresno State. The unit received good news when it found out
Utah quarterback transfer Jack Tuttle was
granted immediate eligibility from the NCAA, but a short-term sickness will
keep him sidelined for the spring game. With or without Tuttle in for the
spring game, it will still be interesting to see what the tweaked offense will
look like with DeBoer in charge.
What we're excited to see: Offensive coordinator Josh
Gattis says he has installed 90 percent of the team's new playbook. While most
of that will remain under wraps until September, Gattis said viewers will get a
feel for how the huddle-free, up-tempo version of the offense might breathe
some fresh air into the 2019 Wolverines.
What we're excited to see: Minnesota's quarterback
competition will spill into preseason camp, although fans can scout Tanner Morgan and Zack
Annexstad in Saturday's game. It's also a chance to see an
offensive line featuring Daniel
Faalele, the 6-foot-9, 400-pound Australian, and the competition at
left tackle between Jason Dickson and Sam Schlueter.
Star receiver Tyler Johnson did this at
last year's spring game, and more highlights could be on the way.
What we're excited to see: How much the defense has
improved. Yes, fans go to spring games to see offense, but Nebraska won't
contend in the West Division without an improved defense. Lineman Darrion
Daniels, a transfer from Oklahoma State, has impressed this spring.
Nebraska also seems to have more versatility, with Cam Taylor, JoJo Domann and
others. "I'm not saying that we're the Tampa Bay Bucs with Warren Sapp and
the boys yet," defensive coordinator Erik Chinander said, "but we're
moving in the right direction
What we're excited to see: The debuts of head coach
Ryan Day and quarterback Justin Fields are
certain to garner a lot of attention this weekend. Don't forget to check out
what's happening on the other side of the ball for a defense with a brand-new
coaching staff after some underwhelming performances in 2018.
What we're excited to see: The Nittany Lions are
going to need some of the younger players to step up and take on bigger roles
in 2019. On defense, linebacker Micah Parsons led
the team in tackles and has an opportunity to take the next step in 2019.
Parsons, along with Jesse Luketa and Jayson Oweh,
can help improve the defense. On offense, running backs Journey Brown, Ricky Slade, Noah Cain and Devyn Ford are
going to be needed to help a unit replacing Miles Sanders and
quarterback Trace
McSorley. Ford hasn't gotten to campus yet, but the other three will
be on display in the spring game.
What we're excited to see: The Scarlet Knights are in
need of some reasons for optimism, and the most likely provider there is
sophomore quarterback Art Sitkowski.
Head coach Chris Ash said Sitkowski has taken some steps forward in the past
few weeks after starting 11 games in his first year on campus last fall.
What we're excited to see: Arizona offensive
coordinator Noel Mazzone said this spring that all his quarterbacks would get
the same amount of reps. That group, of course, includes Khalil Tate,
who went into last season as a Heisman Trophy favorite before a slow start and
lack of team success derailed his chances. Can Tate return to the 2017 form
that saw him become one of the most dominant players in the country? Saturday's
spring game won't completely answer that, but he's definitely the player to
keep an eye on.
What we're excited to see: The Cardinal are in an
interesting spot. After a decade of dominating the conference primarily with a
physical run-first approach, they were forced to shift gears last season and
rely mostly on quarterback K.J. Costello and
the passing game. It's hard to imagine that Coach David Shaw sees that as a long-term
solution, but with Costello back for another year, chances are there will be
more of the same for at least another year. Saturday's practice should feature
enough scrimmaging to provide some insight into how that process is
going.
What we're excited to see: The Utes are one of the
few Pac-12 teams that will attempt to simulate a game like atmosphere, which
will be especially valuable in evaluating some of the younger players who
haven't seen much game action yet in their college careers. Beyond that, it's
the first real look at coordinator Andy Ludwig's vision for what the Utes will
look like offensively since returning to Salt Lake City after 10 years
away.
What we're excited to see: There are some interesting
things to watch on offense -- most notably the revamped line and running backs
-- but it's the defense that should receive the most attention. Coordinator
Tosh Lupoi, star defensive tackle Quinnen
Williams and half the starters from last season are gone. With
new defensive coordinator Pete Golding in charge, there's a lot to do. The good
news is that a solid core of Dylan Moses, Xavier
McKinney and Raekwon Davis is
in place, and pass-rusher Terrell Lewis and
cornerback Trevon Diggs return
too. But pay attention to how lesser-known quantities such as defensive
backs Jared Mayden and Patrick
Surtain II develop to tell you just how good this Alabama
defense will be.
What we're excited to see: Gus Malzahn's return to
playcall ing duties is an important development, but it's unlikely he's going
to show anything during a televised scrimmage. Rather than X's and O's, look
toward the quarterbacks' execution. Replacing Jarrett
Stidham won't be easy without much actual experience behind
him. Malik Willis, Joey Gatewood and Cord Sandberg have
time in the program, but are relatively unknown. Folks around Auburn are high
on true freshman legacy Bo Nix,
but he'll need to get off to a fast start if he wants to win the job right out
of the gates.
What we're excited to see: Coach Dan Mullen has
promised some tricks during the spring game, beyond joking that he might fudge
the attendance numbers to read 41,014. That's a dig at Florida State, which
Florida beat 41-14. So, if it seems Mullen is loose headed into the spring
game, he has reason to be: The Gators have a settled starter in Feleipe
Franks and talent across the board at the skill positions. New
starters on the offensive and defensive lines will be the keys to watch.
What we're excited to see: Mark Stoops has steadily
built the program, and the Wildcats won 10 games last season for the first time
since 1977. But whereas last year's team was laden with experienced players,
the 2019 version of the Wildcats will feature several newer faces eager to
prove they're ready to continue the momentum. Many of those new faces will be
on defense, and a lot of eyes will also be on quarterback Terry Wilson to
see how much more efficient and accurate he's become as a passer.
What we're excited to see: It's tempting to pay close
attention to the quarterbacks, where Keytaon
Thompson appears to be the heir apparent to Nick
Fitzgerald despite Coach Joe Moorhead's flirtation with a few
grad transfers this offseason. Instead, watch the defense, where there is major
work to do without stars Montez Sweat, Jeffery
Simmons and Johnathan
Abram. Erroll
Thompson, Leo Lewis and Willie Gay Jr.
form one of the most experienced linebacker groups in the SEC, but they'll need
players such as Chauncey
Rivers and Kobe Jones to
step up and join them as all-conference-caliber players for the defense to play
close to as well as it did last season.
What we're excited to see: This is easy. It's Kelly Bryant,
and it isn't even close. There's the Clemson angle, of course, which is as much
about how he left as it is how well Trevor
Lawrence played thereafter. But there's also the matter of the
guy Bryant is attempting to replace. Drew Lock was
a three-year starter who set an SEC record for touchdowns and is projected by
many to be a first-round pick. With big shoes to fill and even bigger questions
about his development post-Clemson, Bryant will be under a microscope.
What we're excited to see: While Tennessee returns
many of its key contributors from last season; fans are probably more intrigued
to get a glimpse at what this team will look like in Year 2 under Jeremy Pruitt
with an overhauled coaching staff. Pruitt brought in Jim Chaney from Georgia as
offensive coordinator and former Tennessee national championship quarterback
Tee Martin as passing game coordinator and receivers coach. Derrick Ansley
comes over from the NFL ranks and will call plays on defense. Can the Vols be
more explosive on offense, and will some unproven players be able to come
through in the defensive line?
What we're excited to see: The Aggies have a handful
of young, intriguing players to scout. Highly regarded freshman tight end Baylor Cupp,
whose measurable head coach Jimbo Fisher raves about, will be worth watching as
A&M looks to find a successor to Jace
Sternberger. Sophomores Jashaun
Corbin (running back) and Leon O'Neal (safety)
are among the exciting second-year players likely stepping into starting roles
in 2019.
What we're excited to see: The focus will no doubt be
on the quarterbacks, especially Darriel Mack
Jr. and Brandon
Wimbush as they compete for the starting job. Mack replaced
injured starter McKenzie
Milton at the end of last season; Wimbush transferred in from
Notre Dame. Beyond saying Mack and Wimbush were getting equal reps, UCF coaches
haven't gone into great detail about what they have seen at practice or who
might have the edge. So the spring game could reveal some clues about where
they stand.
What we're excited to see: "We want to be a
tempo offense," quarterback Ian Book recently
told ESPN. Sophomore receivers Joe Wilkins, Lawrence Keys
III, Kevin Austin
Jr. and Braden Lenzy should
provide Book with top-end speed options. Book has focused more on attacking the
deep middle and will look for tight end Cole Kmet and
others. The shuffling lineup at linebacker, with players and with positions, is
also worth tracking. - Adam Rittenberg
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