Ultimate Guide to 2015 College Football Spring Practice
I cleaned my grill last week and bought a fresh supply of propane. I still had to navigate the Chicago-sized piles of melting snow to get there, although the writing is on the wall: spring football—College Football Lite—is currently being served. Grab a chair and a menu.
In recent years, much like the flood of eyeballs suddenly invested in recruiting, the interest in spring football has spiked. Our football appetites are always in season, which means we will go great lengths to watch, read and listen to anything involving our dear sport o' choice.
While college football practices and scrimmages in March won’t quite match that unmistakable joy you feel at 8 a.m. on a fine October Saturday, it will do just fine. It’s a time for overreactions, inflated statistics in scrimmages, meaningful reps and roster movements. Some have already started practicing; others will soon begin.
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For some, like Michigan, spring will be about building a foundation. For Florida State, still waving goodbye to a batch of incredibly skilled players, it’s where a depth chart will begin to take shape. For Ohio State, spring will be about bottling the momentum gained over the back half of last season and somehow saving some for later.
As to what you should look out for over the next few months—including a 410-pound backup guard now getting reps at tight end—here are the storylines, teams, players and awesomely large human beings to be mindful of.
Spring Football’s Top Storylines
The Great Buckeye Quarterback Quandary
Ohio State’s quarterback quandary—the richest of rich-man problems—will be the most intriguing CFB-related topic this spring and beyond. As it stands now, Urban Meyer will have to pick between Cardale Jones, Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett come fall. It’s like having a fillet, another fillet and another fillet and having to choose just one. Not so easy, is it?
It will be riveting, although the spring will likely belong to Jones as Miller and Barrett work their way back from serious injuries. If the cannon-equipped battering ram performs anywhere close to the end of last season this spring, he likely won’t be caught.
Let The Harbaugh Begin
Much will be made about Jim Harbaugh’s first spring in Ann Arbor and understandably so. One of the biggest names in the sport was just handed the keys to a Ferrari. The engine still looks and sounds like an automobile masterpiece, although the thing needs work. It also needs time.
While the quarterback will be the focus, this spring will be about acclimation, comfort and taking the first few steps of a long process. That won’t stop many from winding themselves up in a knot of unrealistic expectations before they should, though. That’s understandable; it’s Jim [expletive deleted] Harbaugh. But patience will be necessary.
The Jake Coker Show, For Real This Time
For the second year in a row, Alabama enters spring with questions at quarterback. Last year, the position was critiqued after each and every spring practice for its lack of productivity. Jake Coker was supposed to alleviate those concerns when he arrived later on, although he never did.
This year—after struggling early and then losing out on the starting spot last year—Coker will have the spring to assert himself as the starter once more. He will enter as the likely favorite, although there will be ample competition. Keep an eye on Blake Barnett, the true freshman early enrollee. Although it’s not in Nick Saban’s nature to start a true freshman out of the gate, Barnett could be the one to make him break from his mold.
Auburn Overhaul
Will Muschamp has work to do, and he will be well compensated to ensure that work gets done. Auburn’s new defensive coordinator will begin his overhaul of a defense that allowed nearly 400 yards a game in 2014. He will get back defensive end Carl Lawson, who missed last season with a knee injury, and his presence should provide an enormous boost to a defensive line that struggled to get pressure.
Outside of Lawson, however, it will be up to Muschamp to completely rework a group that simply needs to be adequate given the pieces on offense. Under his guidance, with talent in place and more on the way, they have an opportunity to surpass those goals. (Translation: he can earn that money rather quickly.)
Freshmen Ineligibility Chatter
Not specific to one team or even conference, the conversations regarding freshmen ineligibility—and returning to the model of working young players into the college lifestyle slowly—will be a frequent talking point with coaches and players during media encounters. Despite its attachment to the Big Ten’s hip, the very concept of returning to this drastic practice won’t be something a conference takes on by itself.
It would be at too significant of a disadvantage to take that plunge. While the initial—predominantly negative—response will likely prevent this idea from moving beyond the outrage stage, it will spin off more reasonable ways to make academics a focal point yet again.
Spring Football Top 25
Nothing enrages a room full of Internet strangers quite like an arbitrary ranking of teams we still know relatively little about. That’s why these teams are practicing, after all.
So, with that bit of commentary out of the way and my comment-section riot shield holstered against my midsection, let’s enrage one and all. With all recruiting classes assembled and rosters mainly intact—at least before dreaded offseason attrition comes into play—here’s my top 25 as spring begins.
If your team is not included or in your mind is undervalued, please know that this is a personal vendetta against you or the mascot you support. That can be the only reasonable answer.
1. Ohio State
2. TCU
3. Baylor
4. USC
5. Alabama
6. Oregon
7. Auburn
8. Michigan State
9. UCLA
10. Clemson
11. Notre Dame
12. Arizona State
13. Georgia
14. Ole Miss
15. Georgia Tech
16. Arizona
17. LSU
18. Wisconsin
19. Florida State
20. Stanford
21. Arkansas
22. Boise State
23. Utah
24. Missouri
25. Tennessee
Players to Watch
Ty Issac (Michigan, RB)
Not long ago—go back about 18 months—Issac was a promising young running back looking for carries in a loaded USC backfield. Now, having sat out a year to transfer to Michigan, Issac enters a tremendous situation with a new head coach.
At 6"3" and 240 pounds, Jim Harbaugh will be able to use his new toy in a variety of ways. Issac’s workload is to be determined, although you’ll see him plenty this year. (I’ve long thought he should make the move to tight end, although Michigan will find a place for him on the field.)
Seth Russell (Baylor, QB)
If early returns are any indication, Baylor’s next quarterback should command the steering wheel and drive this offense without noticing that they changed drivers. “Right now, Seth is going to have to get beat out,” Baylor coach Art Briles told Max Olson of ESPN.com in February. “He’s the guy that’s been here, knows the system and we’ll see how those other guys develop.”
Although early enrollee Jarrett Stidham has the arm to make it interesting, Russell has star potential with stars around him. The job feels like it has been won already. Now it simply comes down to seeing how good Russell can become.
Jovon Robinson (Auburn, RB)
A former Auburn commit who was ruled ineligible because of a grade change, Jovon Robinson played the last few seasons at Georgia Military College and absolutely thrived. He posted enormous numbers and looked the part of a bigger back with blazing speed.
Robinson was 247Sports’ No. 1 JUCO recruit this past year. He enrolled at Auburn in December and should be thoroughly acclimated with the campus and playbook. If his highlights are any indication, the Tigers could be getting a truly spectacular weapon. Quite simply, he could be a monster.
Josh Rosen (UCLA, QB)
Of all the early enrollees to be mindful of this spring, Josh Rosen could be the most enticing. And if his stocked cupboard of skills translates to the next level, he could quickly become a problem for Pac-12 defenses.
With Brett Hundley off to the NFL, the nation’s No. 12 recruit and No. 1 pro-style quarterback, according to 247Sports, will get a crack at the starting nod. While Rosen is the most physically gifted quarterback on the roster, he’ll still have to beat out Jerry Neuheisel—who looked good when called upon against Texas last year—and Asiantii Woulard.
Jashon Cornell (Ohio State, DE)
Let’s stay with the early enrollee theme and head to the defending national champions. Although Cardale Jones and Joey Bosa will steal all headlines for the foreseeable future—and understandably so—I’m fascinated by Jashon Cornell’s potential and the impact he could provide early on.
The No. 7 strong-side defensive end, via 247Sports, in the class of 2016 arrives with size. At 260 pounds, Cornwell has a body to play right away. And while he won’t have a Bosa-like impact as a freshman, he should crack the rotation as a pass-rusher and be a name to watch on the other side of the line. Eventually, he will be impossible to miss.
Coaches Who Could Really Benefit From a Productive Spring
Bob Stoops, Oklahoma
With his offensive staff almost entirely rebuilt, Oklahoma’s longtime head coach needs to make the most of this limited time with his team. Despite last year’s startling derailment, it’s not all bad.
When you have a Samaje Perine to work with—and at least two more years to build around one of the nation's elite running backs—you have a nice place to start. But there is pressure mounting, holes to fill and work to be done on both sides of the ball.
Les Miles, LSU
The defensive talent, especially in the secondary, is there. Leonard Fournette, maybe the most physically gifted running back in the sport, should be even better; Malachi Dupre, the sophomore wideout, is poised to explode. Les Miles has pieces all over the place, although he needs to solve the quarterback quandary that plagued him last season. Is it Anthony Jennings or Brandon Harris? The Tigers need to figure that out.
Al Golden, Miami
The Hurricanes’ head coach finds himself in a fascinating predicament. He has found his quarterback in Brad Kaaya, who looks to be one of the best young QBs in the nation. He has a magnificent recruiting class taking shape for the 2016 cycle, one that could infuse the roster with talent.
The problem? Golden needs to win now to fight off pressure that change is needed, and he needs to replace quality players relatively quickly to prove he warrants the conductor role of the long-term plan.
Frank Beamer, Virginia Tech
The Hokies need to find an offense; it’s that simple, really. When you look at the talent on the defensive side and the way that unit played for much of the year, even a competent offense would win this team enough games. Is Michael Brewer still the guy? Where will the production come from the skill positions? The ACC is not as top heavy as it has been in recent years, and there is an opening for the Hokies if they can find balance.
Large Man of the Spring
Good news, everyone. LaQuan McGowan, Baylor’s backup guard/superhuman is now listed at 6'7" and 410 pounds on his official Baylor bio, up from his 390-pound listing last year. That is a lot of person.
After scoring a touchdown in the Cotton Bowl, McGowan has become a legend of sorts. Heck, I wrote a lengthy profile about the play and the future of this player. Since that piece was posted, Art Briles has provided a little bit more information about the role McGowan could play this year.
“We’re looking at him as kind of a slot and tight end type of guy,” Briles told John Werner of the Waco Tribune-Herald. “He can certainly help us in the run game in those situations. The way we’re looking at it is we’ve got three games in nonconference to kind of feel it out and see what he can do and teach him what to do in live action.”
There is so much magnificent potential here. I cannot wait.
The Most Important Name You Won’t Hear This Spring
Although there are a handful of notable absentees and limitations this spring due to injury, no silent party will be more critical to his team’s success in 2015 than soon-to-be Oregon Duck Vernon Adams Jr. The former Eastern Washington quarterback is due to arrive at Oregon on June 14, the day after he graduates from his former school where he totaled more than 100 touchdowns in three seasons.
Once Adams arrives, he'll experience a crash course of sorts. As a graduate transfer, he will be eligible to play right away. And given his immense skill set and confidence, there’s little reason to believe he won’t succeed on a bigger stage.
“I want to earn the starting spot, earn everyone’s trust, win games, win a Pac-12 championship, hopefully a Heisman and a national championship,” Adams told Bleacher Report. “My goals are set high.”
Although he won't have the spring to help catapult toward these goals, it's hard to envision a better overall fit for an offense that will attempt to replace one of the greatest college football quarterbacks to ever suit up.
Power Ranking Jim Harbaugh’s Finest Michigan Tweets
If you aren't following Jim Harbaugh on Twitter yet, please do yourself a favor and change that immediately. Sprint to Twitter. He's a real treat, and Harbaugh will likely continue to develop his ability to say really odd, hilarious and football-y things 140 characters at a time.
There will be plenty more to come, although here are his greatest hits as Michigan takes the field.
No. 5. Judge Judy Shout-out
"Big Congrats to Judge Judy on signing her contract extension thru 2020 from a Devout Fan!
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) March 3, 2015"
No. 4. Madonna takes a tumble; Harbaugh puts his arm around her shoulder
"@Madonna From one Wolverine to another, WE respect your Toughness! - "The show must go on" #GoBlue
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) March 1, 2015"
No. 3. A message to the haters
"Thought of the day - As my esteemed associate and Friend The Great Frank Gore has taught me & tells me "These haters can't hold me back"
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) February 10, 2015"
No. 2. New enthusiasm
"Attacking this day with Enthusiasm Unknown to Mankind
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) January 15, 2015"
No. 1. Hello, Pope
"Now following Pope Francis @Pontifex. Go Blue!
— Coach Harbaugh (@CoachJim4UM) January 8, 2015"
And Finally, Let's Set Some Spring Football Game Attendance Odds
In recent years, spring game attendance has become the “how much do you bench?” and “my dad could beat up your dad” of the college football world. What does it mean to have more than 75,000 fans in the stadium to watch a scrimmage? Who knows, although it is impressive nonetheless. Plus, tailgating in March or April is never a bad idea.
After watching its attendance title go to rival Auburn in 2013, Alabama retook its throne last year when 73,506 fans, via AL.com, watched Lane Kiffin call plays for the first time.
In an effort to enrage even more Internet people before we say our goodbyes, here are odds for this year's spring game attendance crown. Coming off a national title, Ohio State is a slight favorite over essentially the SEC and Penn State.
Ohio State 2/1
Alabama 3/1
Tennessee 7/2
Auburn 6/1
Penn State 10/1
Nebraska 15/1
Arkansas 18/1
Texas 20/1
Florida 25/1
Georgia 28/1
Florida State 30/1
Clemson 30/1
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