Most Important College Football Spring Game QB Battles to Watch
Spring practice exists for a number of reasons, but none more so than to help figure out who will start when the college football season begins in September. And no position is more key to get settled than the quarterback, which is why the competitions for that spot tend to serve as the main event at spring games.
April is when most FBS teams wrap up spring ball with their final scrimmages, and there are plenty of quarterback battles to check out. Though many competitions won't officially end until training camp, how candidates perform in the spring game can serve as either a springboard to starting in the fall or the harbinger of a spot further down the depth chart.
It also can prompt some passers to look elsewhere for a starting opportunity, as the weeks immediately after spring games are when we could see some quarterbacks announce their intentions to transfer.
Which are the most important spring game QB battles to watch in the coming weeks? Check out our list, and then give us your thoughts in the comments section.
Alabama Crimson Tide
1 of 10
Spring game: 3 p.m. ET on April 18
TV: SEC Network Plus
The contenders: Blake Barnett (Fr.), Cooper Bateman (So.), Jake Coker (Sr.), David Cornwell (R-Fr.) and Alec Morris (Jr.)
Alabama's quarterback job is open for the second year in a row. This time around, the competition doesn't have to wait until the summer to get into full swing since all contenders are already on the roster. That includes favorite Coker, who lost out to Blake Sims last season but has a leg up on the rest of the field because he's the only one with actual live snaps in this system.
Coker's main competition figures to be Barnett, the 5-star recruit from the 2015 class who enrolled early, while the rest of the lot are probably fighting just to get third-string duties. That would explain why Bateman, who is entering his third year in the program but hasn't thrown a pass in a game, was seen working as a wide receiver Monday, per Michael Casagrande of AL.com.
Because of the late start to last year's competition, Alabama split time between Coker and Sims in its first few games before Sims became the clear winner. Don't expect the same this fall, which is why spring game performance will have a major impact on the race.
Florida State Seminoles
2 of 10
Spring game: 2 p.m. ET on April 11
TV: None
The contenders: J.J. Cosentino (R-Fr.), John Franklin III (R-Fr.), De'Andre Johnson (Fr.) and Sean Maguire (Jr.)
Florida State isn't just replacing a two-year starter at quarterback. It also is replacing a Heisman Trophy winner and the figurehead of its program during a notable run as national champions and ardent title defenders.
None of the candidates to succeed Jameis Winston have that same air of flash and glitz, but that's probably a good thing, considering the amount of attention he drew during his time in Tallahassee.
It might not even be that much of a competition. As Dustin Tackett of the Tallahassee Democrat wrote, Maguire appears to be distancing himself from the pack already.
"Having more time in the system than the other quarterbacks who find themselves in the mix, he is making a solid case for himself as the best option," Tackett wrote.
Franklin has been slotted into the No. 2 spot, while Cosentino ranks third, according to Tackett. Early enrollee Johnson hasn't been able to break through yet but figures to still get some touches during the spring game just to see what he can do.
Georgia Bulldogs
3 of 10
Spring game: 2 p.m. ET on April 11
TV: SEC Network Plus
The contenders: Faton Bauta (Jr.), Jacob Park (R-Fr.) and Brice Ramsey (R-So.)
The pattern of what kind of player has held down Georgia's quarterback spot has been pretty consistent over the past decade. There were youngsters, like Matthew Stafford and Aaron Murray, who earned the job as freshmen and held it until they left school, followed by longtime backups (Joe Cox and Hutson Mason) getting their shots as seniors.
Mason's graduation opens the door for another younger player to be handed the reins, but the candidates also include veterans who have been in the system for a while.
Junior Bauta and redshirt sophomore Ramsey both saw time as Mason's backups last season, which figures to give them an edge over redshirt freshman Park. However, all three have looked sharp in spring ball, per Bleacher Report's Brian Jones, with Park looking particularly impressive in the most recent scrimmage by throwing for 187 yards on just four completions.
LSU Tigers
4 of 10
Spring game: 2 p.m. ET on April 18
TV: SEC Network Plus
The contenders: Brandon Harris (So.) and Anthony Jennings (Jr.)
LSU's quarterback battle has been raging on so long that they may end up writing books about it, though it won't be a particularly uplifting read.
Harris and Jennings competed for the job last offseason, as well, with Jennings winning out but still having to share time with Harris because of a lack of in-game progress.
In 2014, the duo combined to complete 50 percent of their throws—Jennings, who had roughly 80 percent of the attempts, was at 48.9 percent—and contributed to a passing offense that ranked last in the SEC.
The Tigers didn't sign a quarterback in the 2015 recruiting class. While picking up a graduate transfer during the summer is still a possibility for now, the only options are Harris and Jennings.
Head coach Les Miles is having a hard time staying positive about how the competition is going this spring.
"I'm not necessarily pleased with the progress thus far, but I do recognize that there's some real progress being made," Miles told ESPN.com's Adam Rittenberg.
While the spring game will impact the race, it won't determine it. Harris had the far better performance last year but didn't win the starting job.
Michigan Wolverines
5 of 10
Spring game: Noon ET on April 4
TV: Big Ten Network
The contenders: Alex Malzone (Fr.), Shane Morris (Jr.) and Wilton Speight (R-Fr.)
A new coach faces so many questions from fans and the media when he takes over a program, but few are asked as frequently as who he'll have as his starting quarterback.
Jim Harbaugh has three viable candidates to choose from at this point, including one of the two passers he signed in his first recruiting class.
Malzone committed to Michigan when Brady Hoke was still in charge, and he stayed loyal even after Hoke was let go. That might pay off this fall, as Big Ten Network analyst Gerry DiNardo has noted (per Steve Lorenz of 247Sports) that Malzone looked the best in practices he attended this spring.
Of the three competing in spring ball, only Morris has seen action. But his time in relief of (and starting over) Devin Gardner last year was disastrous and shouldn't be held against him, considering how bad the Wolverines offense was in 2014.
Michigan's quarterback battle won't end with the spring game, since signee Zach Gentry—whom Harbaugh flipped from Texas just before signing day—arrives in the summer, and the school has been listed as a possible landing spot for Iowa transfer Jake Rudock. Even with those future possibilities in mind, though, it would serve the existing competitors to perform well in Saturday's scrimmage.
Notre Dame Fighting Irish
6 of 10
Spring game: 12:30 p.m. ET on April 18
TV: NBC Sports Network
The contenders: Everett Golson (Sr.) and Malik Zaire (Fr.)
It's deja vu all over again for Notre Dame at quarterback, with Golson and Zaire once again competing for the top spot.
But there's one major difference: Last year's competition was pretty much a foregone conclusion, but in 2015, there's a clear battle to be the starter.
That's because Golson, after looking so good for much of last season, became so prone to turnovers that he couldn't be trusted to run the offense all alone. This led to Zaire getting into Notre Dame's final regular-season game for meaningful snaps, and then the pair traded off series in the Music City Bowl.
Zaire was the more impressive of the two in that game, by a landslide, and that only served as added fodder to a confident player who's acting this spring like it's his job to lose.
"I'm not really competing with anybody but myself at this point or moving forward," Zaire said last weekend.
NBC Sports Network recently announced it will air the Fighting Irish's spring game. Because it will be played on their practice field instead of in Notre Dame Stadium (due to ongoing renovations), it figures to be one of the more highly rated games on TV.
Ohio State Buckeyes
7 of 10
Spring game: 1:30 p.m. ET on April 18
TV: Big Ten Network
The contenders: J.T. Barrett (So.), Cardale Jones (Jr.) and Braxton Miller (Sr.)
The most highly anticipated quarterback competition in the country wasn't expected to get much momentum going in the spring, as two of the three candidates to lead Ohio State on its national title defense were recovering from significant injuries. But the rapid recovery of Barrett from a fractured ankle in late November has him nearly at full strength and pushing Jones hard during practice.
The same can't be said for Miller, the three-year starter who missed all of last season after injuring his shoulder late in training camp.
"The two-time Big Ten MVP has been pulled back from activity as he continues to recover from the torn labrum in his throwing shoulder," Bleacher Report's Ben Axelrod wrote Monday.
With Miller out of the mix until the summer, it seems, Barrett and Jones are neck and neck for the starting job. Even with Barrett still coming along in his rehab, expect them to trade haymakers during the spring game in an effort to grab the top spot on the depth chart heading into the summer.
Oklahoma Sooners
8 of 10
Spring game: 2 p.m. ET on April 11
TV: Fox Sports Southwest
The contenders: Trevor Knight (R-Jr.), Baker Mayfield (Jr.) and Cody Thomas (R-So.)
Oklahoma's quarterback competition has three players in it: the incumbent looking to get back to form, the transfer who's been itching for a chance to play and the two-sport athlete who chose to give up the other sport to focus on football.
The Sooners also have a fourth key element in determining who will play quarterback: a new offensive coordinator in Lincoln Riley, who is installing the air raid passing attack that he was successful with at East Carolina.
That new system seems to give Mayfield, a former starter at Texas Tech, a strong boost since he ran that offense in 2013 as a freshman. He sat out last year but outshined Knight in Oklahoma's spring game. He likely would have overtaken Knight last fall as he struggled for much of the season.
The wild card in the race is Thomas, who started in place of Knight when he was injured late last year but who looked raw as a passer. Thomas, an outfielder for Oklahoma's baseball team in 2014, quit baseball to give himself a better chance to win the quarterback job.
With three varying types of players vying for the job, the spring game should provide plenty of intrigue.
Texas Longhorns
9 of 10
Spring game: 2 p.m. ET on April 18
TV: Longhorn Network
The contenders: Jerrod Heard (R-Fr.) and Tyrone Swoopes (Jr.)
Texas' quarterback competition got going right from the outset in spring practice, with coach Charlie Strong announcing last week that both Heard and Swoopes would get equal reps with the first-team offense.
While on the surface, that can look like an indictment of Swoopes—who started the Longhorns' final 12 games last season—it also indicates Strong's desire to keep his options open as he heads into his second season at the helm.
Swoopes threw for 2,409 yards and 13 touchdowns with 11 interceptions in 2014, adding 262 rushing yards and four TDs, but now Texas has switched to more of a spread offense and increased mobility will be required from both quarterbacks.
Heard redshirted last year to get himself more prepared for the college game, but with the schematic change, it almost resets his clock in terms of preparation.
Texas ranked 113th in total offense last year, so it won't take much for either passer to show major improvement in that area.
UCLA Bruins
10 of 10
Spring game: 1 p.m. ET on April 25
TV: Pac-12 Network
The contenders: Jerry Neuheisel (Jr.), Josh Rosen (Fr.) and Asantii Woulard (R-Fr.)
Based on the hype surrounding true freshman Josh Rosen, it might seem like it's a done deal that he'll be UCLA's starter when it opens the 2015 season against Virginia on Sept. 5. Coach Jim Mora is saying otherwise, noting after the Bruins' first spring practice Monday that Neuheisel's experience from last season gives him the edge, per Chris Foster of the Los Angeles Times.
Neuheisel, son of former UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel, served as Brett Hundley's backup last year and had a Hollywood-like moment when he came on in relief of the injured Hundley against Texas and led the Bruins to a comeback win. That's what puts him in front for now, but he'll need to do a lot to hold off Rosen and all of the accolades he comes to school with.
The 5-star prospect enrolled early after ranking 12th overall and No. 1 in the 2015 recruiting class for pro-style passers, per 247Sports. His high school, St. John Bosco, was nationally ranked and Rosen frequently played in televised games as a prep star.
Mora probably won't name a starter until training camp, but that won't make what the quarterbacks do in the spring game any less significant.
Follow Brian J. Pedersen on Twitter at @realBJP.
