College Football Quarterbacks on the Hot Seat in 2010

As we enter spring football, there are a handful of high-profile programs with many questions.

One major question facing any program is who will play quarterback.

If you have watched more than three minutes worth of football in your entire life, you know that the quarterback is easily the most important position on the field.

Some programs have the luxury of bringing back great quarterbacks for 2010.

Others have the unenviable task of unseating a less-than-stellar, yet obvious-choice-because-of-seniority or once-productive signal caller with a younger, and potentially better, option.

That ridiculous sentence can be translated to say, many schools will head into spring practice with quarterback quandary.

Hear are just a few of the current starters who could end up holding the clipboard before October.

Nick Stephens, Tennessee

After a pretty bad sophomore campaign which saw the Vols go 5-7 and got longtime coach Philip Fulmer fired, Nick Stephens might get a shot at redemption in 2010.

That '08 season was definitely forgettable for Stephens, who took over for Jonathan Crompton, who eventually took the job back from Stephens a few weeks later when Stephens proved he really wasn't a much better option than Crompton.

(Yes, I just typed that.)

Stephens appears to be the heir-apparent to a rejuvenated Crompton, who led the SEC in touchdown passes in '09 under a new coaching staff.

Pushing Stephens, however, will be a determined Matt Simms, son of Phil. Not to mention a hotshot California freshman named Tyler Bray.

Nash Nance could also factor into the conversation, but Bray and Simms are enrolled and will go through Spring Practice.

Tate Forcier, Michigan

Rich Rodriguez has to try something, anything, to get above .500 in what amounts to being his make-or-break season in Ann Arbor.

If Rodriguez is on the hot seat, you can bet your bottom dollar that Forcier and probably many others will feel the effects.

Forcier was benched for a short time in '09 and his understudy, Denard Robinson, filled in admirably.

Should Forcier be looking over his shoulder?

I say, you better believe it.

Robinson has the speed and ability to make another of Rodriguez's former players, Pat White, seem like a distant memory.

Stephen Garcia, South Carolina

Really, Spurrier? You recruit and make top college QBs out of Danny Wuerffel, Doug Johnson, Jesse Palmer, and Rex Grossman, but Stephen Garcia is so much of a project it has taken three years for him to even be considered serviceable?

Garcia has gone from highly touted to highly overrated in just a few short years with the Gamecocks.

Spurrier is used to developing QBs who will challenge the nation's elite and play in BCS bowl games. Garcia has lost in the Outback and papajohns.com Bowls the last two seasons.

Behind Garcia sits Reid McCollum. The redshirt freshman was not nearly as highly touted as Garcia, and one would think Garcia would have to fall way out of Spurrier's good graces for McCollum to get a shot.

But if you've watched Garcia play at all, you realize that last statement is not a stretch.

Zac Lee, Nebraska

Nebraska is in the middle of a resurgence. I believe that with all my heart.

Zac Lee, however, is a far cry from Tommie Frazier, Scott Frost, and Eric Crouch.

Lee is not the same style quarterback as any of those three, and Nebraska does not run the same style offense that those three ran.

But surely Lee is not the best that Bo Pelini can offer.

Lucky for sophomore back-up Cody Green, Lee is injured and will likely miss much of spring practice.

I think that will be enough for the 6'4" highly-touted prospect to take the reins and deliver Nebraska a Big 12 title in 2010.

Mike Hartline, Kentucky

Mike Hartline has played well for the Wildcats. Entering the '09 season, he was 6-3 as the 'Cats starting quarterback.

After being injured and missing the majority of '09, Hartline will return in 2010 as the starter despite Morgan Newton's decent freshman season in the Bluegrass State.

Maybe Hartline still gives the 'Cats their best shot at winning. He does have the edge in experience.

But considering a lot of his time under center has been split with dual-threat Randall Cobb, there's reason to believe Newton might have a shot at becoming Kentucky's starter in 2010.

Newton made the most out of his time as Kentucky starter in '09, when he led the 'Cats to a road victory at Auburn in his first career game.

T.J. Yates, North Carolina

The great underachiever is back for his senior season.

To hear Butch Davis tell it, one would think that Yates is a record-breaking quarterback.

Just last week the head coach said Yates is "absolutely the starter."

Apparently a small faction of Tar Heel fans would rather have backup Bryn Renner running the show in 2010.

The 184 members of "Start Bryn Renner in 2010, not TJ Yates" facebook group have no love loss for the struggling starter.

The welcome message to the group states: "Start Bryn Renner in 2010, not T.J. Yates. Yates is horrible. He is one of the worst quarterbacks in the acc and renner was the #7 quarterback recruit last year. At least renner can run instead of yates and his happy feet trying to escape the pocket right after he takes snap."

Is there any chance Butch Davis listens to the growing dismay from the fanbase?

Cody Hawkins, Colorado

Remember the coach's kid on your little league team?

Remember how cocky and certain of his own greatness he was?

Meet Cody Hawkins. I don't know for sure if that's his attitude or not. But I do know that his father apparently feels that his son is the greatest Colorado quarterback since Kordell Stewart.

Not so, Dan. Not so.

Dan Hawkins has given his kid more than enough rope to hang himself on multiple occasions. The kid didn't disappoint, but dad can't seem to bring himself to cut down the rope.

Look for Hawkins to get the picture in 2010 and finally name Tyler Hansen the starter.

Kyle Parker, Clemson

Talk about pressure.

Kyle Parker had a decent '09 season. As a redshirt freshman, Parker completed 55 percent of his passes and threw 20 TDs against 12 interceptions. Not bad for a freshman.

But two incredibly talented, high-profile kids are there to take his spot should Parker experience another rough September.

Sophomore Tajh Boyd is a highly touted prospect who could step right in and take over the reins with little to no problem at all.

Parker is also an All-American outfielder on Clemson's baseball team. That fact could muddy the quarterback waters even more for the Tigers in 2010.

Either way, Parker has little room for error.

Taylor Potts, Texas Tech

Kliff Kingsbury. Graham Harrell. Cody Hodges.

These are three quarterbacks who were plugged into Mike Leach's system and became instant college football greats in Lubbock.

Taylor Potts was supposed to be the next in that long line of system-great-QBs.

After a full season in which Potts threw only 22 TDs (the other three had one season under 25 TDs thrown out of seven seasons as starter) and only had seven yards per completion, there's reason to believe Potts could be ready to take a back seat.

New head coach Tommy Tuberville will definitely install his own system, and logic should lead you to believe that if Potts couldn't cut it in Leach's system, Tuberville's is probably going to render him completely ineffective.

Backup Steven Sheffield threw for over 1,200 yards and 14 TDs in six games last season. Only four of those were starts.

I'd say Potts is a thing of the past in Lubbock.

Just like Leach.

Kevin Prince, UCLA

To hear Rick Neuheisel tell it, Kevin Prince is a work in progress.

He loves the kid and considers Prince the future of UCLA football. But he's leaving plenty of wiggle room should Prince continue to experience growing pains in his sophomore season.

Prince was hounded by injuries during his freshman season, but when he was well, his QB rating of 115, along with the eight touchdowns and eight interceptions, was simply not getting the job done.

If Neuheisel wants to take back the city of Los Angeles, which so many of us would love to see happen, Prince will have to perform much better in 2010.

Who knows if backup Richard Brehaut would do any better.