Pac-12 Football: One Key Spring Standout from Every Team

Spring practice is underway for nearly every college football team in the country.

While we may be watching to see how these teams perform and what their weaknesses are, we should be keeping an eye on the players as well.

We all know who the stars of the teams are.

This article will give credit to all of the players that you may not hear much about, but are having an amazing spring practice. They might end up sliding up that depth chart and receive more playing time than they would have before the season started. 

Here are the spring standouts for each team in the Pac-12.

Arizona: S Adam Hall

Arizona had the worst secondary in the Pac-12 last season, allowing nearly 300 passing yards a game.

The loss of safety Adam Hall didn't help, as he missed all but one game of last season due to an ACL injury. The good news is that he's completely healthy and showing what he's got in practice.

“It feels good to be out here with the guys running around making plays,” Hall said. “I feel really good. I’m trying to get better every day. By the time we get back in the swing of things after spring ball I should be 1,000 percent.”

Hall will be a great addition for this team when he returns. In his sophomore season in 2010, he finished the year with 54 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and intercepted two passes.

Oregon

Oregon doesn't start spring practice until April 3, as they prepare for the spring game that will take place April 28.

Oregon State

Oregon State doesn't start spring practice until April 3, as they prepare for the spring game that will take place April 28.

California: WR Joel Willis

California was ranked eighth in the Pac-12 last season in passing yards, averaging 246 a game. And with two of last year's leading receivers no longer on the roster, (And Keenan Allen walking around on crutches) it wasn't looking good for the Golden Bears. That was until former defensive back Joel Willis began lining up as a wide receiver in practice.

"We've moved Joel Willis to receiver," Coach Jeff Tedford said. "He's going to be great addition for us at that position the way he runs and with his athleticism. It's a good fit for him. He's been kind of chomping at the bit to play receiver and with our receiver depth right now it's a good time for him as well."

Willis is a redshirt freshman who played defensive back in high school, but did line up at receiver as well at times and finished his senior season with 40 receptions for 905 yards. He's a smaller guy at 5'10", but is extremely fast and could be a playmaker for the Golden Bears offense.

Stanford: CB Wayne Lyons

Defense has really been big for Stanford throughout spring practice, but the progress of cornerback Wayne Lyons is really turning some heads. The sophomore corner missed a majority of last season due to foot surgery, but he is back on the field and the head coach is holding him to extremely high expectations.

"Before it's all said and done, he'll be up for the (Thorpe Award) for the best defensive back in the nation."

That's extremely high praise and great news for fans of the Cardinal, who have lost a few key pieces on the defensive side of the ball. Lyons seems up to the challenge and says there's no pressure at all trying to fulfill those expectations.

"

Ah, man. There's no pressure. It's an honor that he thinks so highly of me, but personally I have to prove myself. It's great he said that about me, but I feel like I have to perform on the field and prove myself to be a great player. I need my film to talk. I need my film to dictate who I am. Words can't tell who a player is. Only film can tell the kind of player I am.

"

Washington State: LB Corey Laufasa

The Cougars only recently began spring practice under new head coach Mike Leach, so there's not much to go off of. Redshirt senior Corey Laufasa made a big play for the defense when the team put on pads for the first time:

"

The defense turned in one of its better days as a whole, popping a lot and even getting "pick-6" from linebacker Corey Laufasa who has moved to the defensive side of the ball after spending the past two seasons at fullback.

"

There are several players for Washington State that will be trying out new positions this year, including Eric Oertel switching from running back to linebacker and Kyle Lappano. who is also a former running back. is working with the defensive backs.

If Laufasa can continue to standout, Washington State may have a solid contributor on the defensive side of the ball.

Arizona State: Entire Offensive Line

Arizona State has a ton of question marks heading into the season.

A new head coach, trying to find a new quarterback, nearly the entire offensive line is gone, the list goes on and on.

But when coach Todd Graham said that the offensive line has actually been a bright spot so far, you had to put it up.

"You know what? ... I am really encouraged, " Graham said. "We feel good about that group. This is hard for those big guys. They were not in shape. But I've been very pleased. There's all kinds of different things that we're doing that's been different than anything they've done. That's been a bright spot."

This is a unit that lost starters Garth Gerhart, Dan Knapp and Aderious Simmons from a year ago and also lost depth behind those big guys as well.

Needless to say, the Sun Devils have their work cut out for them, but the progress is a huge positive for this team moving forward.

Colorado: DE Chidera Uzo-Diribe

Defensive end Chidera Uzo-Diribe may have only been a 3-star recruit coming out of high school, but the guy knows how to play football. For a Buffalo defense that was ranked 10th in the Pac-12 a season ago as far as yards are concerned, it's great to know he's healthy and ready to go.

"He's looks great . . . he's shown some good versatility playing the run and the pass (and) he's been the best player on defense this spring, the hardest for our offense to contend with." Defensive coordinator Greg Brown said.

Uzo-Diribe is a big boy at 6'3", 250 pounds and is a pass rusher at heart. He'll line up at defensive end this season, but should see some time at linebacker as well. He played in 12 games last season and racked up 18 tackles and 5.5 sacks in limited action.

Expect to see a lot more of this guy and be a key contributor throughout the year.

USC: WR Marqise Lee

Marqise Lee had 73 receptions for over 1,000 yards and 11 touchdowns his freshman season, but he's doing something in practice that is really impressing head coach Lane Kiffin.

Enough for him to say he "could be the best [receiver] to ever play here,"

Think about all of the history at USC and all of the great receivers for a second and tell me that's not doing something right.

Wide receivers coach Tee Martin also jumped in on the praise a little bit as well.

"You can tell him stuff one time, and he kind of looks at you, then he goes and does it right," Martin said. "You can't coach that." 

We know the Trojans have arguably the best receiver corp in the country, but maybe Lee is the receiver we should be most focused on and not Robert Woods.

UCLA

UCLA doesn't start spring practice until April 3 as they prepare for the spring game that will take place on May 5.

Washington

Washington doesn't start spring practice until April 2 as they prepare for the spring game that will take place on April 28.

Utah: QB Jordan Wynn

Utah was one of the worst passing teams in the country, only averaging 25 points per contest.

The passing game was ranked 99th and the running game struggled to average 137 yards on the ground. The Utes changed their offensive coordinator and the progress of quarterback Jordan Wynn has been shown in spring practice.

"The thing that I never worry about with Jordan Wynn is his decision making process," new offensive coordinator Brian Johnson said. "He's extremely smart and knows where the ball should go. He's looked good throwing the ball. He was accurate, and we just have to keep him healthy."

Wynn completed just 56 percent of his passes in the first four games of the season and threw two interceptions to his six touchdown passes. If Wynn can improve those numbers next season, the Utes may be able to compete in the south division.