College Football 2012: Spring Football Depth-Chart Losers

Earlier Wednesday we kicked off our depth chart by knocking out some of the big winners in spring ball from a depth-chart standpoint—teams that not only solidified starters at a position or saw big-time players emerge, but also had a wealth of resources at a given spot.

Alabama, Oregon, Florida State and TCU all were in this category as schools that have a lot of a good thing.

On the flip side of that coin, there are schools who spent the entire spring looking for answers, only to still be left with question marks.

Auburn is still looking for some answers at the quarterback position, as Clint Moseley was unable to truly push Kiehl Frazier due to injury. Wisconsin did not get anyone to step up at the quarterback spot, but it got its ace in the form of Danny O'Brien coming in from Maryland.

Some teams are worse off than others.

Penn State's got quarterback issues as Paul Jones, Rob Bolden and Matt McGloin were unable to find a quarterback derby winner after their 15 practices. Texas A&M has Jameill Showers in the lead, but this battle might rage into the fall.

Through it all we've got four teams here that leave spring with as big a question mark as the one they opened camp with.

Michigan State: Wide Receivers

We all know the story of the Michigan State receiver position; it lost everything noteworthy after the 2011 season. The top four pass-catchers are gone for the Spartans: their top three wideouts and their No. 1 tight end.

The Spartans also lost their longtime reliable quarterback, Kirk Cousins, to the NFL. Their young, talented receivers were supposed to spend the spring getting on the same page with new quarterback Andrew Maxwell.

None of this actually happened though.

Maxwell ended up with a sprained knee, forcing him to miss a large portion of spring ball. The two receivers expected to step up, Tony Lippett and Bennie Fowler, both spent a large portion of the spring laid out with injuries. One receiver did impress, Keith Mumphrey; the only problem is he was not catching balls from the man who will be his quarterback for the 2012 season.

We'll see how the receivers jell with a healthy Maxwell come fall, but for now we have a lot of the same question marks as we entered spring with. Even the Michigan State coaches are leaving the issue unresolved given the circumstances.

Notre Dame: Quarterback

Four men enter the competition, and four-ish leave.

There was some stratification leading up to the spring game, as it appeared Tommy Rees and Everett Golson were ahead of Andrew Hendrix and Gunner Kiel.

However, after the spring game there is no clear leader. Golson is a wild card because of his talent and potential. Rees and Hendrix are both somewhat reliable options, but neither gets the Irish faithful excited. Kiel is the fourth horse in this race and is likely the one question that has been answered with respect to the Irish's spring battle: It is not going to be him in 2012.

Heading into the summer season Golson, Rees and Hendrix will be jockeying for position while Kiel looks for ways to make up some of the ground and close the learning gap between him and his teammates.

The dilemma Brian Kelly had entering this spring is the same one he has heading into fall: Who is going to be the quarterback for the Fighting Irish to start the season?

Auburn: Linebacker

Right now the Tigers have one linebacker as a solid "yes" in their depth chart at the linebacker position: Daren Bates.

That leaves two spots up for grabs for four players who have yet to put a stranglehold on the MIKE or SAM position in Brian VanGorder's defense. No true starters named for those positions means that incoming freshmen Cassanova McKinzy and Javiere Mitchell will also be in the mix.

It's not a great start for VanGorder or linebacker coach Tommy Thigpen, as no one has stepped up for the Tigers. In a conference like the SEC, the linebacker position is critical.

Bates seemed to be a sure thing going into the 2012 season, as he was the leading tackler a season ago. Jake Holland, who was also a top-10 Auburn tackler, seems likely to grab one of the spots up for grabs. Auburn's defense finished 11th in the SEC against the run, and its road is not getting any easier as the Tide return a mammoth offensive line, LSU still has its stable of backs and Georgia has some talented ball-carriers.

Keep an eye on what happens with these Auburn linebackers because they will tell a lot of the story on how successful Brian VanGorder's new defense can be in year one.

Florida: Quarterback

This battle has been one of the more intriguing ones to follow since the spring started.

Even though all of the praise and positive chatter has been pushed toward Jacoby Brissett, the Florida players and coaches have been talking about how equal the position battle has been between Brissett and Jeff Driskel. Instead of ending the jockeying for position like Mike Gundy did at the close of Oklahoma State's spring, head coach Will Muschamp is extending the quarterback battle.

Ultimately the question here is how long this can continue. At some point offensive coordinator Brent Pease and the Gators need to pick one quarterback and run with him.

As this proceeds into the summer and fall, the Gators will have two quarterbacks working to be the starter, neither of them being fully prepared. For Florida the situation is not that it has a terrible player and a great player; it's dealing with two fairly similar commodities.

Neither of them is going to blow his adversary out of the water, and the longer this goes on, the less likely the Gators are to have a truly prepared quarterback for the 2012 season.