College Football Spring Practices 2015: Full Schedule and Dates for Top 25 Teams
It's been slightly more than one month since Urban Meyer lifted up the national championship trophy after his Ohio State Buckeyes won the title and put an end to college football until the fall.
That is one month too long.
In a country that is starving for anything football related—how else could you explain the fascination and televised broadcast of something like the NFL combine—spring football is not that far away. That is music to the ears of fans across the country.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
While spring practice and games can never match the allure of a fall Saturday that is dominated by tailgating and the sounds of fight songs carrying through the crisp air, at least it's football. With that in mind, here is a look at the spring game dates for the top 25 heading into the 2015 campaign and some key storylines to watch during practices.
The top 25 consists of my own personal rankings, and the spring game schedules can be found here, courtesy of FBSchedules.com.
| 1 | Ohio State | April 18 |
| 2 | TCU | April 10 |
| 3 | Baylor | Baylor |
| 4 | Alabama | April 18 |
| 5 | Oregon | May 2 |
| 6 | USC | April 11 |
| 7 | Michigan State | April 25 |
| 8 | UCLA | April 25 |
| 9 | Clemson | April 11 |
| 10 | Arizona State | April 10 |
| 11 | Georgia | April 11 |
| 12 | Arizona | April 10 |
| 13 | Florida State | April 11 |
| 14 | Notre Dame | TBA |
| 15 | Auburn | April 18 |
| 16 | Ole Miss | April 11 |
| 17 | Wisconsin | April 25 |
| 18 | Arkansas | April 5 |
| 19 | Georgia Tech | TBA |
| 20 | Oklahoma State | April 18 |
| 21 | Texas A&M | TBA |
| 22 | Boise State | TBA |
| 23 | LSU | April 18 |
| 24 | Minnesota | April 11 |
| 25 | Utah | April 25 |
Key Storylines
Cardale Jones Show Continues
There is one storyline that is going to dominate all of college football during spring practice and the entire lead-up to the season—the race to become Ohio State's starting quarterback.
It really is an incredibly unique situation. Braxton Miller was a Heisman Trophy candidate throughout the 2013 season and was the assumed starter for 2014 before he got hurt in fall camp. J.T. Barrett took over and played his way into Heisman consideration before getting hurt himself in the Michigan game.
Then third-stringer Cardale Jones not only stepped into the open spot, he won the Big Ten and national championships by beating Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon.
With all three returning to Columbus, the question naturally becomes who will start in 2015? Kevin McGuire of College Football Talk pointed out just how ridiculous the whole situation truly is:
Jones will have a substantial advantage over the other two in spring practice because Miller and Barrett are still recovering from their injuries and won't be nearly 100 percent in April. Throw in the momentum on his side from the national title run (remember, he made mincemeat of the vaunted Alabama defense in the Sugar Bowl), and it is hard to make a case against Jones.
Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports and Dave Briggs of The Toledo Blade noted that some former Buckeyes think Jones will win the job:
"Couple combine notes: Devin Smith said he guesses Cardale Jones will be the Buckeyes' starting QB in '15.
— Dave Briggs (@DBriggsBlade) February 19, 2015"
If Jones comes out in spring practice and the spring game (in front of what could be a crowd of almost 100,000 in "The Horseshoe" given the national championship) and dominates, he will have a substantial lead in this high-profile race. He has certainly come through under pressure before, so this will be an interesting storyline to follow.
SEC West Healing Begins
The SEC has been the king of college football for nearly a decade, but it took some lumps during bowl season.
Alabama lost to Ohio State in the College Football Playoff, Auburn lost to Wisconsin in the Outback Bowl, LSU lost to Notre Dame in the Music City Bowl, Ole Miss lost to TCU in the Peach Bowl (by 39 points), and Mississippi State lost to Georgia Tech in the Orange Bowl.
That’s right, the big, bad SEC West went 2-5 in bowl season, and the only wins were low-profile victories by Arkansas and Texas A&M over Texas and West Virginia, respectively. So much for the untouchable division in the best conference (to the SEC East's credit, it played very well in bowl season and redeemed itself for what was perceived to be a down year).
If the SEC West is going to reclaim its throne in the 2015 season, it begins with spring practice.
Alabama will have to find a way to replace superstar wide receiver Amari Cooper, impact safety Landon Collins and quarterback Blake Sims, among others. Auburn needs to find the quarterback of the future after the departure of Nick Marshall. LSU has to find a way to score points this year, and Ole Miss needs to simply put the Peach Bowl behind it.
Throw in Arkansas' quest to prove that its late-season momentum was not a fluke, and there are plenty of intriguing storylines to watch in the SEC West during spring practice. You can bet college football fans across the nation will be watching.
Marcus Mariota's Replacement
The last time we saw Oregon, the Ducks were walking off the field after a national championship loss. The future was unclear, especially since Heisman Trophy winner Marcus Mariota was expected to leave for the NFL draft, which he eventually did.
It was only natural to wonder who was going to play quarterback in 2015. After all, Oregon has developed into an elite program, but it needs a dual-threat signal-caller running the no-huddle offense who can make plays with his legs and arm.
Enter Eastern Washington transfer Vernon Adams.
All Adams did in three seasons at Eastern Washington was rack up 110 passing touchdowns, 10,348 yards and 11 rushing touchdowns. He is the exact type of quarterback who can step in right away in Oregon's system and make those winning plays with his running and passing abilities, and he already beat the Ducks' archrival, Oregon State, once when he was at Eastern Washington.
Adams may have finished in second place in the race for the Walter Payton Award (the FCS' equivalent to the Heisman), but playing at Oregon with national title aspirations is a new set of pressure. How he handles it will go a long way toward determining how the season unfolds.
Sam Houston State coach K.C. Keeler discussed Adams’ ability, via Andrew Grief of The Oregonian:
"Is he Marcus Mariota? There is only one of those who is pretty special. But he's a really talented kid who when you put a special group of athletes around him.
When he goes to the practice field, they're not going to say he's a guy who moved up from FCS. He'll be every bit as talented as the guys in the locker room he's with.
"
Given the talent and the fit in the system, it makes sense that Adams would be the favorite to land the job. The problem is, he cannot officially join the program until summer, which leaves the door open for the likes of Jeff Lockie, Ty Griffin, Taylor Alie and even Morgan Mahalak and Travis Waller to make some early strides.
Much like Miller and Barrett will be forced to watch spring practice while Jones takes control of the Ohio State job, Adams will be digging out from a hole once fall camp gets under way in Eugene. How big of a hole that is depends on the other quarterback performances in spring practice, which is what makes this storyline so intriguing.
Fortunately for Ducks fans, Adams may just have the talent to overcome that deficit come fall.
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