10 College Football Players Who Dazzled in Early Spring Game Action

Spring football games have technically been going on since February, but only in the past week have they really started to pick up.

For anyone craving a football fix, this is the best—and last—opportunity for several months. And because optimism is at an all-time high in spring, there are always breakout performances that have fans filled with excitement for the future.

These are the football players who dazzled in the early weeks of spring practices.  

The only thing that matters here is that the player saw the field. Stats, while helpful, don't always tell the full story. What matters just as much is context. What does the depth at a certain position look like? How productive was this player (or position) last year? Remember, these are glorified scrimmages that focus more on situations than box scores. 

Florida State Wide Receiver George Campbell

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Among the myriad questions the Florida State Seminoles must answer for 2015 is who takes over in the receiving unit. Travis Rudolph is a surefire starter, but beyond that, there's a lot of room for shuffling. 

Freshman early enrollee George Campbell looked phenomenal, however, in their spring game over the weekend. In the first quarter, Campbell took a pass over the middle from backup quarterback J.J. Cosentino, evaded a couple of would-be tackles and sprinted 65 yards for a touchdown.

Granted, the play came against backups, but Campbell has speed to burn and should be able to contribute in some capacity as a freshman. 

“George can run and play, he's physical, he doesn't mind being coached hard,” head coach Jimbo Fisher said, according to Tim Linafelt of the Seminoles website. “He'll do whatever, (say) ‘Yes sir,’ and he plays a hundred miles an hour.”

Early enrollee freshmen stole the show in the Seminoles' spring game—more on that later—and Campbell was a big reason. 

USC's Offensive Line

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We'll go ahead and lump the USC Trojans offensive line into one group because, well, offensive lines are best when they work together as one. 

The Trojans certainly looked like a different and better team up front Saturday. Recall that this is an offense that ranked 96th in the country last year in sacks allowed per game (2.46). Granted, sacks aren't always the fault of the offensive line—and three freshmen started for USC—but that should give you an idea of how much room there was for growth. 

And grow the offensive line did. As a result, quarterback Cody Kessler and backup Max Browne had big days passing. 

"[It's the] strongest it's been since I can remember being around this program," head coach Steve Sarkisian said, per Heather Dinich of ESPN.com. 

The defensive line was banged up, which provides some context for the dominant performance. But there's improvement along the O-line—that much is clear. 

If USC wants to win the Pac-12 and get back on top of college football, improvement up front is an important place to start. 

Baylor Tight End Laquan McGowan

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Former Baylor Bears offensive lineman LaQuan McGowan has made a permanent move to tight end, as noted by the post-spring depth chart (h/t Craig Smoak). This might be—wait, no, it is—the most-anticipated move of any player this offseason. 

McGowan, of the 410-pound physique, gained notoriety when he caught a touchdown pass in the Cotton Bowl in January. However, his move to tight end has become more than an experiment, as Jake Trotter of ESPN.com wrote last month following the Bears' spring game: 

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Consider the audition over. And the move to be permanent. Reminiscent of the Cotton Bowl, McGowan hauled in a 21-yard pass down the seam of the field Friday before burying the free safety that dared to attempt to tackle him. The Bears loves McGowan's potential as a run-blocker at the edge. But considering he can also get off the line and haul in passes, defenses will be forced to play him honest, which should make him a nightmare matchup for the safeties of the Big 12.

"

McGowan is listed as a co-starter at the position, meaning Baylor's coaching staff is no longer joking around. This is an actual thing. McGowan is a natural run-blocker but has shown he can catch passes, as well. 

This should be fun. Lots and lots of fun. 

Florida Running Back Kelvin Taylor

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With the Florida Gators' quarterback situation yet to be fully developed, their running game could play an important factor in offensive efficiency. 

Assuming the depleted offensive line can come together, as well, that is. 

In any case, leading returning rusher Kelvin Taylor looks like he's ready to shoulder the responsibility of the ground attack. Taylor led all rushers for the game with 40 yards and had two touchdowns.

In February, B/R colleague Barrett Sallee wrote that Taylor is the ultimate Heisman sleeper. While it's going to take a lot of wins for Taylor to really break into the legitimate Heisman conversation, he should be in an offense that operates around the rushing game. 

When you're the No. 1 guy in the most important part of the offense, that's usually good news for the stat line. 

Clemson Wide Receiver Mike Williams

Even without quarterback Deshaun Watson, who is still recovering from an ACL injury, the Clemson Tigers offense looked potent in its spring game. 

That's huge for a couple of reasons. 

First, the Tigers offense did little more than crawl a year ago without Watson in the lineup. The fact that Nick Schuessler cemented himself as the backup quarterback cannot be stressed enough. Secondly, the Tigers' skill players picked up where they left off. 

Specifically, wide receiver Mike Williams ruled the day with five catches for 105 yards and two touchdowns. One of those catches was a dazzling, one-handed grab as he ran toward the sidelines. Video of the catch can be seen above. 

Williams had 57 receptions for 1,030 yards and six touchdowns last season. While Clemons is breaking in a new defense, it could be crucial for the Tigers offense to win games. 

Oklahoma Wide Receiver Dede Westbrook

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The Oklahoma Sooners have arguably the top receiver in the Big 12 in Sterling Shepard, but the rest of the unit was truly underwhelming last season. On top of that, it was one of the biggest question marks heading into the Sooners' spring game. 

As it turned out, though, the receiver unit ended up being the biggest pleasant surprise. Specifically, junior college transfer Dede Westbrook showed off his blazing speed in a screen that he took for 28 yards. It was Westbrook's only catch of the day, but he displayed enough to garner a ton of excitement. 

Cliff Brunt of The Associated Press tweeted that Westbrook could be the team's best receiver next to Shepard. Westbrook may not have had the most productive day in terms of pure stats, but he has all the athleticism in the world. Consider his performance a taste of what will (hopefully) come. 

Overall, the Sooners should have more receiving options in 2015. Jeffrey Mead (four catches for 93 yards), tight end Mark Andrews (two catches for 56 yards) and John Humphrey (one catch for 45 yards) all had big days. 

Florida State Safety Derwin James

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Remember earlier when it was noted that a handful of Florida State freshmen impressed in the spring game?

Well, we couldn't leave it at just one slide. Yep, the young Seminoles were just that good. 

Namely, early enrollee safety Derwin James looks like he's going to be a stud who contributes right away. There has been a lot of buzz building around James for some time, and now, everyone knows why. On the second pass of Florida State's spring game, James intercepted quarterback Sean Maguire for a 41-yard pick-six. 

Granted, it was a bad decision and pass by Maguire, and there may have been miscommunication on the route, but it was a great start for James. 

With Jalen Ramsey moving to one of the cornerback spots, there's opportunity for James to contribute next season. During the ESPN broadcast, head coach Jimbo Fisher said nerves were an issue early on. That didn't appear to be the case for the newcomer, though. 

Nebraska Wide Receiver De'Mornay Pierson-El

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No Kenny Bell? No problem for the Nebraska Cornhuskers at wide receiver. 

Sophomore De'Mornay Pierson-El made an impact as a freshman, leading the country with 596 punt return yards and three touchdowns. His role should expand much more in 2015 under first-year coach Mike Riley. 

In Nebraska's spring game, Pierson-El did a little bit of everything, as Mitch Sherman of ESPN.com explained: 

"

Saturday offered a preview as Pierson-El took two jet-sweep handoffs for a total of 39 yards and caught a pair of short passes in addition to the touchdown from Armstrong. Pierson-El also took a punt 46 yards, aided by confusion over whether it was a live return. That won't happen in the fall, but the Huskers will get creative in getting him touches.

"

Riley is a creative offensive mind. One of the things that makes him so good is he truly adapts to the personnel he has on his roster. Pierson-El was third on the team last season with 23 catches for 321 yards and four touchdowns. It wouldn't be surprising to see those numbers go up next season. He has all of the makings of a versatile offensive weapon. 

Michigan Defensive Back Jabrill Peppers

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The spring game earlier this month didn't exactly ease concerns about the Michigan Wolverines offense in 2015. The offensive line remains a problem, and while Shane Morris is in the lead in the quarterback race, the race is far from over.

The defense, on the other hand, shined.

We're talking about defensive back Jabrill Peppers. 

The former blue-chip recruit was supposed to make an immediate impact as a freshman in 2014 but only ended up playing three games because of a leg injury. He's back and more eager than ever to make an impression. According to Dan Murphy of ESPN.com, Peppers had four tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and a pass breakup in Michigan's spring game. 

Peppers was basically everywhere, which is what you hope to see from a star safety. Assuming he can stay healthy throughout the rest of the offseason, in the fall we should finally be able to see what all the Peppers hype was about. 

South Carolina Defensive End Marquavius Lewis

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Last season, the South Carolina Gamecocks had the worst pass rush in the SEC with just 14 sacks. (For the record, that tied for 119th nationally, too.) Not coincidentally, the Gamecocks were one of the worst teams in the SEC in points per game allowed and pass defense. 

Suffice it to say, finding a pass rush has been paramount this spring. However, it appears South Carolina has found a formidable edge player in junior college transfer Marquavius Lewis. 

Lewis didn't have a huge day statistically, but take that with a grain of salt. Everything is vanilla, and one of the top priorities is to keep everyone upright and healthy. However, as David Cloninger of GoGamecocks noted, Lewis was "making life difficult on USC's offensive tackles all day" and was named the defensive player of the spring. 

Lewis turned heads during the spring game, even without the assistance of stats. Given the limited version of Jon Hoke's defense that was on display, that's a good sign for the pass rush this fall. 

Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All 2014 season stats courtesy of cfbstats.com. Spring game stats courtesy of team websites, unless noted otherwise.