Winners and Losers of Saturday's College Football Spring Games
Just like that, spring practices are slowly but surely coming to a close. This Saturday marked the last major slate of spring games. With the exception of Oregon's spring game on May 2, the long summer offseason is approaching in earnest.
So what did we learn from this weekend's group of glorified scrimmages? Not a ton, but there were a handful of highlights and lowlights. UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen looks like a legitimate competitor for the No. 1 job, and Tennessee showed off more of its young talent. Kansas, on the other hand, had perhaps the worst spring game of any team this year.
From unfortunate injuries to unsolved quarterback questions, emerging stars and everything in between, here are the winners and losers from Saturday's spring games.
Winner: Leah Still and the Temple Owls
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It's appropriate that this is the first winner, because let's be real: Spring games are little more than a chance to get in one final practice in front of fans and have some fun.
They also provide an opportunity to do some good for others. For Temple's spring game, the Owls invited Leah Still, the four-year-old daughter of Cincinnati Bengals offensive lineman Devon Still, to be a special guest. Still not only got to conduct the opening coin toss, but she scored a 45-yard touchdown pass as well.
You can see a video of the touchdown here.
Still, as you may know, had pediatric cancer and has been a source of inspiration to many. That cancer is currently in remission.
This was well-done by Still and the entire Temple athletic department. Really well done.
Loser: West Virginia's Quarterbacks
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Though he was not technically named the starter, Skyler Howard entered West Virginia's spring game as the "clear-cut No. 1" quarterback, according to head coach Dana Holgorsen. Exiting spring, there was no indication that was about to change.
However, the overall quarterback play in the spring game was subpar, to say the least. Howard led the way with 9-of-22 passing for 121 yards, according to stats gathered by Allan Taylor of West Virginia Metro News. William Crest, who also saw time as a wide receiver and punt returner, went 3-of-5 for 31 yards.
"We're going to figure out what he does best," Holgorsen said of Crest, per Taylor.
No other quarterback completed more than a single pass. Offenses won't show a ton of wrinkles in spring, and raw stats can be misleading at times, but West Virginia quarterbacks threw a lot of inaccurate passes. This is Howard's job to lose, and it doesn't look like anyone will catch him. That said, you'd like to see a better showing for a job that is still open.
West Virginia's defense is much improved, but if the spring game showed anything, it's that the running game may be the strength of the offense. According to Taylor's stats, eight rushers ran for a total of 201 yards.
Winner: Arkansas Fullback Kody Walker
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Arkansas has one of the best one-two punches at running back in college football with Jonathan Williams and Alex Collins. However, the Razorbacks have a third great option in Kody Walker.
The senior fullback also showed he could be a dominating rushing option in Saturday's spring game, getting a bulk of the carries. In the first half, he carried the ball 22 times for 124 yards, per Doc Harper of ArkansasFight.com. Walker's final stats were 26 carries for 174 yards and three touchdowns.
With this spring performance, it's clear Walker can be a bruising rushing threat in addition to fulfilling his more traditional fullback duties. Arkansas showed it had other weapons too. Quarterback Brandon Allen hit tight end Jeremy Sprinkle and leading receiver Keon Hatcher often, but the running game was excellent as usual.
With Williams, Collins, Walker and that huge offensive line, the Razorbacks are going to be a tough offense to stop in 2015.
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Winner: UCLA Quarterback Josh Rosen
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If we are to believe UCLA head coach Jim Mora—and we have no reason not to—we won't know who the Bruins starting quarterback will be until the season opener against Virginia.
But it would appear early enrollee freshman Josh Rosen is thoroughly entrenched in the battle for the starting job. In his first spring game as a Bruin, he went 13-of-17 with two touchdowns and one interception, per Edward Lewis of Rivals.com.
Bleacher Report colleague Jason Fray, who ran a live blog during the spring game, provided more context:
"Rosen looked very good during his time as the signal-caller. He was in full command of the offense—never looking rattled. Like [fellow quarterback Asiantii] Woulard, Rosen's arm strength is a cut above that of [Jerry] Neuheisel's.
If one were to guess, Woulard and Rosen will be the top two quarterbacks this upcoming season for the Bruins.
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Whether or not Rosen wins the job remains to be seen, but for him to come in as a freshman and be in the thick of the race says a lot. Certainly, he's looking the part.
Loser: Kansas QB Michael Cummings
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If there's one thing that head coaches want during spring, it's to come out the other side as healthy as possible. Yes, spring is a time to be physical and knock off some of the rust, but you don't want to do too much, either.
Unfortunately, Kansas is seeing the result of what happens when spring games go wrong. Early on in the Jayhawks scrimmage, safety Michael Glatczak hit quarterback Michael Cummings low. The redshirt senior went down, clutching his knee, and later went to the locker room.
To make matters worse, Cummings was wearing a red no-contact jersey.
Cummings was in position to win the starting job. To what extent his injury affects that quarterback battle remains to be seen. Additionally, head coach David Beaty announced that receiver Rodriguez Coleman and running back Corey Avery are suspended for violations of team rules.
"Their future is uncertain," Beaty said, per Rustin Dodd.
Avery was the team's leading rusher in 2014 with 631 yards and five touchdowns.
Winner: Tennessee's Wide Receivers
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Injuries have ravaged Tennessee's depth chart this spring, especially on defense. However, one area that still looks great is the receiving unit.
Minus Von Pearson, who is currently a suspect in an alleged rape investigation, according to the Knoxville News Sentinel, Tennessee's wide receivers showed up in Saturday's spring game. In all, six different players caught 11 passes for 195 yards and two touchdowns, according to the program's official stats.
Pig Howard, who wore a gray no-contact jersey, led all pass-catchers with three receptions for 49 yards. Sophomore Josh Malone had a touchdown and the day's longest reception of 65 yards.
Quarterback Joshua Dobbs went 5-of-8 for 94 yards and looks like a more polished, more accurate passer. If he can complement his athleticism and the run game of Jalen Hurd with a more potent passing attack, Tennessee's offense will be as good as any in the SEC East.
Winner: Wisconsin Wide Receiver Robert Wheelwright
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With the loss of running back Melvin Gordon to the NFL, Wisconsin is in need of new playmakers. Corey Clement, who backed up Gordon a year ago, is primed for his own breakout year.
But what about the passing game? The Badgers are far from a pass-first team, but they have to show some semblance of balance on the offense. Last year, Wisconsin threw just 15 passing touchdowns.
Junior receiver Robert Wheelwright looks like he could emerge as a No. 1 weapon in the passing game. On Saturday, he caught two touchdown passes, one each from quarterbacks Joel Stave and Bart Houston. (You can see both touchdowns here.)
Yes, Wisconsin will still be a run-oriented offense, but it would help to have some players down the field. The question will be whether Stave (or whoever starts) has enough time to throw. According to Jeff Potrykus of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, offensive line is a bit of a question mark exiting spring.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
