10 Burning Summer Camp Questions for the 2015 College Football Season
The summer months might mark the official "offseason" for college football, but that doesn't mean everyone is sitting idle. Quite to the contrary, the summer months can often serve as a proving ground for major position battles and a key time for players returning from injury. Summer also serves as a big moment for incoming freshmen, who will experience college football for the first time.
From weight room sessions to "voluntary" practices and film study, summer is not one big vacation for football players. There's still a lot of work to be done. Which players make the most of it? That's what coaches want to see.
With that in mind, we take a look at the burning questions about college football's major storylines during the summer months. From high-profile competitions to position groups with a lot to prove, we examine 10 in the following slides based on unresolved questions from spring practice.
What Will Be the Early Impression of Vernon Adams Jr.?
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Eastern Washington transfer quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. is set to arrive on Oregon's campus within the next week or so. Even though Adams is transferring up from the Football Championship Subdivision for his final year of eligibility, he'll be under the biggest microscope of any transfer in the country (save for perhaps Everett Golson at Florida State).
The competition between Adams and Jeff Lockie will be a tight one. Adams is the human highlight reel while Lockie is the seasoned backup who knows the playbook and locker room inside and out. Ducks head coach Mark Helfrich has heaped praise on Lockie all spring, so it doesn't sound like the job is automatically Adams' to lose.
How quickly can Adams digest what Oregon's coaches want him to do? What kind of chemistry and timing does he develop with a wide receiver unit that should be far improved from a year ago? What kind of command of the offense/locker room will Adams bring? Will there be "wow" plays from the start?
Can Texas' Passing Offense Take Any Steps Forward?
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Texas won six games last year in spite of its offensive inefficiency. With so many key defensive players gone, however, that won't be the case in 2015. The Longhorns, with their new "wide open" attack, have to be better—perhaps much better.
The quarterback competition between Tyrone Swoopes and Jerrod Heard will be a focal point, but the offense's growth involves so much more than that. The wide receiver unit loses two key players in John Harris and Jaxon Shipley. As Jeff Howe of 247Sports notes, "This group needs someone to step up and be a No. 1 receiver."
Younger players like Dorian Leonard, Armanti Foreman and Lorenzo Joe need to step up. Along similar lines, can senior Daje Johnson finally have a breakout year? New wide receivers coach Jay Norvell was let go at Oklahoma in part because of player development problems; he'll have a chance to reverse that narrative with a largely unproven group.
Then, there's the offensive line, which had little-to-no depth or experience to speak of a year ago. There are a lot of question marks this offense has to answer in a hurry. Can the chemistry take off in the summer? That seems like a necessity at this point.
How Is the Recovery Process Going for Ohio State Quarterback Braxton Miller?
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Ohio State's quarterback competition won't really pick up until preseason camp. That's when JT Barrett and Braxton Miller should be healthy enough to battle against Cardale Jones for the starting spot.
Miller is the wild card here. Despite several rumors of a transfer, it appears the two-time Big Ten Offensive Player of the Year is staying in Columbus. Whether he'll finish his career as a quarterback or not seems like the more pertinent question. As Dennis Dodd of CBSSports.com wrote earlier this month, Miller's health status is of bigger concern than Barrett's:
"Questions remain about his health. Following surgery last year for a severe shoulder injury, Miller reportedly won't be 100 percent until late June, early July.
With the emergence of Barrett and Jones, Miller might be the third-best quarterback on the roster.
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Miller is throwing again, which is a good sign, but he's far from being 100 percent. Does that number grow exponentially over the next two months?
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How Quickly Will Everett Golson Catch on at Florida State?
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Besides Adams at Oregon, no other quarterback transfer in 2015 has garnered more attention than Everett Golson to Florida State. A starter of 23 games at Notre Dame, Golson comes to Tallahassee with plenty of ability but ball-security and consistency questions.
If nothing else, he's moving on from one demanding quarterback coach (Brian Kelly) to another (Jimbo Fisher). That means he needs to show up ready. Speaking at a booster event earlier this month, Fisher said he doesn't expect the learning curve to be huge for Golson, but also isn't sure how much he'll know.
"He’ll have a good grasp of a lot of the things we do,” Fisher said (h/t Tom D'Angelo, the Palm Beach Post). "Will it be all of it? I don’t know that. That will all depend on him."
Golson doesn't physically fit the quarterback prototype Fisher has started in the past, but he's a good scrambler and can sling it with the best of them. The competition between Golson and Sean Maguire comes down to who can take better care of the ball and move the chains. Golson has his work cut out for him in both of those categories.
Will Jake Coker Finally Separate Himself in Alabama's Quarterback Race?
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We're quickly approaching the deadline for Alabama to name a starting quarterback. The longer the competition goes into preseason camp, the more you have to think redshirt freshman David Cornwell has a shot to earn the job.
Certainly, the pressure is on senior Jake Coker, the touted Florida State transfer who has yet to cement himself as the No. 1 guy—at least publicly. (For what it's worth, B/R colleague Barrett Sallee has Coker with a slight edge over Cornwell.)
It's been an interesting ride for Coker all the same, though. He fell behind Jameis Winston in the depth chart at Florida State and couldn't leapfrog Blake Sims in his first year with the Tide in 2014. Naturally, '15 was Coker's year, right? Right?
What separated Sims from Coker this time a year ago was Sims' experience in the locker room and understanding of Lane Kiffin's playbook. Can Coker separate himself from Cornwell and Co. this time around with the same criteria? There are no more excuses now. Either Coker takes the summer to separate himself by the start of fall camp, or this marriage might not ever happen.
What's the Status of USC's Defensive Line?
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There aren't many concerns about the trendy playoff pick for 2015. One of them, however, is the development at defensive line. If there's an Achilles' heel for USC, this might be it.
And it's not just because defensive end Leonard Williams is gone. The D-line was decimated by injuries and attrition over the spring. Greg Townsend and Kenny Bigelow were limited due to injuries. Meanwhile, Claude Pelon had some injury and academic issues that prevented him from fully participating.
Jacob Daniel, Rasheem Green, Noah Jefferson, Christian Rector and Kevin Scott are the true freshmen who figure to contribute in some way during preseason camp and into the season. For now, can a battered group heal up, come together and be ready in time for fall practices? We'll find out in August.
Is This the Time When UCLA Frosh QB Josh Rosen Shines?
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If there's a true freshman quarterback who can start right away in 2015, it's UCLA's Josh Rosen. An early enrollee, Rosen was impressive during the Bruins' spring game, going 13 of 17 with two touchdowns and an interception.
But here's why you should really be excited about Rosen: His mental maturity goes beyond his years. This quote from Bruins offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone to Chris Foster of the Los Angeles Times in April speaks volumes about Rosen's ability to adjust to the college game:
"We all know he can throw. We all know he has the tangible things, the physical things. But for a young guy, he has such great composure of what's going on around him and great understanding about all the moving parts and how they work."
If Rosen is going to pick up where he left off, you'd like to see that maturity grow in the summer time. That's when you're working out without the supervision of the coaching staff. That when you're competing in summer drills with teammates. For a true freshman to become a leader quickly, this is the time of year when he would have to excel.
Will Florida Offensive Lineman Martez Ivey Be Physically Ready to Compete?
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If there's any position in football where a redshirt is beneficial, it's along the offensive line. Physically, it's a demanding position for any young player. The O-line is also a unit that has to come together as a whole.
True freshman Martez Ivey won't have the luxury of time on his side. A 5-star recruit according to 247Sports' composite rankings, Ivey will likely be thrust into action right away. Depth is a major problem for the Gators up front, and although a handful of incoming freshmen should help, it'll still be a concern throughout the year.
Ivey told Luke Stampini of 247Sports in April that he's been working hard in the weight room to bulk up from 275 pounds. That work will continue during the summer.
“I’m just staying in the weight room trying to lift weights and gain some weight too,” Ivey said. “I’m up to like 295 right now. I’ll probably drop back down to 285 when I come in and conditioning and ready go.”
Being physically ready is so important for O-linemen and Ivey won't have a lot of time to get there. Between the weight room and the playbook, there's going to be a lot that Ivey has to digest quickly simply because his chances of playing right away are so high.
Does Summer Provide Any Separation for LSU's Quarterback Battle?
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LSU exited spring practice with no real separation between Anthony Jennings and Brandon Harris in the quarterback competition. Based on how both played last year, that might not be a great sign, though head coach Les Miles insisted in May that "both guys are much improved," according to Sam Khan Jr. of ESPN.com.
Jennings has the slight edge at the moment, but his lead certainly isn't large enough to warrant relaxation. Harris was a touted recruit who enrolled early as a freshman and impressed in his first spring game last year. It seems like a matter of time before the proverbial light comes on for him.
That's the main question Harris will face once preseason camp begins. On other end, does Jennings put visibly more separation between himself and Harris come August? At some point, you'd like to see a noticeable gap, regardless of who's in front. Accuracy and decision-making issues won't be solved in two months time during the summer, but there can at least be some improvement. The question is who shows it.
What Happens in the Georgia Quarterback Race Now?
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Greyson Lambert might not be the graduate quarterback transfer with the highest profile in 2015, but he could be among the more likely candidates to start.
Lambert announced last week that he was transferring from Virginia to Georgia. As a graduate player, he'll be eligible to play right away. The Bulldogs' quarterback competition is still open, though Brice Ramsey may have had a slight edge exiting spring.
Now what happens? B/R colleague Barrett Sallee says adding Lambert was an insurance-policy move for head coach Mark Richt. Does Lambert, the most experienced quarterback on roster, come in and win the job right away? Or, will it be a heated battle between him and Ramsey (or among the entire crop of quarterbacks)?
Certainly, summer workouts just got more interesting in Athens. Competition is designed to bring out the best in everyone. With Lambert's addition, you can bet the urgency in the weight room, film room and on the practice field just went up.
Assuming 2016 blue-chip recruit Jacob Eason signs with Georgia next year, the quarterback backfield could get crowded. And no one wants to be the one who gets passed over.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand.
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