College Football's Most Intriguing Spring Game Storylines of 2016
The bulk of one of the long college football offseason's biggest time frames is just around the corner, when the top programs across the country pull back the curtain a little bit on their 2016 squads.
Over the next few weekends, spring games will dominate the news cycle, with experienced veterans and new key players alike showcasing what they'll bring to the table this fall in front of their fans.
While the scoring systems and the amount of intensity may differ in these scrimmages, they each bring a level of intrigue to the preseason projections and chatter. From new coaches and quarterbacks to rebuilding and reloading efforts on depth charts, there are plenty of storylines heading into 2016's spring games.
Here are the most intriguing spring game storylines from college football's top conferences and contenders. Some cover a number of teams across the country, while others are specific to certain big-name programs.
Which storylines intrigue you the most heading into 2016's spring game season? Tell us in the comments below.
New Coach, New Energy?
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The first spring game after a head coaching change is usually one of great excitement for a program and its fanbase. But will that energy carry over into better-looking play on the field?
At Miami, Mark Richt is tasked with restoring his alma mater's former glory. He and his new staff have some exciting pieces to work with—including quarterback Brad Kaaya and cornerback Corn Elder—and the spring game will be the first look at what kind of changes he'll bring to the offense. New coordinator Manny Diaz's 4-3 defense will have a huge spotlight, too.
Richt's former program, Georgia, will officially open life under former Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart. The Bulldogs are itching to get back into championship contention after parting ways with Richt, and all eyes will be on Athens to see what kind of stamp the first-year head coach will place on UGA. A revamped passing attack and a new-look front four will be the top targets in the spring game.
Elsewhere, Justin Fuente brings his high-powered offense and renewed optimism to Virginia Tech in the first spring game after the retirement of legendary head coach Frank Beamer. Fellow conference foe Syracuse will begin its new chapter with a fellow offensive mind in Dino Babers, and rival Virginia will look to command more attention after the splashy signing of Bronco Mendenhall from BYU.
In the SEC, Will Muschamp is getting his second chance at South Carolina, which is looking to rebound after Steve Spurrier's tough final year. Barry Odom will look to continue a tradition of great defense at Missouri. In the Big Ten, Lovie Smith goes to work rebuilding Illinois, while Rutgers' Chris Ash and Maryland's D.J. Durkin transition from ace coordinators to head coaches in the Big Ten East.
Eyes on the Skies
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A close second to "new head coach making his mark" on the annual spring storyline power rankings has to be the new quarterbacks—a storyline that affects a wider range of programs across the country.
In the ACC, Florida State faces another quarterback race with redshirt freshman Deondre Francois impressing early with the first team as returning starter Sean Maguire sits out with a broken ankle, per Brendan Sonnone and Curt Weiler of Jacksonville.com. North Carolina will turn to Mitch Trubisky to lead its big-play attack after the departure of the veteran Marquise Williams.
New quarterbacks will be the central focus at both Michigan and Michigan State in the Big Ten. According to Nick Baumgardner of MLive.com (h/t Bleacher Report's David Kenyon), Wilton Speight, John O'Korn and Shane Morris are splitting first-team reps at Michigan heading into this week's spring game. In East Lansing, the attention turns to Tyler O'Connor, who is the heavy favorite to take over for Spartans star Connor Cook.
The Big 12 will have major quarterback derbies at TCU and Texas—more on those Longhorns later—while the Pac-12 will adjust to a number of new up-and-coming quarterbacks. Dakota Prukop looks set to take the reins at Oregon after the success of last year's FCS transfer Vernon Adams Jr., and USC's Max Browne and Stanford's Keller Chryst are ready to take control of their respective No. 1 jobs after years of hype.
Quarterback questions abound in the SEC, and the spring games will be good chances to find separation and much-needed improvement at Alabama, Arkansas, Auburn, Florida, Georgia, LSU, Mississippi State, South Carolina and Texas A&M.
Freshman Phenoms
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For several recruiting powerhouses, spring games are perfect to unleash a select few of their recent star signings for the first time. The scrimmages will be these early enrollees' first chances at wowing their new teammates, coaches and fans on a bigger stage.
At Georgia, former 5-star quarterback Jacob Eason will definitely be one to watch. The Washington native stayed true to his commitment to the Bulldogs after Mark Richt's dismissal, and he's now focused on winning over a completely different staff under Kirby Smart. Further south, 4-star quarterback Malik Henry will be on display at Florida State's spring game in Orlando.
Shane Buechele at Texas, Florida's Feleipe Franks and Michigan State's Messiah deWeaver are other fresh-faced quarterbacks to watch in a spring game environment. Elsewhere, Auburn will turn to both defensive end Marlon Davidson and wide receiver Kyle Davis to bring some life back into a team that fell flat last year.
Early enrollees who could introduce themselves to the big stage in spring games include Michigan running back Kareem Walker, Notre Dame linebacker Daelin Hayes, Ohio State wide receiver Austin Mack and UCLA wide receiver Theo Howard.
These phenoms will have a chance to score some major momentum in their push for playing time this fall with strong performances against their more experienced teammates. For some, spring games could be the start of a superstar college career.
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Sneak Peek at the Preseason Darlings
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Since the confetti rained down on Alabama at the College Football Playoff national championship game in January—and maybe even some weeks before that—the preseason hype train has been steadily cruising down the tracks for a number of teams. Their spring games will be the country's first real look at these darlings of the offseason.
Tennessee's preseason hype is barreling down the tracks for the second straight season, and the Volunteers have an even bigger reason to believe that this could be the year in Knoxville. Many of the faces for Tennessee's first team will be familiar at the spring game, but fans will want to see how that experienced talent is meshing—especially on the defensive side of the ball with new coordinator Bob Shoop.
On the West Coast, Washington is an intriguing Pac-12 dark horse after a strong finish to the 2015 campaign and a lot of returning talent all across the roster. How will the sophomore backfield of Jake Browning and Myles Gaskin look after a full spring of practices? Will the Pac-12's top defense from last season keep up the momentum?
And let's not forget about Houston, which only lost one game en route to an American title and a Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl victory over Florida State. Head coach Tom Herman's second season with the Cougars will attract a ton of attention, especially with dual-threat phenom Greg Ward Jr. returning at quarterback, a reloading defense and a 2016 schedule that includes a season opener against Oklahoma.
Over the next few weekends, this trio of favored preseason programs and a few others across the country will get to show everyone what the fuss is about for the first time in 2016. If they look impressive, get ready for even more hype across the summer months.
Clemson and Oklahoma's Reloading Defenses
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The two sides that squared off in the College Football Playoff semifinal at the Orange Bowl last New Year's Eve face similar situations this spring. Both Clemson and Oklahoma are title contenders that have a lot of rebuilding to do on defense.
Clemson, which could challenge national champion Alabama for the No. 1 spot in preseason polls, lost defensive end Shaq Lawson, cornerback Mackensie Alexander, defensive end Kevin Dodd, safety Jayron Kearse and others to the NFL this offseason. Phil Steele projects only four returning starters on defense for the Tigers in 2016.
Recent history suggest that shouldn't be a huge problem for Clemson. The Tigers were in almost the exact same spot last spring, and defensive coordinator Brent Venables engineered a top-10 defense for a national runner-up using a large amount of brand-new starters and role players.
At Oklahoma, the reloading of the Big 12's No. 1 defense is a huge storyline after the Sooners lost the likes of defensive end Charles Tapper, cornerback Zack Sanchez and five of their top six linebackers from a season ago. Oklahoma's changes on the defensive side of the ball last year worked wonders, and now it has to build consistency with a whole host of new playmakers.
Both Clemson and Oklahoma will be loaded on offense this year with returning Heisman contenders at quarterback and strong supporting casts. How their counterparts on defense contend with all that firepower in the spring games will be just as important to watch.
Sterlin Gilbert and the New-Look Texas Offense
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A program the size of Texas is always going to command plenty of attention, no matter what record it had in the previous season. And with the pressure on Charlie Strong's Longhorns to produce after a losing campaign in 2015, the eyes of Texas are upon Sterlin Gilbert and the offense.
Last season, Texas slumped offensively for the second straight year under Strong. Inconsistency at the quarterback position and a staff shakeup didn't help matters in the season, as the Longhorns finished last in the Big 12 in passing offense and third-worst in scoring offense and total offense.
The Longhorns went out and hired Gilbert, who served as a co-offensive coordinator at Eastern Illinois, Bowling Green and Tulsa over the last few seasons—under Art Briles disciples Dino Babers and Philip Montgomery. Gilbert is installing the run-pass option offense that is all the rage in the Lone Star State, and nailing down the starting signal-caller will be a major focus in the spring game.
"The Longhorns are looking for the right quarterback to execute new offensive coordinator Sterlin Gilbert’s Baylor-like system," Kevin Flaherty of 247Sports wrote. "Early on, that would seem to favor Tyrone Swoopes over Jerrod Heard and true freshman Shane Buechele. Swoopes has the biggest arm and with it the ability to stress the defense at all levels of the field, an important trait for the system."
Fans will be anxious to see how Texas' new-look attack fares in the spring game as it goes up against a defense that has several young stars. If Swoopes can continue to impress, the spring game could be his best chance to lock up the top spot on the depth chart heading into the fall.
The Next Wave at Ohio State
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A large exodus of talent to the NFL ranks has left Ohio State with the most inexperienced roster in Power Five college football in terms of returning starters—and it's not even close. The Buckeyes return just six starters, and the next-lowest amount in the big conferences is 10.
While Ohio State can rely on the experienced talents of quarterback J.T. Barrett, offensive lineman Pat Elflein and linebacker Raekwon McMillan this fall, the rest of the depth chart is basically open for the next wave of Buckeye talent. Head coach Urban Meyer has stocked the roster with top-notch recruiting classes, and now is the time for the younger stars to prove their worth.
"With so many reps available at so many positions in the Ohio State offense, this spring is a crucial one for the development of a relatively young Buckeyes roster," Bleacher Report's Ben Axelrod wrote.
Ohio State's spring game has been a huge draw in the Meyer era, and this year's game will have the added intrigue of a wide range of new faces in the starting lineup and across the two-deep. Playing time is up for grabs in Columbus, and the scrimmage will be an important time to develop separation and find the newest OSU stars.
From the wide range of talented skill players vying for starting jobs to the new playmakers who have to replace the likes of Joey Bosa, Darron Lee and Vonn Bell on defense, there will be a lot of watching and learning in Columbus during Ohio State's spring game.
Jim Harbaugh's Grand Finale
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The spring of Jim Harbaugh has included a star-studded recruiting event, spring break practices at the best high school program in the entire country and a few Twitter darts at the expense of SEC coaches and a rival administrator.
Now, how will the Michigan head coach wrap it all up?
Michigan's spring game, which will be held this Friday night, already has enough intriguing storylines outside of Harbaugh's off-the-field activities. The quarterback battle will be crucial to how high the Wolverines will fly after a 10-win debut campaign for the former Stanford and NFL head coach, and Jabrill Peppers at linebacker has been a key development this spring.
Peppers will be a key player in new defensive coordinator Don Brown's 4-3 scheme, which is spearheaded by a stout defensive line and led in the back by shutdown cornerback Jourdan Lewis. All this will coincide with the high levels of attention being placed on Harbaugh's program following an eventful 2015.
But will Harbaugh have anything else up his sleeve for the spring game under the lights in the Big House? These days, there is no telling what the Michigan head coach will do, say or even tweet.
Building the 'Bama Backfield
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Defending national champion Alabama is in a familiar spot this spring. The early predictions to repeat in the SEC and beyond are there, but the Crimson Tide first have to answer plenty of questions involving new starters at key positions.
The biggest spotlight is once again on the backfield, as Alabama must replace its starting quarterback Jake Coker and Heisman-winning running back Derrick Henry. The heat is on for both positions as offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin will try to keep his play-calling and development magic going in Tuscaloosa.
"Nick Saban knows what he's doing and Alabama's loaded with talent (and depth) at [quarterback]," Brad Crawford of 247Sports wrote. "It's Blake Barnett vs. Cooper Bateman vs. David Cornwell for now without an obvious front-runner. Expect A-Day performances on April 16 to be analyzed for several months leading up to fall practice where the battle will truly be decided."
At running back, the attention turns to Bo Scarbrough, a 6'2", 240-pound running back who Bleacher Report's Adam Kramer profiled before the national championship game. Like Henry, he is a physical freak, and he'll be pushed by former 5-star Damien Harris heading into the 2016 season.
How the new stars at quarterback and the running back perform in Bryant-Denny Stadium against an Alabama defense that returns several star players from last year's championship squad will command quite a bit of attention in Tuscaloosa and all around the college football landscape.
Recruiting rankings are courtesy of 247Sports.
Justin Ferguson is a National College Football Analyst at Bleacher Report. You can follow him on Twitter @JFergusonBR.
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