10 College Football Players Who Dazzled in Early Spring Game Action
It’s hard to believe, but spring football is already starting to wind down across America. The past two weekends have featured a number of college spring games, with more slated for the next three weekends before coaches and players transition into summer workouts.
It can be difficult to make significant judgments from spring games, given how close to the vest coaches keep their game plans, knowing that September opponents are watching closely. But a number of players had impressive performances that we can read into—at least a little bit. Here are 10 players who dazzled in early spring football action.
Florida QB Luke Del Rio
1 of 10
Luke Del Rio is only a redshirt sophomore, but he’s already well-traveled. Del Rio began his career as a walk-on at Alabama, and then he transferred to Oregon State. He backed up Sean Mannion for a season and then transferred to Florida. The third time is the charm, it appears.
Del Rio has found a home in head coach Jim McElwain’s pro-style offense. Florida needs a quarterback following Will Grier’s transfer after being suspended for a positive performance-enhancing drug test and Treon Harris’ suspension for a violation of the university conduct policy.
After spending last season learning the system, Del Rio has taken charge this spring. McElwain has not named a starter between Del Rio, Purdue transfer Austin Appleby, or freshmen Feleipe Franks and Kyle Trask, but Del Rio has emerged as the leader.
In Florida’s spring game, he separated himself from the pack by completing 10 of 11 passes for 176 yards and two touchdowns.
"The longer you're in a system, the more comfortable you are," Del Rio told Mark Long of the Associated Press. "That's what playing football is all about: being comfortable and confident in what you're doing. ... I'm getting more and more comfortable every day."
It might take until September for McElwain to name a starter, but Del Rio has the clear edge heading into summer.
Florida State QB Deondre Francois
2 of 10
While Doak Campbell Stadium is undergoing renovations, Florida State took the opportunity to take its spring game to its fans. The Seminoles held their spring game in Orlando’s Citrus Bowl, which happens to be the site of their 2016 season opener against Ole Miss on Labor Day evening.
One Orlando native hopes to be FSU’s starter when the Seminoles take the field against the Rebels, and he took a step toward that end Saturday. Redshirt freshman Deondre Francois was impressive, as he completed 20 of 33 passes for 246 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He also gained 47 yards on the ground to flash athleticism to go with a strong arm.
Returning starter Sean Maguire didn’t practice this spring while recovering from a broken ankle, which gave Francois, incoming freshman Malik Henry and J.J. Cosentino a chance to show what they could do. Of the three, Francois maximized his opportunity and could push Maguire for the starting role this summer.
Texas A&M QB Trevor Knight
3 of 10
Trevor Knight needed a fresh start. Head coach Kevin Sumlin needed a quarterback. It was a perfect marriage. Knight began his career at Oklahoma and served as the Sooners’ starter in 2014. But following uneven play, transfer Baker Mayfield passed him on OU’s depth chart and led the charge to a Big 12 title and College Football Playoff berth.
Knight wasn’t going to unseat Mayfield this fall, so landing at Texas A&M (which lost quarterbacks Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray to transfer) was a natural. In the Aggies’ spring game, Knight stated his case for the job. Although holdover Jake Hubenak was listed as the starter on a pregame depth chart, Knight was the better of the two.
He completed 25 of 36 passes for 246 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, and he added a rushing score. Knight played with poise and smarts, and he extended plays with his legs. Sumlin hasn’t named a starter, but if Knight isn’t leading, it would be a surprise.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
Auburn DE Carl Lawson
4 of 10
Auburn’s coaches didn’t get everything they wanted from the Tigers’ spring game. Auburn entered the day with John Franklin III, Sean White and Jeremy Johnson battling for the starting quarterback role, and none truly separated from each other Saturday afternoon.
However, Auburn’s staff has to feel good about the defensive line, especially with a healthy Carl Lawson in place. Lawson was a freshman All-American in 2013 and helped the Tigers make a run to the national title game, but a torn ACL wiped out his 2014 season. Last fall, he suffered a cracked hip in the opener against Louisville and missed the next six games.
Now, Lawson is healthy and giving Auburn some much-needed pass-rushing prowess. He was almost unblockable Saturday, picking up a sack and taking defensive MVP honors in what, due to injuries, was his first A-Day. If he can keep up the pressure and stay healthy this fall, it’ll be huge for Auburn’s defensive line and new defensive coordinator Kevin Steele.
Stanford RB Bryce Love
5 of 10
Stanford returns one of the nation’s best players in Heisman Trophy runner-up Christian McCaffrey, who rushed for 2,019 yards and led the nation in all-purpose yardage in 2015. But McCaffrey can’t carry the offensive load all by himself; he needs a little help.
Saturday, the Cardinal might have found just the guy to help. McCaffrey didn’t play much in Stanford’s spring game—he took no offensive snaps and three non-contact punt returns. Instead, head coach David Shaw took a look at backups.
Last fall, Bryce Love rushed for 226 yards and two touchdowns. He showed Saturday that he has what it takes to back up McCaffrey. Love has excellent speed, and he showed it with 48 yards and two touchdowns on 11 carries. With Barry Sanders Jr. transferring and Remound Wright’s graduation, Love is the man behind McCaffrey in Stanford’s backfield.
South Carolina QB Brandon McIlwain
6 of 10
Head coach Will Muschamp inherited a rebuilding job from Steve Spurrier at South Carolina, and to succeed, he’ll need solid play at quarterback. The Gamecocks held a four-way derby this spring, which was winnowed by injuries that knocked Perry Orth and Lorenzo Nunez out of drills.
Saturday’s spring game was a chance for competitors Brandon McIlwain and Connor Mitch to show what they can do, and McIlwain was clearly more impressive. While Mitch completed nine of 16 passes for 139 yards and a touchdown, McIlwain connected on 19 of 26 attempts for 169 yards with two touchdowns, and he added an 18-yard rushing score for good measure.
He flashed great touch on both short and long passes and had solid athleticism. The competition will continue into the summer, but McIlwain gave himself a big leg up Saturday.
NC State QB Jakobi Meyers
7 of 10
NC State hopes to take another step forward following consecutive bowl seasons under head coach Dave Doeren’s watch, but doing so will require finding a capable starting quarterback. Jacoby Brissett made the Wolfpack offense go with dual-threat ability, but his graduation leaves a big hole in State’s offense.
This spring, Jalan McClendon and Jakobi Meyers have competed for the role, and Meyers made a statement with his play during Saturday’s spring game.
McClendon completed 13 of 18 passes for 120 yards and a touchdown, but Meyers was a much more complete player. He completed 12 of 20 passes for 117 yards and a touchdown, but he also carried 10 times for 47 yards and a score. He was elusive and athletic, and while the quarterback race is far from over, Meyers gave Doeren’s staff plenty to think about.
Oklahoma QB Kyler Murray
8 of 10
Oklahoma’s emergence as a College Football Playoff team in 2015 had a lot to do with Baker Mayfield’s ascension to the starting quarterback role. Mayfield threw for 3,700 yards with 36 touchdowns and seven interceptions and added 405 yards and seven scores on the ground.
But he is a senior, which raises questions among Oklahoma fans about his successor.
If those fans watched Oklahoma’s spring game, they probably feel a lot better about that plan. Kyler Murray won Texas A&M’s starting job as a freshman by beating out Kyle Allen, but both he and Allen transferred following the season. Murray landed at Oklahoma, and Sooners fans have to love what they saw in the spring game Saturday.
Murray will redshirt this season as a transfer, but he tantalized in his last extended work in the spotlight until next season. He flashed athleticism and threw touchdown passes of 33 and 53 yards to Jordan Smallwood and Michiah Quick, respectively. That performance surely left head coach Bob Stoops and offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley feeling a little better about life after Mayfield.
Clemson WR Hunter Renfrow
9 of 10
With recent products like DeAndre Hopkins, Sammy Watkins and Martavis Bryant making names for themselves in the NFL and talents like Mike Williams, Artavis Scott, Deon Cain and Ray McCloud on the roster, Clemson has become known as the new WRU.
But one of the most impressive new receivers catching passes from Deshaun Watson came in well under the radar. Hunter Renfrow began his career as a walk-on, but he broke out during the College Football Playoff with three touchdown catches in two games.
With Charone Peake gone, Renfrow worked on locking down a starting role this spring, and he did an excellent job of staking his claim. Saturday, he made five catches for 85 yards and two touchdowns (including a 47-yard strike) in Clemson’s Orange and White game, and he gave Watson even more reason to trust him heading into summer workouts.
Michigan QB Wilton Speight
10 of 10
Under head coach Jim Harbaugh’s watch, Michigan is quickly re-emerging as a Big Ten power. The Wolverines were 10-3 in 2015 and should be one of the nation’s best teams this season. However, following graduate transfer Jake Rudock’s graduation, Michigan needs a starting quarterback.
Houston transfer John O’Korn was the American Athletic Conference’s Freshman of the Year in 2013, and Shane Morris was once thought to be the heir apparent for the position, but this spring, sophomore Wilton Speight has emerged as the top candidate.
Speight completed nine of 25 passes for 73 yards and a touchdown as a freshman, but he did lead a game-winning drive at Minnesota after a big hit knocked Rudock out of the game. Speight was solid in Michigan’s spring game, as he completed five of six passes for 46 yards and added a touchdown through the air and one on the ground.
“I’ve been in a pretty good rhythm since down in Florida,” Speight told Mark Snyder of the Detroit Free Press. “It felt pretty good. Being the second year in the offense, it felt very comfortable, and I was able to show that today.”
Harbaugh didn’t speak with reporters following the spring game, but it’s hard not to see how Speight will be the leading candidate at quarterback heading into summer.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
