College Football 2011: 10 Questions That Must Be Answered in Spring Games
With the NFL season officially complete, there is only one game scheduled to begin on time in the football world next fall and that is at the collegiate level.
There is a lot of incoming talent, a lot of returning talent and a lot of new faces trying to make an impact on the college football landscape in 2011.
The SEC is going for its sixth straight national championship while every other major power is trying to knock them off the top of the college football mountain.
While there is still a good amount of time before the season kicks off, a lot of the major programs in the country have some questions that need to be answered.
Here are 10 questions that need to be answered in the spring games.
10. Who Will Lineup Under Center in South Bend?
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The Fighting Irish closed the season on a four-game winning streak with Tommy Rees under center as the starter; he did lose the Tulsa game after Dayne Crist when down in the first quarter, though.
Twelve touchdowns and eight interceptions were solid numbers on the back end of the season while Crist opened the season at 4-4.
Coach Brian Kelly's offense needs a quarterback who understands the scheme and the game, and this spring will be the time to decide on who will be under center for the Irish.
They will have nine returning starters on offense either way and the spring game will give both players an opportunity to show what they can do in the offense.
9. How Will Denard Robinson Fare in Brady Hoke’s Offense?
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Denard Robinson decided to stay at Michigan with the hiring of Brady Hoke as head coach. However, this offense is largely different from what Robinson is accustomed to.
The Wolverine was one of the most productive offensive forces in the country when healthy, but that is the big catch; can he stay healthy?
Michigan will be running a new offense, one that is not tailored to Robinson's strong points, and he may not be the player he can be in the system.
Hoke's San Diego State offense threw for close to 300 yards per game last season and starting quarterback Ryan Lindley completed almost as many passes as Robinson attempted. And Lindley ran for no positive yards last season; Robinson ran the ball 256 times for 1,702 yards.
The spring game will give us a good indication if Robinson can truly operate the offense.
8. Can South Carolina Stick With Stephen Garcia?
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The Gamecocks closed the season with an ugly loss to Florida State in the Chick-Fil-A Bowl that saw Garcia throw three interceptions and zero touchdowns.
Coach Steve Spurrier hinted at there being a quarterback competition and youngster Connor Shaw could push the consistently inconsistent Garcia out of the way next season.
South Carolina has a ton of talent on the roster, including running back Marcus Lattimore and wide receiver Alshon Jeffrey, and they have a good shot at winning the SEC East if they can find stability at the quarterback position.
Whether it's Garcia or Shaw, the spring game should shed some light on who the Gamecocks will go with next season.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Does Boise State Have the Weapons to Aid Kellen Moore?
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The Boise State Broncos will be joining the Mountain West Conference this season and will do so without the top wide receivers they are accustomed to having on the outside.
Austin Pettis and Titus Young will both be playing in the NFL and that leaves the Broncos with a huge pair of holes on the outside.
The top returning receiver is Tyler Shoemaker followed by running back Doug Martin.
Kellen Moore is one of the most efficient passers in the game but he will have to prove he can do so without his top weapons.
Martin will likely see more touches on the ground and will also become more active out of the backfield this season.
The spring game needs to show us who Kellen Moore is getting comfortable with this season.
6. Can Virginia Tech Put Its Faith in Logan Thomas?
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The graduation of Tyrod Taylor is a huge loss to the Virginia Tech program and now the ball will be placed in the hands of Logan Thomas.
The youngster is nothing close to the player Taylor was and I mean that in the sense that he is 6'6", 242 pounds.
Taylor's play-making ability in and out of the pocket was part of what made him so good, and the Hokies counted on those plays.
Thomas has thrown only 26 passes in his career and will have to step up immediately if the Hokies are going to be successful.
The losses of Ryan Williams and Darren Evans are also huge blows and while David Wilson is a promising player, Thomas will have to be a weapon for Virginia Tech; the spring game has to highlight his ability to run the offense.
5. Can E.J. Manuel Truly Take Control of Florida State?
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We saw a lot of E.J. Manuel this season because of the injuries to Christian Ponder and now it is truly his time to shine.
Not only do the Seminoles have one of the top recruiting classes in the country, but they also have a ton of returning talent.
E.J. Manuel is part of a movement that is expecting big things from the Seminoles this season and the reemergence of this program under Jimbo Fisher has already begun.
The spring has to show that Manuel is ready to step into the light and lead the ACC-favorite Seminoles early this season, because top-ranked Oklahoma will not take it easy on him when they visit Tallahassee early next year.
4. Who Will Play Quarterback For Charlie Weis at Florida?
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Charlie Weis is back in the college game but this time he is simply doing what he does best: calling the offense.
He quietly made Matt Cassel one of the most efficient passers in the entire league this past season and his Chiefs offense rarely turned the football over.
New Florida head coach Will Muschamp was wise to bring Weis in because the Gators have as many as four possible starters to pick from.
John Brantley is returning as well as Trey Burton and Jordan Reed and the Gators will also be welcoming Jeff Driskel in as a freshman.
Driskel is extremely talented and is an incredible athlete for a player his size and we saw what Brantley, Burton and Reed could do this season when they all saw action.
The spring game will give them all a chance to shine and Weis will need to figure out where to go from there.
3. Is LSU Still Using a Duel-Quarterback System?
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The Tigers will be a very good team this season and will be welcoming in two new quarterbacks to an already-muddled situation.
One of them, freshman Stephen Rivers, is the least likely to play right away but is the future for the program.
After poor quarterback play almost all season long in 2010, Jordan Jefferson and Jarrett Lee will both be in a run for the money with the transfer of Zach Mettenberger, former Georgia Bulldog, coming in after a year in junior college.
LSU has gotten by with the duel-quarterback system but may benefit from having one legitimate starter rather than two incomplete ones.
The spring game needs to show which of these quarterbacks is ready to step up and be the guy because the rest of the team is really, really good.
2. Who Will Be Under Center in Tuscaloosa?
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The Crimson Tide have one of the most compelling quarterback competitions in the country on their hands and it will be a while until we find out the starter.
A.J. McCarron, a redshirt sophomore, and Phillip Sims, a redshirt freshman, will do battle through the spring and summer to decide who will Roll Tide under center in 2011.
Sims was one of the most highly sought-after recruits in the country and he decided to enroll early in Alabama last year.
Both players know what is at stake and understand the nature of good competition, making them both better players.
The spring game may not decide this battle but it needs to show us something about both of these young players.
1. How Does Auburn Plan to Replace Newton’s Production?
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The Tigers just completed one of the most ridiculous seasons in all of college history and the loss of production at the hands of Cam Newton's departure will be impossible to replace.
They signed their likely quarterback of the future in Kiehl Frazier and he'll have to battle with Barrett Trotter for early playing time; either way, it is not going to be the same.
Auburn will have to find heavy production elsewhere if they want to succeed and it will likely be on the legs of Michael Dyer and Onterrio McCalebb.
Dyer showed this season he is ready to handle the big time and this season during the spring game it will be important to see how the Tigers look to handle Newton's loss across the entire offense.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
