College Football Predictions 2011: Top 10 Teams To Keep an Eye on This Spring
For the inexperienced players looking to get more playing time this fall, spring ball is the first step.
It gives coaches an idea of what they really have in a player heading into the summer.
Also, some recruits graduate high school early so they can go through spring ball, then hit the ground running in the autumn wind.
Therefore, football season technically never ends (good for us fans).
So, with that said check out the top 10 teams that should stay on your radar this spring.
10. USC Trojans
1 of 10
2010 RECORD: 8-5 (5-4)
2011 RECRUITING CLASS RANKS: No. 4 Rivals.com, No. 5 Scout.com
With the 2011 season acting as the second, and final year of their ban from going bowling, USC has still managed a solid program.
The appeal for the NCAA sanctions are still underway, so unless this season gets exempted, the Trojans will once again be out of bowl season.
However, that arguably has not had too much of an affect on the program as coach Lane Kiffin reels in another sweet recruiting class.
The defense allowed an average of 400 yards per game, ranking them 83rd in the country.
Thus, the Trojans bring in four-star defensive recruits such as DTs Antwaun Woods and Christian Heyward, as well as DE Greg Townsend, Jr.
On the offensive side, QB Matt Barkley enters his junior year after throwing for almost 2,800 yards with 26 TDs and only 12 interceptions.
Also, RB Mark Tyler comes back for his Senior year after rushing for 913 yards and scoring nine TDs.
And, to help the passing attack, five-star WR recruit George Farmer comes in as the potential replacement for Ronald Johnson.
As for the actual 2011 season?
You can't ever count out the Trojans from Southern California.
9. Auburn Tigers
2 of 10
2010 RECORD: 14-0 (9-0)
2011 RECRUITING CLASS RANKS: No. 7 Rivals.com, No. 2 Scout.com
In 2010 QB Cam Newton gained a combined total of 4,327 yards and 50 TDs.
He was just as deserving of the Heisman Trophy as Auburn was the National Championship.
However, we are now in 2011 and the post-Cam Newton era must commence (Auburn fans, ask Florida Gator fans because they can relate after Tim Tebow was gone).
Freshman RB Michael Dyer returns after rushing for 1,093 yards and five TDs, so he should be the focal point of the Tiger offense.
And, with four-star QB recruit Kiehl Frazier coming in, there most likely will be a few QBs competing for the starting role.
Defensively, DT Nick Fairley is gone, so look for four-star DT recruit Gabe Wright to add some depth to the defensive line.
Also, four-star safeties in Erique Florence and Robenson Therezie should help the 105th ranked passing defense.
2011 will be a rebuilding year for Auburn, so the spring and summer are vital as to how much rebuilding is needed-as opposed to reloading.
8. Notre Dame Fighting Irish
3 of 10
2010 RECORD: 8-5
2011 RECRUITING CLASS RANKS: No. 10 Rivals.com, No. 8 Scout.com
Right now, the 2011 season for the Irish has some high expectations.
They finished the 2010 season on a four game winning streak that included wins over USC (first since 2001) and Miami Fla. (Sun Bowl).
With that, the Irish who were stronger offensively, have four four-star DE recruits (Aaron Lynch, Ishaq Williams, Stephon Tuitt, and Anthony Rabasa) as well as four-star OLB Ben Councell coming in to help Manti Te'O (133 tackles) improve the 46th ranked defense.
Now, on the offense coach Brian Kelly has made some improvements to become more multi-dimensional.
Four-star TE Ben Koyack could be the potential replacement for Kyle Rudolph, and four-star WR DeVaris Daniels will help along side Michael Floyd and Theo Riddick.
And, to help Cierre Wood in the run-game, four-star OT Matthew Hegarty joins as well.
The 2011 season looks to be a rather favorable schedule that could put Notre Dame back to national prominence.
Early in the year they travel to Ann Arbor, Michigan to take on the Wolverines, then a home game verse Michigan State, and then the final game of the regular season is at Stanford.
That said the Irish could finish anywhere from 9-3 to 12-0.
.jpg?w=256 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
7. Florida Gators
4 of 10
2010 RECORD: 8-5 (4-4)
2011 RECRUITING CLASS RANKS: No. 12 Rivals.com, No. 18 Scout.com
The Gators will be interesting this year because of new head coach Will Muschamp.
For the first time in what seemed like years, the Florida Gators struggled offensively.
QB John Brantley had to fill the shoes of Tim Tebow, so throwing for just over 2,000 yards and only nine TDs was expected.
Also, RB Jeffery Demps had his worst season in college after only gaining 551 yards on the ground with three TDs.
Look for four-star WR recruit Ja'Juan Story to make an immediate impact, as well as four-star RB recruit Mike Blakely to help Demps in the backfield.
Defensively, the Gators lose SS Ahmad Black and FS Will Hill to the draft, but have LBs Jelani Jenkins (76 tackles) and Jonathan Bostic (57 tackles) to act as the leaders.
Florida looks improved on offense, and consistent on defense heading into 2011.
That said, coach Will Muchamp has a big hole of his own to fill.
6. Ohio State Buckeyes
5 of 10
2010 RECORD: 12-1 (7-1)
2011 RECRUITING CLASS RANKS: No. 11 Rivals.com, No. 3 Scout.com
With five players and coach Tressel out for the first five games of 2011, spring ball and the summer training program become that much more important.
That said, the excellent recruiting class coming in has more responsibilities than expected.
Also, losing DE Cameron Heyward and CB Chimdi Chekwa to the draft hurt, but four-star recruits such as DE Steve Miller and CB Doran Grant should contribute from the start.
The passing offense will take the biggest hit, because even though the Bucks' finished 12-1 in 2010, they only averaged 228 passing yards per game ranking them 54th in the country.
Now, although they were a more run-oriented team with RB Dan Herron gaining 1,155 yards including 16 TDs, missing five games will cause him and Pryor to be rusty from the start.
On the other side, Ohio State should pick up where they left off as the No. 2 defense in the country in terms of yards allowed, so not all hope is lost.
How the Buckeyes perform in the first five games will be extremely crucial, because it could dictate not only the rest of 2011, but all of 2012.
5. Texas Longhorns
6 of 10
2010 RECORD: 5-7 (2-6)
2011 RECRUITING CLASS RANKS: No. 3 Rivals.com, No. 4 Scout.com
After a rare disappointing season for the Longhorns, coach Mack Brown brings in a ridiculous recruiting class.
To help Cody Johnson and the 66th ranked ground game, Texas brings in five-star RB Malcolm Brown from Cibolo, Texas.
Also, to help improve the 44th ranked rushing defense, the Longhorns have four-star DTs Desmond Jackson and Quincey Russell coming in.
Returning is QB Garrett Gilbert who is coming off his first full season as a starter.
On the year he threw for 2,744 yards with 10 TDs, but a concerning 17 interceptions.
In addition to Gilbert, WR Mike Davis looks to be his go-to guy after being second on the team with 47 catches for 478 yards in 2010.
2011 should be rather interesting in Austin after missing out on bowl season for the first time in the Mack Brown era (last year of missing bowl season was 1997, John Mackovic's final year).
4. Florida State Seminoles
7 of 10
2010 RECORD: 10-4 (6-3)
2011 RECRUITING CLASS RANKS: No. 2 Rivals.com, No. 1 Scout.com
The biggest concern for the 'Noles heading into 2011 should be the replacement for QB Christian Ponder.
Sophomore RB Chris Thompson comes off a solid year in which he ran for 846 yards and scored six TDs.
The receiving core was decent, but a new QB could diminish that a bit.
QB E.J. Manuel does have some game experience, but a full season at the helm will give us critics more to watch.
With that said, this is why spring ball is so vital to college football, because he can receive more critiquing from the coaches and buff out some of the rough spots.
On the dark side, FSU loses ILB Kendall Smith to the draft, so look out for LB Nigel Bradham (lead team with 98 tackles) as well as DBs Xavier Rhodes (four picks, 12 pass break-ups and 16 pass deflects), Mike Harris (four picks), and Greg Reid (three picks, 14 pass break-ups, and 17 pass deflects).
Also, DE Brandon Jenkins comes off a monstrous year where he totaled 13.5 sacks.
Florida State also improves through the cracks with five-star Safety Karlos Williams, four-star DT Tim Jernigan, and four-star OT Bobby Hart.
Coach Jimbo Fisher should expect an ACC Championship in 2011, because right now the Seminoles look like the favorites.
3. Stanford Cardinal
8 of 10
2010 RECORD: 12-1 (8-1)
2011 RECRUITING CLASS RANKS: No. 22 Rivals.com, No. 21 Scout.com
Despite the return of QB Andrew Luck, head coach Jim Harbaugh left for the San Francisco 49ers.
Enter new head coach David Shaw.
And yet, the Cardinal still managed a top 25 recruiting class, including a few four-star recruits (ILB James Vaughters, Safety Wayne Lyons, Athlete Jordan Richards, and WR Ty Montgomery).
The Cardinal also sees the return of defensive leaders, LBs Shayne Skov and Chase Thomas.
Both lead the team with 7.5 sacks, and combined for 154 tackles.
Also, Delano Howell comes back after leading the team with five interceptions.
On offense, RB Stepfan Taylor (1,137 yards rushing with 15 TDs) is back for Luck and the offense.
As long as David Shaw doesn't make any rookie head coaching mistakes, the 2011 season could not only be a Pac-12 Championship for Stanford, but also a national championship.
The pressure is on in the newly aligned Pac-12.
2. South Carolina Gamecocks
9 of 10
2010 RECORD: 9-5 (5-4)
2011 RECRUITING CLASS RANKS: No. 18 Rivals.com, No. 11 Scout.com
For the second straight year coach Steve Spurrier got the No. 1 recruit (DE Jadeveon Clowney) in the country to sign on the dotted line.
Then, to enhance the 51st ranked defense even better, three other four-star defensive recruits are coming to Gamecocks as well.
DTs Kelcy Quarles and Phillip Dukes, as well as Safety Kadetrix Marcus join Clowney in the SEC East.
Offensively, QB Stephen Garcia (3,059 yards passing with 20 TDs) has RB Marcus Lattimore (1,197 rush yards with 17 TDs) in the backfield and WR Alshon Jeffrey (88 catches for 1,517 yards and nine TDs) out wide.
Pairing with Jeffrey is his younger brother, four-star WR Shamier Jeffrey and four-star TE Drew Owens.
Also, to help Marcus Lattimore become more of a threat on the ground, four-star OT Brandon Shell comes in.
In 2011, the Gamecocks have the potential to win the SEC and possibly a national championship.
1. Oregon Ducks
10 of 10
2010 RECORD: 12-1 (8-0)
2011 RECRUITING CLASS RANKS: No. 9 Rivals.com, No. 9 Scout.com
Chip Kelly's offense will be putting up around 50 points again in 2011.
RB LaMichael James (1,731 yards rushing with 21 TDs) returns along side QB Darron Thomas (2,881 yards passing with 30 TDs and only nine picks).
And, despite the loss of Senior WR Jeff Maehl to the draft, four-star recruits such as DeAnthony Thomas, Devon Blackmon, and Tacoi Sumler should provide a quick replenishment to the WR core.
Defensively, LBs Kenny Rowe and Casey Matthews graduate to the draft, but Sophomore CB Cliff Harris returns after leading the team with six picks, 17 pass break-ups, and 23 pass deflects.
Also, Sophomore Safety John Boyett joins him after picking off five balls, breaking up nine passes and deflecting 14.
The Ducks have very few weaknesses, if any, so having spring ball is only going to create that much more synergy in 2011.
College football beware.
.jpg?w=480 "Ohio State Team Doctor")
