2010 Spring Football Questions

2010 Spring Football
www.si.com
Ever since Utah kicked down the door to college football's VIP room six years ago, the non-automatic qualifiers (né mid-majors) have been steadily building toward the ultimate playing-field leveler: a spot in the national title game.
Boise State staged a legendary upset over Oklahoma in the 2007 Fiesta Bowl. Utah topped former No. 1 Alabama in the 2009 Sugar Bowl. Last season, two non-AQ teams lifted the velvet ropes, as Boise met TCU in the Fiesta. The matchup was a landmark moment for the "little guy."
It also set the stage for what could be an even bigger 2010 season for the Broncos, who return the core of the team that left Glendale with a perfect record in tow.

How will Boise State handle the transition from Cinderella to title threat?
The Broncos gained considerable respect by producing two undefeated seasons in three years. With 21 returning starters, including Heisman-contending QB Kellen Moore, who directed the nation's highest-scoring attack in 2009 (42.2 points per game), Boise figures to begin the season as a prominently ranked title contender.
But don't expect rankings or hype to become a topic of conversation in the Broncos locker room. Former defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox, who recently left for the same position at Tennessee, said head coach Chris Petersen never discusses rankings with his team or staff. His ability to shelter his team from the hype will be tested immediately in 2010, as Boise faces Virginia Tech at Washington's FedEx Field over Labor Day weekend. Petersen kept the Broncos focused in the face of a season-defining opener against Oregon last season; he'll need to do the same this year.
But this experienced lineup faces a more immediate concern: replacing corner/punt returner Kyle Wilson, an all-WAC or all-America selection for four seasons in Boise. Jerrell Gavins showed he's prepared to take over Wilson's spot in the defensive backfield by starting in the Fiesta Bowl (Wilson played safety), but finding a new return man may not be an easy fix.
Redshirt sophomore Chris Potter served as Wilson's primary backup last season and posted a higher average yards per return (12.9 to 10.4). But Potter primarily saw action against Miami (Ohio) and UC Davis. Titus Young, who returned two kickoffs for scores in 2009, could be an option, as could Gavins, Doug Martin and a number of others. It's the only real opening on the Broncos roster, but it may not be decided until fall camp.

What can we expect from Brian Kelly in Year 1 at Notre Dame?
Kelly arrived in South Bend saying all the right things. Upon taking over an Irish program that had gone 16-21 over the past three seasons, he boasted "we don't have a five-year plan, we have a five-minute plan and we'll start to work on it immediately."
Job No. 1 for the offensive-minded Kelly is getting Dayne Crist, the heir apparent to QB Jimmy Clausen, comfortable running the up-tempo spread offense that resulted in 38.6 points per game for Kelly's Cincinnati squad last year. That comfort may be hard to come by, though; the 6-foot-4 junior is coming off ACL surgery, and while Kelly says he is healing exceptionally well, Crist will be limited this spring.
The Irish are extremely thin at QB behind Crist, with early enrollee Tommy Rees and former walk-on Nate Montana (better known as Son of Joe) among the only other passers on the roster. If Crist can get healthy and acclimated, he'll have plenty of weapons around him, particularly receiver Michael Floyd (18.1 yards per catch, nine TDs in an injury-shortened '09 campaign) and running back Armando Allen, who has 1,000-yard potential. Things could get dicey on the offensive line, though, where only two starters return from last year (guards Chris Stewart and Trevor Robinson).
It won't matter how well Crist and Co. pick up the new offense, though, if the defense can't improve on last season. The Irish ranked 86th in total defense and gave up 425 yards per game during a season-ending four-game losing streak. On the plus side, they return eight starters, including a budding star in freshman all-America linebacker Manti Te'o.
Kelly was known for working wonders with overlooked talent at Central Michigan and Cincinnati. At Notre Dame, he'll inherit the remnants of two top 10 recruiting classes and a schedule that puts six or seven wins easily in reach. Getting bowl eligible won't stir any echoes, but it's a good place to start.

Who will replace QB Max Hall at BYU?
Hall took all but 34 of the Cougars' 1,416 snaps over the past three seasons. So while Bronco Mendenhall is charged with replacing 11 starters, the main mission for a school where missions are part of the culture is to replace the starting signal-caller of three years.

Vying for the job this spring: Riley Nelson, Hall's backup last season, who has attempted just 10 passes at BYU but started eight games as a freshman at Utah State before transferring; sophomore James Lark, who hasn't taken a meaningful snap in five years (he redshirted in 2006, then went on his Mormon mission); and early enrollee, true freshman Jake Heaps, the nation's top-rated pro-style QB recruit, who threw for 3,191 yards last season for Skyline (Issaquah, Wash.) High School.
Mendenhall had hoped to select a starter by the end of spring, but a lack of depth on the offensive line may prevent him from holding enough full scrimmages to give each candidate a fair chance.
The delay may benefit Heaps, who will have more time to digest the offense. That said, Mendenhall rarely plays youngsters, regardless of the hype. His first QB, John Beck, played as a true freshman, but Beck was 22. Hall, meanwhile, spent a year on the scout team before earning the starting spot.

Who else is in the BCS mix?
While a surprise team will surely emerge, the list of potential BCS busters hasn't changed much from last season.
There's Boise, of course. There's also TCU, which returns nine offensive starters, including underrated QB Andy Dalton. The Horned Frogs must replace their four best defensive starters, including All-America DE Jerry Hughes -- and get past a dangerous opener against Oregon State and the Rodgers Bros.
Houston won't have any trouble burning up the scoreboard thanks to the return of Case Keenum, who passed for a nation's best 5,671 yards and 44 scores last season, plus its top four pass-catchers and a dangerous 1-2 punch at running back with Charles Sims and Bryce Beall. It won't matter how many points the Cougars score if the defense can't stop anyone, though. Last year, Houston ranked 111th in total defense and 115th against the run. The schedule includes nonconference games at UCLA and Texas Tech and a home date with Mississippi State.
Utah, with a more experienced Jordan Wynn at the controls, could be back in the mix as well. The Utes will get a boast from the return of runner Matt Asiata, who was granted an extra year of eligibility, but may struggle on defense while breaking in three new linebackers and two new starters in the secondary.

Is there another MAC Daddy QB waiting in the wings?
Dan LeFevour is gone. So too are Tim Hiller, Tyler Sheehan, Aaron Opelt and Theo Scott. Zach Maynard, Buffalo's starter from a year ago, unexpectedly left the program. Temple has yet to solidify a No. 1 QB. In all, the MAC lost a combined 15,773 passing yards from 2009.

Who's next? Good question. Northern Illinois' Chandler Harnish is appealing, as is Kent State's Spencer Keith, but they are either out this spring (Harnish) or limited (Keith) due to injuries. That leaves two young candidates who seem capable of taking over the reins as the MAC's top passer. They are:

1. Zac Dysert, Miami (Ohio). The Redhawks suffered through a trying first year under Mike Haywood, posting a 1-11 record, but Dysert was one of the bright spots. The redshirt sophomore is the conference's leading returning passer (2,611 yards in '09) and improved as last season wore on, averaging 314.2 yards per game over the final five weeks. He must improve on his 12-16 touchdown-to-interception ratio if he's going to make the leap.

2. Austin Dantin, Toledo. Dantin was supposed to spend his freshmen year as a redshirt, but an injury to Opelt forced Tim Beckhman to play his QB of the future. Dantin threw for 962 yards in a little more than four games of work and can make defenses pay by connecting with freshman All-America WR Eric Page. If Dantin continues to improve, the Rockets could make some noise in the West.

MORE BURNING QUESTIONS
Pac-10: Can Lane Kiffin maintain USC's dominance?
ACC: Will a nationally elite team emerge?
Big East: Can Pitt dethrone Cincinnati?
Big 12: Is it finally Nebraska's year?
Big Ten: Can Pryor pick up where he left off?
SEC: What's happening at Florida?
THE REST: Can Boise break the glass ceiling?










Amid the madness, there are other young men sweating in practice. Spring practice.
This annual rite of 15 days of offseason drills has taken on a life of its own. What used to be a sleepy time for position battles is now a hectic time for scarfing up spring game tickets -- if there are any left. Fans in lawn chairs with coolers have been replaced by networks televising those spring games.
Think the game hasn't grown?
Check out these 25 things to watch this spring ...
Dennis Dodd
www.sportsline.com
1. Leave of confusion: A coach driven to exhaustion by his job is back ... showing some evidence he is still driven to exhaustion by his job. Urban Meyer's outburst against an Orlando Sentinel reporter this week was out of character and, frankly, a little frightening.
All the reporter did was quote receiver Deonte Thompson, who compared new quarterback John Brantley to the old Tim Tebow.
"You never know with Tim," Thompson said. "You can bolt, you think he's running but he'll come up and pass it to you. You just have to be ready at all times. With Brantley, everything's with rhythm, time. You know what I mean, a real quarterback."
A real quarterback?
There are different ways to interpret that quote -- that Thompson was throwing Tebow under the bus or that Brantley was a more conventional quarterback. We all know what Thompson was trying to say, he just didn't articulate it very well.
But don't blame the messenger. Meyer's outburst makes this a national story especially with his shot at the reporter: "If that was my son we'd be going at it right now." If Meyer had an issue, it should have been handled in private.
It's only spring and it almost makes you pine for the Steve Addazio era.

2. Risk Rod: There's not a lot positive going on at Michigan this spring. Rich Rodriguez has to win -- now. The defense was dreadful last season. The quarterback position has to get better. Six players are out or limited for the spring.
Oh yeah, and the NCAA is bearing down, too.
If there were ever a coach to root for, it's Rich Rod. He's a good guy, but a good guy who might be in the wrong place at the wrong time.

3. Cutting back? New Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher will visit 17 cities in 30 days this spring on his Seminole Booster tour. And that's cutting back on the rubber chicken circuit compared to Bobby Bowden.

4. Coming back? FSU is set on offense. The defense has to get a lot better. Mickey Andrews gives way to Mark Stoops as d-coordinator, and the Stoops franchise once again is back on the clock. Mike is in the process of turning around Arizona, Bob has those six Big 12 titles (but only one national championship). Now it's Mark's chance to get back on the larger national stage for the first time since he was defensive backs coach with Miami from 2001-03.

5. Party Gras: If you can attend only one spring game, make it April 17 in Tuscaloosa. Bryant-Denny will be hosting a combination sellout/celebration/preseason opener. The Tide begin defense of their 2009 title with a Heisman winner at tailback, a returning quarterback, three starters on the offensive line and a likely preseason No. 1 ranking.
The spring will be spent trying to find nine new starters for the defense. In Nick we trust.

6. Talking football at Oregon: It's about time isn't it? With Jeremiah Masoli out to contemplate how he traded a season of football for a laptop, there is urgency for Chip Kelly to find a new quarterback.
The candidates are redshirt sophomore Darron Thomas (33 career passes) and senior Nate Costa (38). In a weird way, this whole thing started in August 2008, when Costa suffered his second major knee injury, allowing Masoli to get a chance. One Pac-10 title, a Rose Bowl and one long rap sheet into Kelly's head coaching career, Oregon starts over at the game's most important position.

7. No. 1 early enrollee to watch this spring: Kyle Prater, WR, USC. Everybody wanted him. Lane Kiffin got him, first recruiting Prater at Tennessee before signing him at USC. It's way early, but the 6-foot-5 Prater at least gives hope that the Trojans can develop another Mike Williams or Dwayne Jarrett.
Lord knows they could use another tall receiver who can go up and catch a fade in the end zone. Think about it -- it has been awhile since there was a consistent threat like that at Troy.

8. Texas quarterbacks: They rule the game. There were 22 quarterback starters from the state of Texas scattered around college football last season. They aren't going away. Texas' Garrett Gilbert (Austin) and Oregon's Thomas (Houston) are two of the possible new starters.

9. Expansion: It will be as much a subject of the spring as depth charts. New information seems to leak out each day on which teams will be going where. The Big Ten is looking. The Big East is scared. Notre Dame might be forced into playing for the Rose Bowl (oh, the horror!). By the end of summer, we might know where the dominoes are going to fall.

10. BCS meetings: These annual, usually laidback, affairs will have some urgency to them April 20-22 in Phoenix. Expansion looms, Notre Dame may finally join a conference, Orrin Hatch is threatening a BCS takedown.
Don't know whether the commissioners are going to love or fight, but it will fun watching.

11. The other Kelly: While Chip tries to find a quarterback on the West Coast, Brian is doing the same in his first year at Notre Dame.
Dayne Crist and his recovering ACL are joined in the spring by three walk-ons and early enrollee Tommy Rees. Crist is progressing nicely but won't be taking contact. Still, the spring will be spent creating competition at the position and weeding out of the team what Kelly in January called a sense of "entitlement."

12. The non-BCS breakthrough: TCU and Boise State come into spring as top 10 candidates in August. This means a lot because both have played in BCS bowls but not in the BCS bowl.
Each will have the ranking, the schedule and presumably the respect of the voters to make it to the BCS title game. Hey, what about Boise State-TCU for the third consecutive year in the postseason, this time for the championship?

13. Terrelle Pryor's knee: It affected him last season. It buckled in late January. Ohio State's franchise quarterback finally had arthroscopic surgery to repair a partially torn PCL ligament in his left knee in February. Pryor himself then said "there were a lot of things wrong," when an Ohio State doctor went in.
The Bucks' franchise quarterback expects to be ready for the beginning of spring practice on April 1. Don't know if Bucknuts can hold their breath from now until the Sept. 2 opener against Marshall.

14. Healing: Kansas, South Florida and Texas Tech need to heal some emotional wounds after alleged horrific conduct by former coaches. In the case of all three, the administration went the exact opposite personality of the former guy.
Turner Gill is calmer than the gruff Mark Mangino and brings an air of renewal to a program. KU was bad when Mangino got there and mediocre when he left. In between, the Jayhawks went to the Orange Bowl and went on NCAA probation.
Robin Williams would have been calmer than Jim Leavitt at South Florida, but the Bulls got lucky. Even without his famous last name, Skip Holtz is a perfect match. An accomplished coach at Connecticut and East Carolina, Holtz has a chance to go to a BCS bowl quickly in the wide open Big East. It's not a bad thing that daddy Lou lives nearby either.
Meanwhile ...

15. Tommy goes West: There is no place that needs more healing than Texas Tech. The former coach, Mike Leach, is suing the university. The centerpiece of the controversy still resides on the roster (receiver Adam James). After a year off, Tommy Tuberville takes his act to Lubbock, where the new coach is going to change the culture, at least a little bit.
The Red Raiders will keep throwing it, but they'll also play a little defense too.
"I want to continue to throw it 45-50 times, maybe run it 20-25. We'll be a little bit more balanced," Tuberville told me last month. "Mike [Leach] got a little bit overboard sometimes. Sometimes he'd throw it 75-80 times. He'd like working on those stats. I'm not a stat guy ...
"An offensive coach wants to score, a defensive coach wants to shut everybody out. It's just a different philosophy. We're going to throw it and hopefully score the same amount of points but play better defense and have a chance to get to the championship game."

16. Celebrating 10 years of Sun Belt football: Don't snicker. Division I-A's youngest conference is thriving this spring with programs that 10 years ago either didn't exist (Florida International, Florida Atlantic) or were transitioning to I-A (Troy, Middle Tennessee).

Remember these Sun Belt upsets over the past 10 years?
2009: Louisiana-Lafayette over Kansas State, Middle Tennessee over Maryland
2008: Arkansas State over Texas A&M, Middle Tennessee over Maryland
2007: Louisiana-Monroe over Alabama, Troy over Oklahoma State
2004: Troy over Missouri
Don't sleep on Middle Tennessee's Dwight Dasher, one of the most exciting players in the country. The last time we saw the Blue Raiders quarterback, he was setting the NCAA bowl record for rushing yards (201) against Southern Miss in the New Orleans Bowl.

17. Mitch Mustain: Kiffin has declared the quarterback job is open at USC. Matt Barkley had a so-so first year as a freshman. Could it be that fifth-year senior Mustain wins the job? After two schools, eight career starts (at Arkansas) and much suffering, Mustain deserves some sort of reward, doesn't he? The former No. 1 prep recruit hasn't thrown a game pass since 2008.

18. Waiting for The Big Haircut: If the NCAA stays on schedule, USC could find out its penalties (if any) in late April or early May. The post-infractions committee hearing signs were not good. The three-day hearing concluded with loads of files being wheeled out of the conference room.
Anything less than a postseason ban and/or crippling scholarship cuts has to be perceived as a net win for USC, which has slogged through the Reggie Bush case for four years.

19. The sexiest woman alive: On a lighter note at USC, Kiffin is in the hunt for that title in an NCAA-style tournament Esquire magazine is conducting online. The Trojans' coach is listed as a No. 16 seed vs. No. 1 seed, golfer Natalie Gulbis in the sports division. As of Wednesday, he had a solid lead over Gulbis.
You can vote here or wait for Kiffin to meet the second-round winner between Joe Paterno and Pamela Anderson.

20. The battle for Alabama: Who knew it could be this good, this fast? At Auburn. Mark Ingram sure didn't clinch the Heisman against the Tigers. When Alabama scored the winning touchdown in the Iron Bowl with 84 seconds left, Ingram was on the bench (sore hip).
Ingram wasn't stopped by anybody else last season, which is another way of saying Auburn is not going to cede state bragging rights easily. Gene Chizik has proved himself more than capable. In his second season he landed a top five recruiting class that soon will be battling 'Bama's goal of conquering college football. Forever.
College football's most intense rivalry is getting better in the Saban-Chizik era.

21. Brown-out: Reason No. 3,267 not to believe anything any recruiting service tells you.
Two years ago, linebacker Arthur Brown was the No. 1 prep player in the country. Last year, his brother Bryce was bestowed with the same honor. Arthur went to Miami. Bryce went to Tennessee. As spring practice begins in 2010, Arthur has transferred to Kansas State. Bryce left the team before spring practice began last week because of "a lot of personal and family problems," according to coach Derek Dooley.

22. A sense of calm comes over Knoxville: Yes, Dooley was an emergency, desperate hire. Yes, he may get overwhelmed by making the jump from middle-of-the-league WAC program to SEC pressure-cooker.
But so far, Vince's boy has worked out -- spectacularly. He has done everything right from recruiting to media to coaching. In another words, he knows what he's doing. Tennessee still has to get back to scoring six points instead of explaining six secondary violations.

23. Russell Shepard settles: Or whatever you want to call it. LSU's celebrated quarterback recruit from 2009 is a slot receiver in 2010. Shepard decided to move after he couldn't get on the field during a 13-3 loss to Florida. After cameos in the Wildcat and turnover problems, Shepard is in a better place.
The question is whether quarterback Jordan Jefferson can improve enough to get the ball to him consistently.

24. HDTV in the SEC: It's doubtful that LSU cornerback Patrick Peterson has forgotten the biggest play of his 2009 season -- an interception that didn't count. With 5:54 left in LSU's 24-15 loss Nov. 7 at Alabama, officials ruled that replays were inconclusive on whether Peterson had come down inbounds with the ball.
It's not a question of whether an HD monitor would have helped replay officials (it would have), it's a question of why weren't HD monitors there in the first place? The game's richest conference announced recently it's going to HD monitors for its replays. It's about time. Clearer is better. Meanwhile, Peterson begins his spring wondering what might have been.

25. Watch for ... Former Miami quarterback Robert Marve at Purdue. He has fought through a car crash, knee surgery and an ugly departure from Miami. Something good has to happen. ... The next great tailback at Cal, Shane Vereen. ... Nico Johnson becoming the next Rolando McClain at Alabama. ... Jared Crick becoming the next Nebraska defensive line star after the departure of Ndamukong Suh. ... Baylor's Robert Griffin, who was knocked out last season with a blown-out knee. ... Zach Collaros to chase a Heisman at Cincinnati. ... Pitt's Dion Lewis to chase a rushing title. ... Central Florida defensive end Bruce Miller. The school has come up with this impressive stat: In the BCS era (1998-2009), Miller is tied for ninth in career sacks (27) among players at schools in the state of Florida. According to UCF, seven of the other nine guys on the list were drafted in the second round or higher. One was drafted in the seventh round. The other, South Florida's George Selvie, is projected to go in the first two rounds.


Can this actually be the real Mark May being somewhat positive towards the Buckeyes. Must see!!!!