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Travis Haney Blog
[h=1]Top 5 Takeaways from spring practice
[/h]April, 29, 2014 Apr 29
11:29
AM ET
By
Travis Haney | ESPN.com
Spring football has mostly wrapped. If we have a fall as intriguing as this spring -- and I suspect we will with the arrival of the playoff system -- college football is in for quite a ride in 2014.
The spring highlights included Nebraska coach Bo Pelini lifting a cat like the mayor hoisting Punxsutawney Phil in "Groundhog Day" and the Heisman Trophy winner playing in a football scrimmage on a Saturday and closing a road baseball game the following day.
Here are my spring Takeaways leading into the summer months. Take heart, college football fans: We're just four months from the kickoff between South Carolina and Texas A&M in Columbia.
1. Some programs' possible starting QBs have yet to arrive, including Alabama's
The reviews I have heard of Lane Kiffin's first spring were positive. They fit what I presumed to be true: Kiffin, in a very different role as a supporting cast member instead of the lead, would fit well within a highly respected mentor's system.
What's interesting in Kiffin's initial spring, important and useful as it might have been, is that it likely did not include Alabama's starting quarterback. FSU transfer
Jacob Coker will arrive this summer, joining the race that to this point has featured
Blake Sims and
Cooper Bateman. Sims and Bateman might have had nice moments in the past month, but neither snared the job in advance of Coker's enrollment. Bottom line: The starting quarterback job is open and waiting for Coker.
If Bama is a threat to reach the playoff, much will depend on Coker's ability to acclimate this summer with his new teammates and Kiffin. That's a divergent storyline for the perennial power.
Virginia Tech is likewise waiting for its quarterback, Texas Tech transfer
Michael Brewer. I know the Tech coaching staff liked Brewer before he was injured and the position got wacky.
USC transfer
Max Wittek still seems most likely headed to Texas, where he has now visited three times. He could be the new staff's best option when choosing from oft-injured
David Ash and two young players,
Tyrone Swoopes and
Jerrod Heard.
Texas A&M transfer
Matt Joeckel could get a look at TCU; the A&M staff thought he could have played this fall for the Aggies.
2. Auburn quarterback Nick Marshall is a rising name in Heisman conversations
A fringe candidate in 2013 until teammate
Tre Mason became the face of the late-season ride to the title game, this could be Marshall's year on what appears to be a potentially unstoppable Auburn offense.
The convenient narrative being trotted out by some is that Marshall will have to become more of a passer with teams stacking the box to stop the country's No. 1 run game. I don't know if I'm wholly buying into that theory because of how difficult Auburn's run game is to defend, due to pre-snap movement and a variety of ball carriers, Marshall included.
When he has throwing opportunities, Marshall must prove to be more consistent than his first season. A plus: Marshall, as I've written since November, is the first college quarterback to work a second season with Gus Malzahn. There has to be some benefit there, not to mention a solid group of receivers and running backs around him.
"Last year, your best chance was (Marshall) throwing the ball," one SEC coach told me this spring. "If they get him going with the run and pass, good luck stopping them. Hell, no one did last year anyway."
If Auburn wins a bunch of games, and it should, then Marshall will quickly join the more household Heisman names, such as
Jameis Winston,
Braxton Miller and
Marcus Mariota.
Other rising Heisman names: Trevor Knight, Oklahoma;
Mike Davis, South Carolina;
Dak Prescott, Mississippi State;
Myles Jack, UCLA;
Christian Hackenberg, Penn State.
3. The Pelini cat thing aside, what's next for him?
We haven't seen an embattled coach react quite like this before, have we? First, back in January, Pelini engaged with the fake Bo Pelini Twitter account. Then, in the spirit of that parody account, he brought a cat with him to Nebraska's spring game.
The stunts were fun and funny, sure, but they were pretty calculated. Did we talk any this spring about Pelini's job security, considering what a hot-button issue that was during the 2013 season? No, we were talking about cats and Twitter. His tweet to the "faux Bo" account came on the night of the national title game. Is that a coincidence for a coach with a track record of being anything but cuddly? Hardly.
All the gestures aside, like most anything else in coaching, it comes down to winning. Pelini is 57-24 in seven seasons, so it isn't a winning percentage issue. Rather, it's how Nebraska has fared in big games and whether it has won a winnable league, at least one that thought to be winnable when it arrived.
The cat might buy goodwill and a load of laughs, but it likely does not buy much more time if there are any more lopsided losses on the Huskers' ledger this season. More than the feline or social media, beating Georgia in a bowl was a nice step after consecutive postseason losses to SEC teams.
I counted nine or 10 regular-season wins for the Huskers, when going through the 2014 schedule. Pelini's future could be tied to how the Huskers play in the home game against Miami and trips to Michigan State and Wisconsin. Nebraska does avoid Michigan and Ohio State, which is a plus.
Other notable hot-seat watches to monitor this summer and fall: Will Muschamp, Florida; Dana Holgorsen, West Virginia; Paul Johnson, Georgia Tech; Mike London, Virginia; Brady Hoke, Michigan.
[+] Enlarge
Jamie Sabau/Getty ImagesCould Urban Meyer and his Ohio State Buckeyes be flying under the radar?
4. Ohio State is a team you're not hearing enough about, strange as that sounds
For such a brand-name program with a permanent bull's-eye attached to it, the Buckeyes had a relatively quiet spring. I thought the hires of assistants Larry Johnson (Penn State) and Chris Ash (Arkansas) went widely unnoticed, but those moves could be the difference between where OSU is and where it wants to be: in the 2014 playoff.
Others
Notre Dame: Malik Zaire is pushing
Everett Golson at quarterback, and that's a good sign. I like what the Irish return at linebacker and in the secondary. Its running backs could also be an under-the-radar position group. FSU had two new coordinators a year ago, if you'll remember, so that's not exactly a death knell. Notre Dame has recruited on FSU's level, too.
Baylor: Art Briles' offensive domination will continue, but Briles was effusive in talking about the strength and depth of the team's defensive front. The way the season finished will have everyone talking about Oklahoma, but don't forget about the Bears. The new riverside stadium opens this fall, too.
Arizona State: The Sun Devils hosted the Pac-12 title game, and they might not fall too far despite fairly significant personnel losses. The primary reason? No one this side of Bill Snyder has found and developed juco talent as well in recent years than Todd Graham's staff.
Mississippi State: Dan Mullen groaned to me last summer about the lack of seniors, but now a veteran group returns with a Heisman dark horse, the aforementioned Prescott, leading the Bulldogs. A Sept. 20 trip to LSU could quickly put MSU on the radars of many. SEC coaches told me there was no more physically impressive team last year than Mississippi State.
Duke: A 10-win team a year ago, I'm told by those close to the program that the offense should again be potent. Another ACC title game appearance wouldn't be terribly surprising, though I'm sure Virginia Tech, North Carolina and others hope that isn't the case.
5. Texas A&M is a team you're hearing too much about
It's an intriguing program and one of my favorite staffs in the country, but the Aggies went 10-6 in their first two years in the SEC
with Johnny Manziel. What's the ceiling for 2014, really? Much of it depends on the woeful defense, quite obviously. Freshman
Kyle Allen, for one, would surely like to table "the next Johnny Football" talk while he learns the offense.
Others
Penn State: I love James Franklin, and he attracts a lot of positive attention, but there's been a preponderance of stories about a team that isn't postseason-eligible in 2014. Soon, though, Franklin and PSU will be very relevant.
Washington: The notion that Chris Petersen will immediately turn the Huskies into a national power is a bit presumptive. Remember that this was a winless program that Steve Sarkisian took over in December of 2008. It has come a long way since then, but there's still work to be done here.
Shaq Thompson will be fun to watch, though, especially if coaches let the linebacker get some carries at running back.
Oklahoma: Knight is going to have to prove he's more than a one-game wonder if the Sooners are really a top-5 threat, though the team will be built on the speed and athleticism of its front seven and linebackers, in particular.
North Carolina: I bought into this team a year ago, and it got off to a horrible start. With a weak division, there's a tendency, myself included, to want to anoint the Tar Heels a potential surprise team. But they have to prove it first. At least UNC has two legit QB options,
Marquise Williams and
Mitch Trubisky, and a lot of supporting talent.
