NCAA Endzone

All this week NCAA Endzone will take a look at spring football and how the major college teams are preparing for the 2007 season.

Months before the first games are played, the 2007 college football begins with spring practice.
For new coaches and coordinators, it’s the first chance to put their stamp on a team. For some players, it’s about a climbing to the top of the depth chart. For others, it’s about proving that injured body part is as good as new.

Over the next two months at campuses around the country, the foundations for next season are being set. Here’s a sampling of what’s ahead (teams listed in alphabetical order):

Alabama
Starts: March 24.
Spring game: April 21.
Last season’s record: 6-7.
Alabama players will get their first real taste of Nick Saban’s demanding coaching style, making this the Crimson Tide’s most anticipated spring in years. Saban’s only major question mark on offense is who will replace three-time leading rusher Kenneth Darby. Top candidates include Jimmy Johns and Glen Coffee. The Tide must replace six defensive starters but get back All-SEC CB Simeon Castille and MLB Prince Hall.

Arizona State
Starts: March 19.
Spring game: April 14.
Last season’s record: 7-6.
The Sun Devils will have to adjust to new coach Dennis Erickson, who replaced the fired Dirk Koetter. The offense is solid behind QB Rudy Carpenter, a two-year starter who bounced back from early struggles a year ago, although the team needs to identify a go-to receiver to replace TE Matt Miller. The bigger concern is shoring up the defense, which allowed 40 or more points four times last season.

Arizona
Starts: March 21.
Spring game: April 14.
Last season’s record: 6-6.
Coming off their best season since 1998, the Wildcats are looking to upgrade their offense. That’s why coach Mike Stoops hired offensive coordinator Sonny Dykes from Texas Tech. Arizona has to replace WR/KR Syndric Steptoe, their most exciting player, along with workhorse RB Chris Henry. QB Willie Tuitama has dealt with concussions but has played 15 games in his first two seasons, with 16 touchdown passes and 11 interceptions. The defense got a lift when star CB Antoine Cason announced he would return for his senior year.

Arkansas
Starts: March 13.
Spring game: April 14.
Last season’s record: 10-4.
Spring practice might be a reprieve for this program, which has endured plenty of off-the-field turmoil lately. Offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn left to join the staff at Tulsa, and freshman QB Mitch Mustain has been released to transfer. As coach Houston Nutt scrambled to defend his program, athletic director Frank Broyles announced he’ll retire at the end of the year. The Razorbacks return RB Darren McFadden, who was the Heisman Trophy runner-up last year - if anyone remembers that far back.

Auburn
Starts: Feb. 27.
Spring game: March 17.
Last season’s record: 11-2.
Plenty of jobs will be up for grabs, including at RB with the loss of Kenny Irons. The top candidates to replace him are junior Brad Lester and sophomore Ben Tate. Lester has the experience and scored nine TD last season, but has had injury problems and was suspended for the bowl game. Tate looked impressive in several games as a freshman. The Tigers also must replace four offensive linemen, top receiver Courtney Taylor and four defensive starters.

Boise State
Starts: March 12.
Spring game: April 13.
Last season’s record: 13-0.
Coming off its exhilarating Fiesta Bowl win over Oklahoma, the Broncos will need to find a replacement for their two leaders - QB Jared Zabransky and LB Korey Hall. Senior Taylor Tharp will get the first shot at replacing Zabransky. He should get pushed by Bush Hamdan and Nick Lomax, the son of former NFL QB Neil Lomax. Whoever the QB is, he’ll have some time to develop with RB Ian Johnson and four offensive linemen returning. Replacing Hall won’t be as easy. Josh Bean was a special teams standout, but has yet to show the same instincts that made Hall the WAC defensive player of the year.

Boston College
Starts: March 24.
Spring game: April 28.
Last season’s record: 10-3.
For the first time in 10 years, coach Tom O’Brien isn’t at the helm. He defected for North Carolina State before the Meineke Bowl and former Green Bay Packers offensive coordinator Jeff Jagodzinski replaced him. Jagodzinski, who previously worked at BC as offensive coordinator, has plenty of returning talent to work with, starting with QB Matt Ryan.

Cincinnati
Starts: March 26.
Spring game: April 21.
Last season’s record 8-5.
New coach Brian Kelly took over when Mark Dantonio left for Michigan State after the regular season and promised to install a high-powered passing attack. The first priority is to find a quarterback to run it. Dustin Grutza won the job as a sophomore last season, but struggled and was replaced by senior Nick Davila for Cincinnati’s 27-24 win over Western Michigan in the International Bowl, which Kelly coached. Kelly has signed two Ohio prep quarterbacks - Chazz Anderson and Zach Collaros - to letters of intent.

Clemson
Starts: March 10.
Spring game: April 14.
Last season’s record: 8-5.
Little went right for coach Tommy Bowden’s Tigers after a 7-1 start. Clemson lost four of its final five, including a surprising defeat to Kentucky at the Music City Bowl, and Bowden lost key recruits to academic concerns. The Tigers will have a new starting QB for the second straight year. And there are questions whether star RB C.J. Spiller’s heart is truly at Clemson after he reportedly considered transferring.

Colorado
Starts: March 12.
Spring game: April 14.
Last season’s record: 2-10.
Dan Hawkins’ first season was a disaster, but the defense wasn’t to blame. Colorado allowed just 22.3 points per game, its lowest since 1998. Their leading receiver, however, was TE Riar Greer, who had 24 catches for 261 yards. Last year’s starting QB, Bernard Jackson, will be pushed by junior-college transfer Nick Nelson, and the Buffaloes will have to make big strides at RB and WR to play the exciting style that Hawkins employed at Boise State. Replacing All-America K Mason Crosby also is a high priority.

Connecticut
Starts: March 13.
Spring game: April 14.
Last season’s record: 4-8.
The biggest question mark is at QB - again. The Huskies signed Tyler Lorenzen, a 6-foot-5 junior college standout from California, this winter. He is considered the front-runner for the job over returning starter D.J. Hernandez and Dennis Brown, who redshirted last season. Lorenzen and UConn’s top recruit, Jarrell Miller, a linebacker from Richmond, Va., have already enrolled in the school and will take part in spring drills.

Duke
Starts: March 26.
Spring game: April 21.
Last season’s record: 0-12.
The Blue Devils have plenty of work to do after their fourth winless season in 11 years. Duke returns QB Thad Lewis, who made steady progress as a freshman, including leading his team to within a few yards of a win over Miami. They must replace DB John Talley, who shared the ACC lead with seven interceptions, but the biggest job coach Ted Roof has is convincing the Blue Devils they can win.

spring football, NCAA