Football Spring Practice Begins Tomorrow

The football program has been involved in off-season conditioning workouts since returning from Christmas break, and will begin Spring Practice tomorrow.

Some important questions we need to be addressed during Spring Practice:

• Who will be the backup quarterback to Jerrod Johnson, Ryan Tannehill or Tommy Dorman?

Sherman will give Tannehill a chance to compete with Johnson for the starting job, but I am fairly certain Johnson will be our starter when the Spring is over. Tannehill will then need to decide if he wants to remain a starter at WR, and be a possible third string QB, or if he just wants to compete for the second string job with Dorman. I think once Spring is over, Tannehill will still be a starter at WR, and an emergency QB if needed behind Dorman and Johnson.

• Can Leroy Chevalier step up and man the LT spot? 

The weakness of our team last season was along both lines, especially on the offensive lines. A lack of experience and then injuries caused us to  shuffle our line as the season went along, even forcing us to play true freshmen extensively on the offensive line. If Chevalier can become the player we think he has the potential to be, he can become a mainstay at LT, and hold down that slot for the next four years. This would do wonders in shoring up our offensive line, because it would allow us to move Michael Shumard back inside to guard, and give us one set side of the line, at the very least. Lucas Patterson's move to the offensive line will also be something to watch.

• Who will be our new starters in the secondary?

With the graduation of Devi Gregg and Alton Dixon, we'll be looking for a new starter at Rover. I wouldn't be surprised to see Jordan Pugh move over there and establish himself permanently. With Trent Hunter at free safety and Terrence Frederick manning one CB spot, we just need to find a replacement for the opposite cornerback spot, where we lost Danny Gorrer and Arkeith Brown. When we go to Kines' 3-3-5 alignment, I expect Jordan Peterson to come in as the third safety.

More after the jump.......

• Can Eddie Brown and Tony Jerod-Eddie solidy our interior defense?

With Brown (25 tackles, 1 TFL) and Jerod-Eddie (2- tackles, 3 TFL, 1 sack) both had solid seasons while playing as true freshmen, we really need to them to step up this coming season. Our run defense was atrocious last season, and a big part of that was our inability to keep opposing blockers off of our linebackers. Opposing offensive linemen were able to get to the second level and take on our linebackers because they didn't have to worry about pressure from our defensive interior, and were able to pull, trap, and zone at will. We need Brown and Jerod-Eddie to demand double-teams, which will keep opposing OL at the LOS, and allow our linebackers room to operate. The good news is that redshirt freshmen Adren Dorsey and Rod Davis will be available to provide quality depth for Brown and Jerod-Eddie. Davis was a very highly sought after recruit, so great things are expected of him.

Spring always offers a new beginning, but the new beginning for this football program needs to bring some answers if we're going to improve on the 2008 season.