College teams assessing biggest shoes to fill
The NFL draft has come and gone. So has spring football. Both mark the official start of college football’s long offseason.
Hopefully, spring drills brought some clarity to those position battles occurring throughout the Football Bowl Subdivision. Some spots remained unfilled. Did Jalen Hurts play his way out of contention for the Alabama quarterback job? Who’s going to start at quarterback for Clemson?
This week recaps a few races and asks the question: What are the biggest voids to be filled on rosters and sidelines across the FBS?
Penn State running back
That Saquon Barkley was a once-ina-decade running back talent was proved by the New York Giants, who bucked recent draft tradition by using their second overall pick to nab the former Penn State star. Barkley leaves big shoes to fill. But it’s not all bad: Miles Sanders won’t match Barkley’s impact but he’ll do well as the new starter, and the Nittany Lions should feel comfortable in the depth provided by senior Mark Allen and freshmen Journey Brown and Ricky Slade.
Notre Dame offensive line
The Irish look to rebuild the left side of their line without top-10 draft picks in tackle Mike McGlinchey and guard Quenton Nelson. One potential setup coming out of the spring had sophomore Robert Hainsey at left tackle and Tommy Kraemer at right tackle, Sam Mustipher at center, Alex Bars at right guard and sophomore Josh Lugg at left guard.
Liam Eichenberg could man one of the tackle spots, which would push Kramer to guard. Here’s a pretty incredible fact: Brian Kelly has had a first-round pick at left tackle in every one of his 103 games as Notre Dame’s head coach.
Central Florida head coach
Envy new UCF head coach Josh Heupel’s paycheck but not the expectations. After going unbeaten in 2017, the Knights bring fairly similar aspirations into Heupel’s debut season. Quarterback McKenzie Milton is back. The offense will look a little different, but that might not cause any major decline in production. But Heupel will spend this season under a microscope as the program’s replacement for Scott Frost.
North Carolina State defensive line
The whole gang — the best defensive line in program history, which is saying something — is off to the NFL, paced by star end Bradley Chubb as the fifth pick to the Denver Broncos. It’s time for the Wolfpack to rebuild. The process begins with the centerpiece of holdover Darian Roseboro, a three-year contributor with all-conference potential. When healthy, tackles Eurndraus Bryant and Shug Frazier will handle the interior. But depth could be an issue.
Ohio State cornerback
It’s not a matter of talent, which is never an issue in Columbus. But losing Denzel Ward robs Ohio State of its stopper on the outside, after a season in which quarterbacks routinely shied away from the fourth overall pick to throw at juniors Damon Arnette and Kendall Sheffield. Those are your starters this fall, with the hope that a bit of learning season — for Sheffield in particular — pays off in 2018. Another thing to remember: Kerry Coombs is no longer the cornerbacks coach.
Georgia running back
Sony Michel and Nick Chubb are gone, but the Bulldogs don’t suffer for options. The top two will be sophomore D’Andre Swift (618 yards) and junior Elijah Holyfield (293 yards), but Georgia has enough depth to mirror last year’s deep rotation of backs. The third cog is junior Brian Herrien, who was slowed a bit during the spring. The Bulldogs also add into the mix a pair of impressive true freshmen in Zamir White and James Cook.
Alabama safety
Not to say there are any concerns over Alabama’s defense. But Minkah Fitzpatrick played such a jack-of-alltrades role for the Tide that it’s natural to look at the hybrid position he held — whatever you want to call it — and wonder how Nick Saban replicates his impact. In terms of wearing multiple hats, sophomore Daniel Wright has the ability to line up at most positions in the secondary. That helps. But you can’t ignore the fact that Alabama has some gaps in the secondary. Look for Saban to be even more hands-on with the posi- tion than usual this summer and during fall camp.
Oklahoma quarterback
Oklahoma will probably never have another quarterback like Baker Mayfield, which says far more about Mayfield’s unique skill set than Lincoln Riley’s ability to develop elite quarterbacks — because Riley is one of the nation’s best at that and the Sooners won’t suffer for talent under center. Life without Mayfield begins with former Texas A&M transfer Kyler Murray, a Texas high school legend with enough athletic ability to star in football and fall in the first round of the upcoming Major League Baseball draft.
San Diego State running back
The Aztecs keep spitting running backs into the NFL. The latest, Rashaad Penny, found a home with the Seattle Seahawks in the back end of the first round. His replacement will be junior Juwan Washington, who followed the typical route to the starting lineup: Washington got his feet wet as a freshman before playing a bigger role as a sophomore. He’ll be ready in 2018. SDSU coaches say he combines many of the qualities that made Penny and Donnel Pumphrey two of the best backs in the country.
Iowa State wide receiver
Iowa State aims to take the next step after a thrilling eight-win 2017, but doing so entails a soft rebuild of the receiver corps. Allen Lazard left as the top receiver in school history, but don’t overlook the roles Marchie Mudock and Trever Ryen played as seniors. The one sure thing: 6-6 junior Hakeem Butler (41 receptions for 697 yards) will be a monster. What ISU needs is a complete season from former junior college transfer Matthew Eaton and further development from underclassman Deshaunte Jones.