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Generally there are two camps when it comes to analyzing spring practice.
Camp 1: Did you see Jacob Eason at G-Day?! He’s so going to win the Heisman Trophy this year!
Camp 2: There’s absolutely nothing we can take from this. Jacob Eason wouldn’t complete any of those in a real game with a real pass rush against the real first-team defense. He probably stinks like leftover salami.
It’s true that any grand conclusions from SEC spring games must be considered in context. And yes, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze seems determined to do away with the current format.
But if completing a dress rehearsal in front of tens of thousands was a useless marketing tool, Alabama coach Nick Saban would find a way to create the world’s most efficient meet-and-greet. Instead of playing tackle football on the field, Saban would have all the players lined up signing thousands of free autographs and mingling with fans for the entire two hours allotted by the NCAA.
Once the calendar hits September, it’s true that none of the spring performances are going to matter. But they do give us a real glimpse at the progress — or lack thereof — of individual players.
Here are a few within the SEC that put forth not-so-great springs.
Florida QB Feleipe Franks: The touted ’16 class signee may eventually be an All-SEC quarterback, for all I know. It’s possible that Franks got nervous and pressed in his first public outing as a Gators player. But playing under the lights in the spring game, Franks threw an interception on three of his first four pass attempts.
Franks eventually settled down, even throwing a nice touchdown pass to a diving C’yontai Lewis.
Ranked as the nation’s fifth-best pro-style passer in the 2016 class according to the 247Sports Composite, the 6-foot-6, 216-pound true freshman reportedly did some nice things in other practices. Coach Jim McElwain kept it light when asked about Franks’ spring performance.
But Florida has to hope that it won’t need to rely on Franks in an important situation until at least 2017. Again, it was just one glorified practice, but fellow true freshman Kyle Trask looked like the better passer of the two during the scrimmage. The takeaway may be just how hard it is as a quarterback to step on campus as one of the SEC’s proudest programs and immediately be an impact player at the position.
Alabama K Adam Griffith: The senior had a nice year in ’15, making nearly 72 percent of his field goal attempts — including a long of 55 yards. But during the A-Day game, he missed field goal attempts of 36, 47, 42 and 54 yards in the first three quarters.
We expect Griffith to be fine for the regular season. He recovered to make a 21-yard kick in the fourth quarter. He’s made two-thirds of his 54 field goal tries in his Alabama career, so the 1-for-5 day was an aberration.
Still, with Eddy Piniero — a one-time Tide commitment — turning heads in Gainesville, and more national title aspirations in Tuscaloosa, the Tide can’t afford a regression from the upperclassman.
Alabama’s offensive line: I know, I know. Shocking. But here we are. Defending national champion Alabama is occupying two spots in our spring disappointments list. (We could’ve included one more, the way sensational receiver Calvin Ridley was dropping passes.)
Excuses are plentiful. Namely, All-American candidate and left tackle Cam Robinson missed spring ball. He’s expected to be back to normal well before fall. And the team is replacing Rimington Trophy winner Ryan Kelly, which is going to take time.
Still, Alabama could’ve used a smoother A-Day game in order to evaluate quarterbacks Cooper Bateman and David Cornwell. Coach Nick Saban even joked at halftime that Tim Williams was going to “ruin the spring game” if something didn’t change.
“They’re distorting the timing of everything so the quarterbacks haven’t been able to operate,” Saban said.
The defense combined for 13 “sacks” on the day. In large part due to the pass rush by Williams and Ryan Anderson, the first-team offense managed just 21 total yards in the first half.
The Tide obviously has talent along the offensive line outside of Robinson. But the team needs to develop better play at the other four positions before the fall.
Auburn QBs: Sean White completed some nice downfield passes, but fumbled a snap and threw what should’ve been an easy interception.
Jeremy Johnson continued to throw the occasional pass that looked like he was aiming for a player on the sideline or a player in the stands.
John Franklin III’s lone downfield pass of any significance stood as a completion, but an ill-advised one that most SEC defensive backs would’ve at least swatted away.
The bottom line: It only takes one to be successful. This isn’t a situation where the Tigers may as well start looking for a new head coach. Gus Malzahn has time to find his man and coach him up. But rather than a reassuring spring on the quarterback front, huge questions remain. With that, there will be a lot of pressure on this group in fall practice.
WRs Fred Brown (Mississippi State) and Antonio Callaway (Florida): The Bulldogs and Gators were counting on these two players to be offensive staples in 2016.
But Brown got dismissed from Mississippi State due to a violation of the school’s honor code. With De’Runnya Wilson departing for the NFL early and Fred Ross out due to injury, Brown had an enormous opportunity this spring to become a go-to option for the offense. Instead, the team will have to make do without him.
Gators fans still hope Callaway returns to the team and builds upon the 678 receiving yards he managed as a true freshman in 2015. But he, along with Treon Harris, got slapped with an indefinite suspension and missed the entire spring. Even if Callaway manages to return to the team in time for fall practice without further discipline, he isn’t guaranteed to immediately become the go-to option.
An itinerant journalist, Christopher has moved between states 11 times in seven years. Formally an injury-prone Division I 800-meter specialist, he now wanders the Rockies in search of high peaks.
