With the national signing day in the rear view mirror, the college football focus has already shifted to next season with spring practices set to get underway. The spring practices are the perfect opportunity for coaches to reevaluate the players at every position and really get a good look at what they have on their roster before naming starters and cementing their depth chart. There will be several key storylines to keep an eye on once practice begins, including some players are facing a lot more pressure than others. Here is a look at the players facing the most pressure heading in to this year’s spring practices.
Trevor Knight, Texas A&M Aggies
Quarterback
The Aggies went from having two capable quarterbacks projected to compete for the starting job in 2016 to one that they only hope can handle that role in Knight. Texas A&M lost the top two quarterbacks on its depth chart in Kyle Allen and Kyler Murray this offseason and now they have to hope Knight can thrive after they gave him the opportunity to hold down the starting job. Knight won the quarterback job at Oklahoma in 2013, but he missed part of the year with a knee injury and then struggled in 2014 before handing over the starting job to Baker Mayfield last season. Kevin Sumlin is still regarded as a top college head coach and he has some excellent coordinators that will help coach up this year’s quarterback class, but the jury is still out on Knight. If he’s the player that many schools thought he could be on the recruiting trail, the Aggies offense could be one of the best in the SEC. If not, Sumlin will be on the hot seat and Knight could land back on the bench. There will be a lot of pressure on him to perform at A&M beginning with the spring practices.
Nick Fitzgerald, Mississippi State Bulldogs
Quarterback
It won’t be an easy task to replace an absolute legend in Mississippi State football in Dak Prescott, but it will be Fitzgerald who gets that opportunity this spring. Fitzgerald will have to beat out Elijah Staley and Damian Williams for the starting job, but he is expected to have the edge in that quarterback competition. The real pressure will be whether or not he can elevate his game to a level where he not only thrives as a full-time starter, but also as the passer that will replace Prescott for the Bulldogs moving forward.
Bo Scarborough, Alabama Crimson Tide
Running Back
Scarborough is projected to be next on the long list of star running backs to be featured at Alabama. He will certainly have big shoes to fill replacing last year’s Heisman trophy winner Derrick Henry in that role – especially as a lot of NFL onlookers watch Henry post some incredible numbers at the combine. Scarborough ran for 104 yards on just 18 carries in 2015 and while he is projected to be the top back for 2016, he still needs to prove he deserves that role. That will mean holding off former five-star recruit Damien Harris and that competition will begin with the spring practices.
Penn State’s Offensive Line
The final spot on this list goes to an entire group of players rather than an individual as there will be tremendous pressure on the Nittany Lions’ offensive line to step up beginning this spring. Offensive line coach Herb Hand left for the same job at Auburn and Penn State will be breaking in a new quarterback in 2016 following Christian Hackenberg’s move to the NFL. The Nittany Lions have allowed a ridiculous 83 sacks over the last two seasons and many people feel that’s what torpedoed Hackengberg’s ability to do anything. He was deemed to be a top NFL quarterback prospect but behind the Penn State offensive line, he looked like someone who is more likely to be a seventh-round pick. The pressure will be on the offensive line to step up and do a better job with protections in order to give the offense a chance to be better next season.
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