Saturday marked the first day of the year with a notable group of college football spring games. It gave us our first look at this year’s rosters and while these games are considered more of a confidence-building type of event than anything else that didn’t stop us from breaking down what they saw on the field. Here is a look at the biggest four winners from Saturday’s spring games.
Deshaun Watson
Clemson Tigers
The fact that Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson completed 7-of-11 passes for 141 yards and two touchdowns might not be a big deal. However, it’s the fact that his weapons looked so good that made him one of the big winners from Saturday. The Tigers lost several key defensive players to the NFL Draft and the consensus is that they will need to lean on their offense early on if they are going to make another push for the College Football Playoff this year. Sophomore wide receivers Hunter Renfrow and Ray-Ray McCloud each caught touchdown passes from Watson while Artavis Scott looked very dynamic returning kicks. Clemson will need its offensive weapons to step up and lead the way this season and a strong impression in the spring game has Watson among the biggest winners from the weekend.
Miciah Quick
Oklahoma Sooners
The Sooners are set at quarterback and running back with Baker Mayfield, Joe Mixon and Samaje Perine. However, they need more playmakers to emerge at the wide receiver position in order to play to their potential in 2016. Junior receiver Miciah Quick made a good impression in Oklahoma’s spring game with a 53-yard game-winning touchdown catch with only 4:54 left on the clock to emerge as one of the stars of that game. The 6’1’’, 186-pound Quick is an absolute burner and he is primed for a bigger role after he was held to nine catches for 103 yards and zero touchdowns last season. Mayfield could very well be a Heisman Trophy candidate next season if he has the weapons. We know the Sooners are loaded at pretty much every other area of the team, so seeing Quick develop is an encouraging good sign.
Trevor Knight
Texas A&M Aggies
The Aggies were left in the awkward position of losing each of their top two quarterbacks on their depth chart in the offseason and were forced to bring in Oklahoma graduate transfer Trevor Knight to challenge for the job. Knight certainly has his critics, but he looked very good at Texas A&M’s spring game where he completed 20-of-27 passes for 193 yards with three total touchdowns. The Aggies have some impressive weapons at the skill positions and if Knight can excel under center than they could be a very dangerous group in the SEC this season. His success is closely tied to head coach Kevin Sumlin, who needs to get the 2016 campaign off to a good start. If the Aggies struggle and Knight is a part of that, a lot of fingers will be pointed at Sumlin – especially after we saw a number of highly-ranked quarterbacks walk to other teams.
Brandon McIlwain
South Carolina Gamecocks
An injury to senior quarterback Perry Orth pushed the door wide open for South Carolina’s starting quarterback competition. The battle for the No. 1 job isn’t nearly close to over, but we did get a good look at the freshman Brandon McIlwain, who added to his case with a strong performance in the Gamecocks’ spring game. McIlwain completed 19-of-26 passes for 169 yards and two touchdowns and ran for another score to give him three in the game. The freshman quarterback had plenty of zip on his throws and looked very calm and poised under center throughout the game. There is still a long way to go before the season, but it’s clear that McIlwain should have the edge in South Carolina’s quarterback competition right now. The Gamecocks need him to emerge as a leader in the huddle. They’ve been very weak at the position for the last few years and that is what has torpedoed their potential success.
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