Spring college football games give us our first look at this year’s rosters with the arrival of new players and key position battles that will be talked about a lot over the next few weeks. The games don’t count for much overall but there are a handful of players that have made strong first impressions that are worth acknowledgment. Here is a look at the top spring game MVP’s from Pac-12 teams.
DL: Solomon Thomas
Stanford Cardinal
Thomas has looked unstoppable on the Cardinal defensive line this spring both in practice and in their spring game where he easily made his way in to the backfield on the first five snaps of the game. The 6’3’’, 275-pound edge rusher is an absolute freak of an athlete and both his coaches and teammates have raved about his ability early on this year. Thomas has improved his overall skill set across the board to become arguably the most talented player on the Stanford defense and it won’t be long before he makes a major impact in the Pac-12 with a potential breakout season around the corner in his junior year.
RB: Justin Davis
USC Trojans
The senior Davis will be pushed for the starting job by sophomore Ronald Jones II but a strong spring performance kept him at the top of head coach Clay Helton’s depth chart as the Trojans’ No. 1 running back. Davis has worked hard to develop his all-around game by improving his blocking and pass-catching ability out of the backfield and he showcased his overall skill set with a strong performance at the USC spring game. Davis ran for 63 yards and two touchdowns on just eight carries in an MVP-like performance and his ability to move the football on the ground combined with his improved blocking and pass catching have him on track to dominate in the Pac-12 this season.
The Trojans seem to have a deep backfield heading into the season but we’re going to find out very quickly just how effective it is. Remember that the Trojans start the season with a neutral-site contest against Alabama and just two weeks later, they go to Stanford followed up by a trip to Utah. None of those games are at home, which means the Trojans are going to have to rely on their ground game very much to help them out – especially since they’re breaking in a new quarterback. Hopefully Davis can carry over his preseason performance into the regular season.
WR: Charles Nelson
Oregon Ducks
Oregon’s offense is loaded with talented playmakers once again and it was a former defensive back that stole the show for them at their spring game. Nelson’s incredible speed and elusiveness convinced coaches he would be a bigger asset on the offensive side of the football so they moved him to wide receiver and he delivered with an excellent performance at their showcase. Nelson has incredible speed, quickness and elusiveness after the catch and it will be interesting to see how many different ways the Ducks use him in their offense this season. The Ducks offense struggled early on last season against quality competition, scoring just 28 against Michigan State and 20 versus Utah. Nelson’s development early could help the Ducks get off to a better start this time around.
WR: John Ross III
Washington Huskies
Ross was in line for a breakthrough 2015 campaign when he tore his ACL last April and missed the entire year but expectations are high for him this year and he certainly delivered with a strong performance at the spring game. Ross recorded a 4.25 40-yard dash time in practice and it didn’t take long for him to show off his speed in the spring game when he took the opening kickoff for a touchdown and then caught a touchdown pass a few plays later for his second score of the game. The Huskies’ offense is loaded with young talent on the offensive side of the football and Ross has the potential to be the best of them as a breakout star at wide receiver.
