— Spring football is coming and these teams are looking for answers in some cases to keep momentum going and in others to figure stuff out in a hurry.
1. Tennessee
This is specific to Joe Milton. He looked good in the Orange Bowl against a good Clemson team (albeit without some key pieces). But he and the revamped receiving corps need to prove that they can continue to produce near the same levels as Hendon Hooker and Jalin Hyatt if they’re going to take the next step and truly compete with Georgia in the SEC East.
2. Ohio State
This might sound strange, considering how good the Buckeyes have been for the past decade. But after back-to-back losses to Michigan and a disappointing playoff loss, Ryan Day and company have some acute problems to fix. The first is to find a replacement quarterback for CJ Stroud, and the second is to fix a defense that has been susceptible to big plays against high level opponents.
3. Texas A&M
Bringing in Bobby Petrino reeks of desperation from Jimbo Fisher. And after a mass exodus to the portal, the former national champion coach first needs to prove that he still has control over this program. Between figuring out who’s simply going to even be on the team come the first day of spring practice and trying to incorporate a lot of new coaches, he’s got his work cut out for him.
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4. Cal
Justin Wilcox came out of the gates in Berkeley with some very strong defenses and competed well with the best in the conference. But after a couple of down seasons, he’s arguably the coach on the hottest seat in the conference, especially with all of the new coaches on the west coast.
5. Iowa State
After the immediate impact of Breece Hall and Brock Purdy at the pro level, coupled with Matt Campbell‘s worst season since his inaugural one in Ames, there are very faint questions bubbling up. With a big rebound season in 2023, Campbell can show why he’s been one of the most coveted coaches in the country for the past half-decade. But another bottom-of-the-table campaign could lead some to question whether it was really Hall and Purdy who were most responsible for the recent success of the program.
