Coach Hugh Freeze paces during Monday’s practice.
Spring football is a relatively short period of time for teams to practice, but it provides a great preview of the team and insight into which players could step during the upcoming season. Here are some of the top things to take from the spring:
The wide receiver position will be reloaded. Laquon Treadwell and Cody Core are gone, but Quincy Adeboyejo looks ready to take on a bigger role in the offense, and the return of Damore’ea Stringfellow should help as well. Spring practice also gave the first glimpse into the development of some of the younger receivers. DaMarkus Lodge seems poised to step up and have a big season, making several acrobatic catches in practice and showing off good leaping ability on jump balls. Van Jefferson could also play a big role from the slot position, where his speed could help on catch-and-run short passes as well as deep balls.
The running back position could spread its touches among three or more backs. With Jaylen Walton gone, the two most experienced backs are senior Akeem Judd, who ran for 421 yards and three touchdowns on 77 carries, and junior Jordan Wilkins, who ran for 379 yards and four touchdowns on 72 carries. Judd entered the 2015 season as the third back, but by the season’s end, his carries significantly increased as he provided a power option for the Rebels’ rushing attack. Judd will likely get the lion’s share of the carries, but Wilkins also runs with power and can be useful in the same way. The dark horse candidate in the running back competition is freshman Eric Swinney, who redshirted due to injury last season. Swinney provides a speedier option, similar to what Walton brought last year, but has a bigger frame than Walton and showed good power in the spring, too.
There will also be a lot of competition at the safety and husky positions. Junior C.J. Hampton will likely be starting at the free safety spot and look to keep improving after seeing an increase in playing time last year. Joining Hampton at free safety could be Armani Linton and A.J. Moore. Sophomore Zedrick Woods saw a solid amount of time in the secondary last season and now has a chance to emerge as the No. 1 position at the rover position, but will also see competition from C.J. Moore.
At husky, Tony Conner will be the starter if he returns healthy in time for the season, but there’s plenty of competition for the spot behind him, which could see a good amount of time during the season. Montrell Custis, a redshirt freshman, and true freshmen Myles Hartsfield and Greg Eisworth are fighting for the spot, so there’s a good chance for a young player to step up and earn a spot early in his career. Custis looked to have the upper hand in the spring.
