Momentum is everything coming out of spring practice and there’s a couple of programs nationally who have more optimism than others ahead of the 2024 season. This also marks the time of the offseason where positive overreactions surface often and differentiating between what’s authentic and simply not going to happen is a challenge.
This time last year, very few were highlighting Kalen DeBoer‘s Washington program as a College Football Playoff threat, much less a team that would run roughshod through the Pac-12 with a Heisman finalist at quarterback. Dark horses are difficult to pinpoint, by definition, but there’s a team in the Big Ten with an enhanced roster and potential superstar under center that made waves this spring.
We’ll have more on him in a bit, along with a second-year coach in win-now mode based on unconventional roster decisions in recruiting that he’s made each of the past two offseasons.
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Here are five storylines that we’re overreacting to, coming out of spring practice, across the Power Four ranks:
When your true freshman, five-star quarterback’s had a “very good spring” and capped off his first few months on campus with 239 yards passing and two touchdowns in the first half of the final scrimmage, hype builds. Nebraska’s Matt Rhule knows this offense has a future star in Dylan Raiola, but high expectations for the 2024 season might be a bit premature.
Raiola is the Huskers’ highest-rated signee of all-time at any position, which brings a great deal of pressure to be an immediate difference-maker in Lincoln. It’s unfair to place that kind of responsibility on the shoulders of this kid, this soon, right?
Right now, if we’re laying odds on which quarterback starts the Huskers’ opener against UTEP, it’s likely Heinrich Haarberg, considering that he ended the 2023 season as the starter and has more experience in Marcus Satterfield‘s offense.
That’s not to say that Raiola won’t be the guy later on during the season or a potential short leash on Haarberg, but there’s a certain level of risk with throwing a true freshman signal-caller to the wolves in September.
Rhule and his offensive staff will assume all responsibility in Raiola’s development and may be reluctant to jeopardize growth for the sake of appeasing the fans.
Raiola will be a crowd favorite very quickly. In fact, he may have already won the hearts of Nebraska fans this spring.
Another true freshman graces with stratospheric expectations, five-star wide receiver Jeremiah Smith showed quickly why he was rated as the top player in the 2024 recruiting cycle. Ryan Day‘s done it again after signing another future first-rounder at the position.
Check out any footage the Buckeyes plastered across social media or allowed during the media viewing period and Smith jumps off the reel as a highlight waiting to happen. He looks like someone who’s been in a college weight room several years already and the speed of the game, at least at practice, hasn’t affected his transition from prep to college football whatsoever.
That’s scary for opposing defenses in a few months.
For Smith to be the impact first-year player whom those around Columbus project, he’s going to need stability at the quarterback spot. And while Ohio State has one of the more talented rooms in the country at the position, there was no separation there during spring practice and Chip Kelly hasn’t yet decided on his guy.
Kansas State transfer Will Howard, five-star Alabama freshman transfer Julian Sayin and last season’s second-teamer, Devin Brown, are the three signal callers in the mix.
We’re betting against the Buckeyes being hampered in the passing game by their new starter at quarterback and Smith being one of the Big Ten’s brightest new stars.
The Ole Miss coach knows this 2024 Rebels team is the most talented group he’s had as a head coach. He’s mentioned press clippings and preseason notoriety as a unanimous top 10 this spring as rat poison around Oxford, but it’s hard to overlook this program’s moment under his leadership, notably his expertise in the transfer portal.
And with his decision to hold an unconventional spring game, complete with a dunk contest and a 7-on-7 segment, he’s hiding what’s under the hood a bit. The Rebels addressed significant needs at various positions this cycle coming off an 11-win season and enhanced the roster as a result.
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Don’t buy into the, “Ole Miss hasn’t been here” before narrative, which doesn’t hold much water in the expanded College Football Playoff. Not only are the Rebels equipped to win double-digit games against with a favorable slate by SEC standards, but there’s a chance that Ole Miss is knocking on the door of its first conference championship game game berth in November.
The Rebels are contending if Jaxson Dart is the all-league caliber quarterback whom most expect him to be, the defense improves and there’s a difference-maker in the backfield to make up for the loss of Quinshon Judkins to Ohio State. The stock price on Ole Miss is higher than usual this offseason, but is only going to skyrocket from here.
Deion Sanders isn’t worried about his rash of transfer portal departures during the spring window, but we are. He’s right, not all players who have left were going to be impact guys, but several who were — this late in the game — will not be replaced.
Look at a versatile threat like Dylan Edwards, who was going to be a first-down threat every time he touched the football in 2024 after emerging in spots as a true freshman last season. He’s committed to Kansas State while Omarion Cooper, one of Colorado’s returning starters in the secondary, is gone too.
Reports from former players and disgruntled transfers saying that there is a disconnect within the locker room between athletes and the coaching staff is due to so many new faces every recruiting cycle is the result of mass roster changes.
The upcoming season for Sanders is more likely to look like the back end of the 2023 campaign than the Buffaloes’ jolt of momentum they enjoyed last September after appearing inside the top 25 after a hot start.
Offensive line worries were addressed in December, but now the two-deep coming out of spring is up in the air a bit. It may get worse on the field before it gets better for Colorado.
It’s time to bail on Mario Cristobal ever winning big at Miami if the Hurricanes aren’t one of the ACC’s best this season.
This roster, based on talent, rivals a couple of his best teams at Oregon that finished inside the national rankings as a West Coast threat.
Enhanced NIL efforts through expansive resources and a heavy emphasis on transfer portal recruiting have helped the Hurricanes stabilize a couple position groups with top-end talent, not just fill-ins.
Cam Ward was one of the top quarterbacks on the market this cycle and the arrival of Oregon State’s Damien Martinez this week means that Miami has a true playmaker in the backfield.
Toss in a couple major gets at wideout, offensive line and within the front seven defensively and you’ve got a team in Florida that looks as good, at least on paper, as the squad in Tallahassee coming off a 13-win season as the reigning conference champions.
One of the highest-paid coaches in the country, Cristobal is facing pressure to succeed. He’s been provided with every possible addition to do so.
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