[updated] UNLV spring report

Due to the wholesale change in coaching staff this offseason, ushering in new schemes, UNLV is probably more profitably studied not for what will be different in 2010, but what will be the same. Remember, outgoing head coach Mike Sanford was the offensive guru who learned the spread at the feet of Urban Meyer, but couldn't make it work in Las Vegas. Incoming coach Bobby Hauck is a defensive guy, who prefers to keep the ball (a) on the ground, (b) as long as possible, and (c) to take it away from the other team as often as possible. Flashy? Not really; but Hauck would rather line up the ws then wows, even though both have been lacking in Las Vegas for longer than the Wimple dares remember.

But first Hauck and his coaches (predominantly fellows who followed him from Montana) had to line up athletes for this year's freshman class. They worked the Nevada schools diligently, signing eleven Nevada players, including local star Taylor Spencer, and also four Texans, including Houston speedster Tim Cornett and D/FW quarterback Taylor Barnhill. Because no freshman stood out this spring, the first fall question will be: which of these freshmen may see playing time in 2010? TE recruits Jordan Sparkman and Anthony Vidal hope to see the field more than they might have under Sanford's spread; Hauck's new OC Rob Phenicie like to use tight ends to bolster his ground game. Which bodes well, as well, for incoming freshmen Vandrell Sullivan, Dionza Bradford, and Tim Cornett, each of whom ran the ball in high school. Of the three, only Sullivan is early enrolled (?). C. J. Cox still leads the depth chart after spring ball, ahead of Brandon Randle and Channing Trotter.

The second gnawing question in Las Vegas this fall will be: Can UNLV's new coaches develop defensive players? Sanford's crew's inability to do so resulted in their ouster. They bequeath to the new staff a senior-heavy defensive roster. If Kraig Paulson (the DC) can get the team to perform at even just a slightly better level, UNLV may be the MWC's surprise of 2010. Paulson likes LBs Starr Fuimaono, Ronnie Paolo, senior Calvin Randleman (right), DT Isaako Aaitui, and safety Alex De Giacomo. They'll be the core returners in 2010. Hauck says the team needs more athletes on defense, however. Multi-year starter DT Malo Tuamua may be done for his career, having torn his ACL at the end of spring. JUCO Transfer Nate Holloway may press Ramsey Feagai for first-team snaps, if he can get into better football shape by fall drills.

Finally, the Rebels are trying to master a different style of ball; the tight ends and runningbacks love it-- they get to tote the rock a lot more than they would have under Sanford's spread. That C.J. Cox tops the depthchart going into fall might trouble Rebel watchers, however. Trotter appeared to have more oomph last season than Cox, and sophemore Bradley Randle just hasn't performed to match the hype that attended his signing last year.

Senior Omar Clayton and Junior Mike Clausen seem to be adjusting well to the new schemes; they have (so far) maintained the top two spots on the depthchart at QB. Michael Johnson (right) has emerged opposite Phillip Payne as a go-to wideout.

[updated] UTAH spring report

When Utah's spring got underway the second week of March, the Utes primary questions were on the defense, at all three levels. See James Durrant's writeup at the Utah Rivals site for many more details. Second-year line coach John Pease hoped to get his players back to the production Utah fans grew used to under Gary Anderson's tutelege, and to answer to this offseason's first question: who will replace DT Kenape Eliapo and DE Koa Misi? At tackle, Neil A'asa appeard to get ahead of Lei Talamaivao and James Aiono; Trevor Reilly leads at end.

There's fruitbasket turnover occuring at linebacker in SLC this offseason, as the Utes graduated one of the conference's best-ever LB corps. So the second question in Salt Lake City was: Will Utah find a linebacking corps this spring? Replacing Mike Wright, Stevenson Sylvester, and Kepa Gaison won't fall to inexperienced players. DC Kalani Sitake, who coaches the linebackers, thinks his team is in better position going into 2010 than it was going into 2009. Projected starter Nai Fotu is out for the year with a torn ACL, J.J. Williams (pictured) and Boo Anderson may have won themselves starting spots with a strong spring. Chad Manis, Chaz Walker, Jamel King, and Matt Martinez were are in the mix for the third spot. Four-star recruit VJ Fehoko doesn't join the team until fall.

In the secondary, Coach Whittingham replaced J.D. Williams, who joined Bobby Hauck's staff at UNLV, by moving his TE coach, Jay Hill, to cornerback. Hill gets one starter back, Brandon Burton. Conroy Black is pushing Lamar Chapman gets the first-team snaps at the other end. In between them are two question marks, making the last defensive question for the Utes: Will the new safeties save the secondary? Only Justin Taplin-Ross (pictured) nailed down a starting spot this spring. Early-enrolled Damian Payne practiced much of the spring with the first team, rotating with redshirt freshman Chris Washington.

On offense, the questions were less pressing to start the spring, owing to a much fuller roster of returners. However, returning starter and phenom Jordan Wynn went down on the first play of the spring game, and there're rumblings his injury was more serious than the Whittingham has let on. Fortunately for the Utes, senior Terrance Cain (pictured) took over and was brilliant, as was redshirt freshman Griff Robles. It appears the Utes' attack is not dependent on Wynn.

Fully four starters return on the o-line, leaving a battle (and the first offensive question) only at left tackle: who will replace all-MWC Zane Beadles? Caleb Shlauderaff moves over from guard into that spot this spring, and that move may be permanent if the Utes can't find a better tackle. Walter Watts will take Shladeraff's spot next to center. Percy Taumoelau is also in the mix at left tackle.

Matt Asiata was granted a medical redshirt, but didn't practicing this spring. Eddie Wide and Sausan Shakerin had the show largely to themselves, and put on a good one.

At wideout, the story is much different. David Reed, Aiona Key, and John Peel took just over half the team's receptions and even more of the team's receiving yards with them to graduation. Only Jerome Brooks returns, having had over 17 receptions for more than 154 yards in 2009. DeVonte Christopher, Shaky Smithson, and Luke Matthews return with Brooks, all having caught passes last season, and all hoping to answer the question Who'll be Jordan Wynn's go-to receivers? They were pushed hard for first team snaps by walk-on Griffin McNabb (pictured), who who shone late in the spring, and was the go-to receiver in the spring game. The team's three receiver recruits don't enroll until the fall.

[updated] SAN DIEGO STATE spring report

No team in the conference is as close to dramatic improvement as is San Diego State. It returns all of its coaches, its best weapons (QB Ryan Lindley and both of his go-to receivers), it has a wealth of runningbacks, and a burgeoning defense. The Aztecs are precisely one viable running threat away from the promised land. But the way to the promised land (which is defined these days in San Diego as bowl eligibility) is blocked until SDSU improves its push up front. Thus the Aztecs's first spring question: which of the five new o-linemen will improve the abysmal push up front the team has manufactured since... since at least as long as anyone at the Wimple can remember?

Impressively sized Juan Bolanos (6-7, 340), Riley Gauld (6-5, 299), and Joe Unga (6-6, 305)transfer in from junior colleges, but none of them participated in spring drills. True freshmen Zack Dilley and Garrett Corbett join the team in August. These new fellows join returning starters Tommie Draheim (LT), Trask Iosefa (C), and Nik embernate (RG), and backups Mike Matamua, Erik Quinones, Damian Shankle, and Emilio Rivera in OC and o-line coach Al Borges's search for the Aztecs' stoutest front five. Atypically, there are no o-linemen in the class ahead of the five signed this week, because Hoke's team did not enroll a single lineman last year, due to their unwillingness to sign a player at those positions without proper evaluation.

The skinny out of spring drills is that the o-line is still a big problem, waiting for the big transferring JUCO players to improve it.

Once it has a better line in place, San Diego State can begin sorting its many runningbacks, including hyped recruit and early-enrolled true freshman Ronnie Hillman. The team must answer the question who will be 2010's workhorse backs, and hoped to have the answer by the end of spring drills. Hillman (pictured) competed with veterans Brandon Sullivan, Davon Brown, Anthony Miller, and Walter Kazee. Kazee was limited in spring drills, but expects to be back in full form by August, when Dwayne Garrett, Adam Muema, and Deonte Williams join the fracas. Somebody among those eight runningbacks will capitalize on better o-line play, if he gets it, and keep opposing defenses honest for the first time in Ryan Lindley's career (and many quarterbacks before him, it can be said...). Hillman appears to be playing up to his billing.

Defensively, the Aztecs return a boatload of starters at all levels. Early-enrolled DE Perry Jackson, a very highly rated JUCO transfer, is competing on the line. Competition among the LBs and DBs will be high, as the coaches settle on replacements for all-MWC LB Jerry Milling and CB Davion Mauldin. Starting and backup Aztec back graduated or left the team this offseason, as well. DC Rocky Long has a full score of players competing for these spots, however. Expect no dropoff, but improvement, as the team answers its last spring question: who'll step up in the back eight on defense?

Andrew Preston (pictured) moved from linebacker to the hybrid LB-S "Aztec" back this spring; he loves the new position. "You get to fly around and get to play the whole field," said Preston. The team focused on man coverage from its cornerbacks. Admittedly, covering Brown and Sampson (and Dominique Sandifer, and newcomer Osborne Nicholas) isn't easy, but there's worry that its secondary isn't getting the job done. They shut down the offense during the spring game however, and drew praise from Coach Hoke.

[updated] AIR FORCE spring report

The Air Force Falcons were the first in the MWC to break out the pads for spring drills this year, getting underway in balmy mid-February in Colorado Springs (average February high: 44). Troy Calhoun replaced one coach on each side of the ball, but the transitions should have been relatively easy, as neither departed coach was exclusively responsible for the team's schemes.

AFA returns every player from 2009 that carried the ball- an astonishing fact, given the Falcons' reliance on its ground game to move the ball. It seems therefore a given that coach Calhoun will be focusing not ballcarriers this spring, but on both lines, where the Falcons are practically holding an open tryout for starters. The entire 2009 starting o-line graduated, as did two of the three d-linemen.

So the first, and biggest, spring question at the Academy this year was: will backups Chase Darden, A.J. Wallerstein, Michael Hester, Tyler Schonsheck, and Blake Dowd cut the mustard up front for the offense? Similarly, will Wylie Wikstrom (DE) and Ryan Gardner (DT) nail down the starting snaps this month?

Some Academy watchers think that the complete turnover on the o-line will not be as disruptive as a similar event would be at another school. That none of the '09 backups were freshmen may indicate that the new starts will bring significant experience to their starts in 2010. Whether or not that is true, the jury is out on the beef up front until September.

Until then, it looks like four of the five spots up front on offense are filled: LT Jason Kons (freshman 6-4, 250), C Michael Hester (sophomore, 6-3, 240), RG A. J. Wallerstein (sophomore, 6-4, 285) and RT Chase Darden (junior, 6-3, 255). The left guard spot may go to Tyler Schonsheck (junior, 6-1, 265), but his competition with Nick Jackson (freshman, 6-4, 270) is ongoing. Look for the Academy's o-line recruits Jacob Ehm (6-6, 245), Joe Frank (6-4, 290), Drew Kerber (6-3, 280), Tristian Turknett (6-2, 287), Jake Welch (6-3, 290), and Charlie Zemko (6-3, 250) as backups, at most, in 2010. More likely, given the youth ahead of them on the two-deep, they'll not surface in games for another year.

On defense, Ryan Gardner and Wylie Wikstrom do appear to have secured the top spots on the chart at DT and DE. Both had exemplary springs. Elsewhere, only S Chris Thomas and LB John Falgout leave large holes in the team's production, to be filled by younger players. Phil Ofili and Brian Corcoran may replace Thomas and Falgout. Reports out of spring were very positive about the Falcons' secondary, though the lineup to replace Thomas remains unsettled.

The surprise out of spring is how strong quarterback Connor Dietz showed-- so much so that one cannot say Tim Jefferson is the clear starter going into fall drills. This kind of competition has to be good for the Academy, however, and may surpass the emergence of a starting o-line (which may be largely complete) as the top story for the team this August.

The 2010 schedule, recently out, features a blockbuster conference showdown in week two against BYU, in Colorado Springs. This is precisely the kind of battle that plays well in the Falcons' hands; they'll throw their experienced, difficult ground attack and speedy defense at the Cougar's new starting quarterback and defensive line. Bronco Mendenhall has to be sweating those matchups already. An upset in week two may signal another year in which the Academy muscles its way into the league's top three.