This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its unique location you may go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.si.com/college-football/three-things-we-learned-from-saturdays-college-football-spring-games-alabama-tennessee-syracuse
and if you wish to take away this text from our website please contact us
If you hear carefully, you may virtually hear the crunch of autumn leaves.
That’s as a result of spring soccer is in full swing, with dozens of spring video games being performed Saturday on the FBS and FCS degree. While not all have been correct video games, and a quantity that have been deviated from the Walter Camp-approved guidelines of soccer as we all know them, every taught those that know what to search for some nugget concerning the yr to come back—proving the worth of the spring sport in a world more and more hostile to their existence.
From this cornucopia of data and half-information, listed below are three issues we realized from Saturday’s crop of scrimmages.
Potential Alabama starter Keelon Russell? Potential Alabama starter Keelon Russell!
Alabama followers solely obtained a quick glimpse of the quarterback final season, and it was restricted to rubbish time—Russell accomplished 11 of 15 passes for 143 yards and two touchdowns in opposition to Louisiana-Monroe and Eastern Illinois. On Saturday, Crimson Tide followers noticed what the Duncanville, Texas native may do in opposition to an evenly matched protection (i.e., his personal). An unofficial tabulation by AL.com recorded Russell as finishing 20 of 32 passes for 229 yards, 4 touchdowns, and an interception.
The query is whether or not Russell, a former Gatorade National Football Player of the Year, can beat out Austin Mack—who Alabama coach Kalen DeBoer recruited to Washington manner again in 2023. Mack struggled Saturday, finishing round half his passes and recording a landing and a choose; DeBoer later cagily instructed reporters postgame by way of On3’s Charlie Potter that Mack was “dinged up.” Not since now-Eagles and Falcons quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Tua Tagovailoa battled it out in 2018 have the Crimson Tide seen a quarterback controversy this intriguing.
Tennessee’s Jim Knowles eyes a return to kind
The everlasting query when one aspect of the ball dominates a spring sport is whether or not that aspect of the ball is sweet or the opposite is unhealthy. With Tennessee, the reductive reply could also be a little bit of each. The unhealthy information first: just one quarterback threw a landing within the abbreviated sport. Colorado switch Ryan Staub discovered broad receiver Carson Whitehead for a 72-yard rating, which made up greater than half of Staub’s passing yardage whole. Neither of the opposite two candidates to interchange departed 2025 SEC yardage chief Joey Aguilar—Faizon Brandon nor George MacIntyre—produced a real spotlight play.
However, the Volunteers’ protection appeared to brim with confidence after its stingy efficiency, with linebacker Edwin Spillman saying by way of Alex Sarkis of the Daily Beacon that the unit had “a whole different mindset and a whole different attention to detail” after ending 92nd within the nation in scoring protection. Tennessee employed Knowles as defensive coordinator on Dec. 11, after his ballyhooed ’25 transfer from Ohio State to Penn State went sideways following the Nittany Lions’ dismissal of coach James Franklin. Both Knowles and the protection may have one thing to show in 2026, and with a navigable schedule by SEC requirements, the chance for a defensive rebound is there if the Volunteers need it.
At Syracuse, quarterback worries abound
Similarities (not simply chromatic) are a lot between Tennessee and the Orange. Like the Volunteers, Syracuse is breaking in a brand new defensive coordinator in ex-Toledo lieutenant Vince Kehres (a two-time nationwide champion head coach at Mount Union). And like Tennessee, the Orange devoted appear involved by their quarterback state of affairs. No, test that—if the Volunteers’ quarterback play Saturday was a small electrical fireplace, Syracuse’s was a real conflagration.
The unstated subtext to this text is that each one spring soccer must be seen with a grain of salt, however Orange quarterbacks Malachi Nelson and Amari Odom each struggled fairly a bit. Nelson handed (per Javon Edmonds of Syracuse.com) for 3 yards, whereas Odom blended highlights (two completions over 30 yards) and lowlights (two interceptions). Nelson and Odom—transfers from UTEP and Kennesaw State, respectively—are nominally vying for Syracuse’s backup job, however the winner of the competitors will doubtless see considerable motion as quarterback Steve Angeli recovers from his Sept. 20 Achilles damage. After beating Clemson within the sport the place Angeli was injured, the Orange misplaced eight straight to complete 3-9.
More College Football from Sports Illustrated
Listen to SI’s school sports activities podcast, Others Receiving Votes, beneath or on Apple and Spotify. Watch the present on SI’s YouTube channel.
This web page was created programmatically, to learn the article in its unique location you may go to the hyperlink bellow:
https://www.si.com/college-football/three-things-we-learned-from-saturdays-college-football-spring-games-alabama-tennessee-syracuse
and if you wish to take away this text from our website please contact us
