Spring football threw it into high gear over the weekend, and SBN’s able army of college football types hit the stadiums en masse. What we learned:
John Brantley is good:
Spring Football With SBN’s College Communities
Brantley performed exactly the way you wanted him to perform; 15-19, 201 yards and two touchdowns. His passes had plenty of zip and Brantley was able to thread the needle. A few passes were high (saved by a healthy Carl Moore, who had a nice day), but he didn't expose any of his guys.
Christian Ponder. Wow. Ponder's arm strength looked tremendous. If he's really not yet full strength as Fisher said, then look out because his arm is already excellent. The ball that he overthrew Fortson on (I think Jarmon lost it in the sun or just couldn't see it) was enormous.
Both quarterbacks played well. Obviously when you complete over 75% of your passes as each did, it is hard to be too critical. I don’t think either separated themselves as the number one quarterback this spring even though Hansen was listed on top of the depth chart.
Stephen Garcia is … being Stephen Garcia:
Last spring, Garcia put his best foot forward and showed marked improvement in contrast to his play against Iowa in the Outback Bowl. I was hoping that that would again be the case this season. It hasn’t happened. Instead, Garcia showed up to practice overweight and doesn’t seem to have improved in regards to any of the issues that plagued his play last year, such as a long-distance accuracy.
This last one, of course, only lends credence to my pet crackpot theory that thanks to attrition at Florida and Alabama and major schematic overhauls at Georgia and Tennessee, South Carolina is primed to escape the SEC East lobster pot and reach the conference title game. Stephen Garcia's just lulling us all (very thoroughly) into a false sense of security.
For more spring football reviews, look for your very own team's site on SBN's college football page.
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