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Come Fan with UsTuesday, August 4, 2026

The Solid Verbal: 2017 spring football forecast

This is all just an excuse to use the word “blustery.”

NCAA Football: Citrus Bowl-Louisiana State vs Louisville
NCAA Football: Citrus Bowl-Louisiana State vs Louisville
Jonathan Dyer-USA TODAY Sports
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Even though spring football yields very little in the way of interesting, relevant revelations, there are certain storylines to which we pay attention, so let’s ask some questions to figure out how much of these things matter:

• With so much attrition at OL, WR, RB, DL, and DB, could Michigan begin to start tweaking scheme to best fit personnel who Jim Harbaugh and the current staff recruited? Is Wilton Speight even entrenched at QB?

• Is Kelly Bryant the frontrunner to replace Deshaun Watson at QB for Clemson? Do the Tigers have the pieces in place on offense for a smooth transition?

• How will Baylor begin to marry a power-running spread to the returning personnel on offense?

• Can Tom Herman get immediate buy-in from Texas players, especially on defense, where things have already been switched around?

• What will Willie Taggart and Oregon’s offense look like while remaining a wide open spread with QB Justin Herbert, but doing things in different ways than they’ve been used to for the last decade?

• How revamped will LSU’s offense be under new coordinator Matt Canada?

• Does Florida have a QB in Feleipe Franks, and if so, will progress be made in finding linemen and receivers to actually build a strong passing attack?

• Will Mike Elko, new Notre Dame defensive coordinator, transform a talented, but wildly inconsistent defense as the Irish move to a 4-2-5 to get more speed on the field?

... and much more!

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