Biggest Spring Football Question for Each Group of Five Texas Team

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Spring football practice is now underway for all the Group of Five Texas college football teams, marking the unofficial start of the 2023 season. While they won't get to tee off on any opponents until the first weekend of September, these programs will compete amongst themselves for 15 practices before showing hte improvements they've made in the Spring Game. Of course, no one is tallying wins and losses just yet, but no team wants to have to go back to the drawing board ahead of summer workouts and fall camp.

Here are my picks for one big question every team needs to have answered by the conclusion of Spring football.

North Texas

Who steps up at linebacker in the absence of KD Davis?

North Texas head coach Seth Littrell was sent packing after reaching six bowl games in seven seasons at the helm. A Conference USA Championship Game loss proved the final straw for an administration that didn’t see the needed development in a seven-win season. While quarterback Austin Aune lit up the scoreboard with over 3,500 yards passing and 33 touchdowns stationed behind one of the most dominant offensive lines in the country, North Texas’s defense was the team’s Achilles heel all season long. The Mean Green couldn’t stop the run, couldn’t stop the pass and couldn’t stop teams on third down, which resulted in 31.7 points allowed per game. Now the best player from their weakest unit, linebacker KD Davis, is moving on after a five-year career in which he became the program’s all-time leading tackler. The 2022 Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year and two-time First Team selection was the lone bright spot for the Mean Green defense, tallying 139 total tackles. Now with a new coach in Eric Morris in their first year in the American Athletic Conference, North Texas needs to find a playmaker to step up in Davis’s absence. The 2023 recruiting class addressed team needs in the secondary with North Shore standout Jayven Anderson and South Oak Cliff defensive back Taylor Starling, both of whom could make instant impacts as early enrollees. 

Rice 

Is JT Daniels the answer at QB?

Before Stetson Bennett IV morphed into a walk-on success story who led Georgia to back-to-back National Championships, JT Daniels looked like the signal caller who could finally bring a title to Athens. After leaving USC, when an injury lost him his starting job, Daniels tossed 10 touchdowns and two interceptions in the last four games of the 2020 season en route to a Peach Bowl victory. He entered the 2021 National Championship season as the starter before suffering an oblique injury that allowed Bennett to take the reins and subsequent glory. And as Georgia charged to their second championship in 2022, Daniels was getting benched midseason in West Virginia. Now on his fourth team ahead of his sixth season in college football, Daniels is looking to prove at Rice he’s still the five-star talent who went 7–0 as Georgia’s starter. Head coach Mike Bloomgren, who first recruited Daniels out of high school when he was Stanford’s offensive coordinator, has all but assured the highest-ranked recruit in Rice history the starting job after rotating between three different quarterbacks in each of the last two seasons. But if Rice wants to avoid the familiar revolving door, Daniels must prove he can stay healthy and distance himself from the nagging injury history that led to his demotions at USC and Georgia.

UTEP

Which JUCO transfer will open eyes?
Of the 17 players who signed a National Letter of Intent to play for UTEP in 2023, a whopping 15 of them were junior college transfers. Clearly, the Miners have a certain type they’re looking to add to their program after the success of the defensive line and linebackers in 2022. Tyrice Knight, who tied for the team lead with 95 tackles, came to UTEP from Independence Community College. Jadrian Taylor, a Kilgore product, recorded 9.5 sacks. Defensive tackle Keenan Stewart is a multi-year starter who’s first stop was at Iowa Western Community College. So it’s not a question of if a JUCO transfer will step up this season, but which one will? UTEP added three tight ends in 2023, hoping to get the same bump their defense previously got after their passing game slipped to 86th nationally last season. Elijah Boyd (6-feet-4-inches, 250 pounds), Judah Ezinwa (6-feet-3-inches, 240 pounds) and Marcus Vinson (6-feet-4-inches, 255 pounds) all possess prototypical builds for the position, but Ezinwa had the most production last year at San Antonio College with a modest 12 receptions for 147 yards. The Miners also inked four new JUCO linebackers in hopes of finding their next Knight.

Texas State

How does Malik Hornsby look in G.J. Kinne's offense?

Just over one month after he was introduced as Texas State’s head coach, G.J. Kinne landed the quarterback for his high-powered offense in a massive transfer portal victory. Former Fort Bend Marshall standout Malik Hornsby announced in early January he was leaving Arkansas after three years to link up with Kinne in San Marcos. But for all the tantalizing speed and playmaking ability Hornsby has, he’s had scarce production on the collegiate level. Stationed behind KJ Jefferson for his entire Razorback career, Hornsby has only thrown 39 total passes for one touchdown and two interceptions. His biggest contributions came as a change-of-pace, running quarterback who piled up 172 yards in 2022. But he’ll get his first chance at QB1 with the Bobcats, and his coach is the mastermind behind the reigning best offense in college football. Kinne’s lone season at Incarnate Word resulted in 53 points and 582 yards per game, which he parlayed into the Texas State job. A disciple of Chad Morris and Gus Malzahn, Kinne brought seven Incarnate Word assistant coaches with him to implement his schemes. Now it’s up to Hornsby to show he can improve upon his career 46.2 percent completion percentage and marry it with his track-star speed.

UTSA

Who are the young guys that can take the torch?

UTSA is bringing back a bevy of integral players for their transition into the American Athletic Conference after compiling a 30–10 record over head coach Jeff Traylor’s first three seasons. Quarterback Frank Harris returns for a sixth year after setting single-season records in passing yards, completions and touchdowns. He’ll have his top three wide receiver targets in Zakhari Franklin, JT Clark and Joshua Cephus returning as well. But because they are the most experienced players on an offense that hasn’t changed their playbook much, Traylor said he wants them observing practices and getting their bodies healthy in the spring. So while UTSA won’t have to worry about replacing the best quarterback in program history and their dynamic wide receiver core in 2023, this spring will serve as a glimpse into the future for which young guys on the roster can build on this storied group’s accomplishments when they leave next year. That means quarterbacks Eddie Lee Marburger, a former Sharyland Pioneer standout, and Owen McCown, a Colorado transfer and son of 17-year NFL veteran, Josh McCown, will compete to cement themselves as the heir apparent to Harris. At wide receiver, former NJCAA All-American Willie McCoy will work behind UTSA’s three-headed monster while getting some work in the return game.

Sam Houston 

What improvements have the players who redshirted last year made?

Just two seasons removed from an FCS National Championship victory, Sam Houston limped to a 5–4 record in their final season before joining the FBS as part of Conference USA. On the surface, the program’s lowest win total since the 2009 season doesn’t breed optimism for a step up in competition, but Sam Houston never truly played at full strength in 2022. Because they were playing one more year in the FCS, the Bearkats chose to redshirt roughly 20 players so they could have maximum eligibility in Conference USA. Now with a year of preparation for the top level of college football, Sam Houston needs to find out this spring the improvements their redshirts have made once they knock off the rust. Wide receiver Ife Adeyi returns after recording over 1,800 yards in his first three seasons before redshirting. 2021 All-WAC second teamers in offensive lineman Ethan Hagler, defensive end Jevon Leon and wide receiver Noah Smith are also back playing full-time. Head coach K.C. Keeler now needs to use spring football to get those players back into game shape and reintegrate them into a team that won 21 of 22 games in the 2021 calendar year.

SMU

What is the balance between the run and pass game?

SMU has a good problem on their hands. They have a highly touted former four star quarterback recruit who gets complete control of the offense for the first time in his three-year career, and they have more running backs than you can count on one hand who could take over as the top option in the backfield. Now they just need to figure out how to balance the air and ground game together. Preston Stone, a former First-Team All-State selection at Parish Episcopal, broke his collarbone in the second quarter of his first career start in 2022 but is healed up for spring football. In limited game action, Stone showed why he is considered the future for the Mustangs, tossing a 75-yard touchdown on his first snap and finishing the shortened start 11-of-17 with 219 yards. Tyler Lavine returns as the team’s leading rusher, but he’ll be pushed in the spring by a bevy of transfers and former high-profile recruits. Miami transfer Jaylan Knighton reunites with his former offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee, and former five-star Camar Wheaton is back after playing sparingly in his first season with the Mustangs. SMU also landed another top 10 running back recruit in Texas A&M transfer L.J. Johnson.

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