Around the AAC: Spring Football Quick Hits

Spring is nigh upon us, and just as hope springs eternal with nature, so does it with football. With some teams embarking on their second week of off-season practice and others awaiting their first, I thought now would be a good time to go around the conference and collect some stories, videos and other reports from each team’s start to 2015.

Programming note: this is in alphabetical order by school name, not abbreviation, so 1) if you came here just for Tulane or Tulsa stuff, scroll to the bottom pal, and 2) no complaints about how high or low your team’s content is on the page. Otherwise, enjoy!

UCF Knights

Spring Game: April 18

This was an interesting snippet from an Orlando Sentinel article by Matt Murschel on the big time turnover on the Knights’ coaching staff and how this spring will be an important one for that reason:

“It’s rare when a program sees wholesale coaching changes especially after coming off back-to-back conference championships, but that’s what happened at UCF this offseason. Outside of head coach George O’Leary and two assistant coaches, every other position went through a change including both offensive and defensive coordinators. Brent Key was promoted to lead the offense after longtime coordinator Charlie Taaffe announced his retirement in mid-January. Former USF defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan was hired to replace Tyson Summers as defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Either way, spring will provide the Knights and its players with a change to get to know each other all over again heading into summer.”

Cincinnati Bearcats

Spring Game: April 4

Tom Gelehrter of Bearcats TV chatted with Gunner Kiel after Cincinnati’s first spring scrimmage:

As @Bearcats_FB Spring Practice rolls on, we catch-up with junior QB Gunner Kiel: http://t.co/jPRjNKFJeZ

— Bearcats TV (@BearcatsTV) March 7, 2015

UConn Huskies

Spring Game: April 11

The Huskies began practice on March 7, and this spring football preview from the school’s website is chalk full of things to watch for an includes video of comments from head coach Bob Diaco, offensive coordinator Frank Verducci and defensive coordinator Anthony Poindexter.

ECU Pirates

Spring Game: April 18

This spring preview from Campus Insiders one the whole AAC is really excellent, but obviously the one big question in Pirates country is how the team will replace the production of two of the best in ECU history, Shane Carden and Justin Hardy. The ECU excerpt below lays out some potential doom and gloom for the Pirates in 2015:

“It’s the dawn of a new era in Greenville, as QB Shane Carden and WR Justin Hardy move on to the next level. Carden and Hardy are two of the all-time greats to ever play for ECU, leaving a specter of doubt entering 2015. Plus, it’s not as if the Pirates are carrying a head of steam into the new year. They were unable to handle prosperity—and the spotlight—last fall, slumping to a 2-4 finish after entering the national lexicon with back-to-back upsets of Virginia Tech and North Carolina. The offense will also be missing leading rusher Breon Allen and influential coordinator Lincoln Riley, making for an intriguing off-season for head coach Ruffin McNeill.”

Houston Cougars

Spring Game: April 18

This slideshow in the Houston Chronicle by Joseph Duarte raises five critical questions for the Cougars heading into Tom Herman’s first spring as the head coach. Coming off an eight-win season that wasn’t good enough for the last regime to survive, Herman will be under some pressure to produce quickly in 2015.

Memphis Tigers

Spring Game: April 10

Here is a LONG video of what Tigers head coach Justin Fuente had to say before his team opened up spring practice last week.

Navy Midshipmen

Spring Game: None

Here’s a story in the Washington Post by Gene Wang about how and why head coach Ken Niumatalolo has elected not to use the maximum number of spring practices to prepare his team for 2015. If you noticed, the Midshipmen also will not have a traditional spring game this year.

USF Bulls

Spring Game: March 28

Check out this quick piece from Joey Knight in the Tampa Bay Times on the Bulls new 4-2-5 defensive scheme and how much the players love it so far. Also, it looks like the quarterback competition is already heating up as Knight mentioned the “offense appeared crisp” and that both walk-on Austin Parker and sort-of incumbent Mike White threw touchdowns during 11-on-11 work.

SMU Mustangs

Spring Game: April 18

Chad Morris has been all the rage in Mustangs country, hell, within the AAC, and what he’s doing to keep the momentum going as the Ponies take the field for spring practice on March 17 should definitely benefit his program in the long run.

Temple Owls

Spring Game: April 25

Have you guys heard of competition Fridays in Philly? If not, check it out below. You have to love what Matt Rhule is doing with the Owls:

WATCH: Competition Friday’s with #TUFB -> https://t.co/5FcvTxjGmz

— Temple Football (@Temple_FB) March 2, 2015

//platform.twitter.com/widgets.jsTulane Green Wave

Spring Game: April 18

Here’s a recap of the Green Wave’s practice Monday, as Curtis Johnson’s team enters its final week of spring practice and corrects some things from their scrimmage Saturday.

Tulsa Golden Hurricane

Spring Game: April 18

Tulsa opened its spring practices Sunday, but before that new head coach Philip Montgomery was put in the “Hurricane Spotlight” for a preview of what’s to come in 2015 for the Golden Hurricane.

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