ESPN College Football

Three offensive linemen and quarterback Sean Mannion need to get the most out of the offseason if Oregon State is going to earn a bowl berth in 2012.

How much can we really learn from spring? Funky scrimmages with backwards scoring systems; depleted depth charts; completely new installs for four teams. Actually, more than you'd think. Here are five things we learned about the Pac-12 during spring.

1. Quarterbacks are still in limbo: Be it Stanford, Arizona State, UCLA, Oregon or Colorado, almost half of the teams still don’t know who is going to be under center when the season starts. Stanford funneled its list of five down to two, Josh Nunes and Brett Nottingham. ASU still has a three-way battle with Michael Eubank, Mike Bercovici and Taylor Kelly -- though coach Todd Graham said they have a better idea than they are probably letting on publicly. The very private competition between Marcus Mariota and Bryan Bennett at Oregon remains in question -- though Mariota was spectacular in the spring game while Bennett faltered. Still, coach Chip Kelly said that one game isn’t going to be his basis for comparison. UCLA coach Jim Mora wanted to name a starter by the end of spring, but no one has “grabbed” it, so we’ll have to wait until August before learning whether Brett Hundley, Kevin Prince or Richard Brehaut gets the gig. And at Colorado, the competition was put on hiatus when Nick Hirschman broke a bone in his foot and couldn’t compete in spring drills. One has to think that was a huge advantage for Connor Wood to get almost all of the reps with the first-team offense.
2. Not everyone has quarterback issues: Teams thought to have quarterback question marks heading into spring seemed to have resolved them. In Utah, Jordan Wynn is completely healthy, and both coach Kyle Whittingham and offensive coordinator Brian Johnson have declared Wynn their guy. While Mike Leach hasn’t officially declared Jeff Tuel his starter, it’s hard to imagine anyone else winning the job in the fall, short of Tuel suffering a significant injury or amnesia. He had a splendid spring, and appears to be a great fit for Leach’s offense. And at Arizona, Matt Scott seized the job early and left little room for any competition. Coach Rich Rodriguez has been gushing about how quickly Scott has adjusted to the offense. At Cal, Zach Maynard, once thought to be challenged by freshman Zach Kline, appears to not only have held on to the job, but distanced himself from pursuers.
3. Wide receivers aplenty: And there are plenty of those in the conference. USC has probably the best tandem in the country in Robert Woods and Marqise Lee. Cal’s Keenan Allen (though he missed spring drills) should continue to put up big numbers, and Washington State’s Marquess Wilson should flourish in the Cougars’ new system with Tuel as his quarterback. Markus Wheaton and Brandin Cooks could challenge the USC duo statistically if quarterback Sean Mannion continues to develop. There are stars on the rise at Arizona State (Jamal Miles) and Stanford (Ty Montgomery), and a potential star at Washington (James Johnson). Look out Biletnikoff, the Pac-12 is a comin'…
4. The conference of defense? The Pac-12 might never bunk its reputation as an offensive-centric conference (especially when it keeps churning out offensive talent). But there is a surplus of talented defenses and defensive players who were on display this spring. Washington seems to have plugged its leaks with new defensive coordinator Justin Wilcox. There’s a 3-4 trend sweeping the conference, and with notable playmakers like Star Lotulelei (Utah), John Boyett (Oregon), Dion Jordan (Oregon), Chase Thomas (Stanford), Josh Shirley (Washington), T.J. McDonald (USC) and DeAndre Coleman (Cal), it’s easy to see why some of the Pac-12 defenses will get the same kind of love as the offenses do in 2012.
5. Confidence is at an all-time high: As it should be in the spring. The four new coaches all feel confident about the systems they have installed. Stanford feels as good as it ever has about its running game. USC and Oregon should get lofty preseason rankings, and this is the time of the year when fans go through the schedules game by game and always seem to come up with a minimum of six wins. Sorry to say, there are teams in the conference that won’t make it to a bowl game this season. But when you hear the coaches talk about their teams, you’d think the conference is going to go 12-0 in the postseason. This is a magical time for fans filled with hope and possibility. Enjoy it while it lasts.

2011 overall record: 3-9

2011 conference record: 3-6 (fifth in North)

Returning starters: offense: 8; defense: 8; kicker/punter: 1

Top returners
QB Sean Mannion, DB Jordan Poyer, WR Markus Wheaton, WR Brandin Cooks, DE Scott Crichton, DB Rashaad Reynolds, OL Josh Andrews, S Anthony Watkins.

Key losses
WR James Rodgers, S Lance Mitchell, C Grant Johnson, DT Fred Thompson (passed away last December, could have been in contention for starting spot).

2011 statistical leaders (*returners)

Rushing: Malcolm Agnew* (423 yards)
Passing: Sean Mannion* (3,328 yards)
Receiving: Markus Wheaton* (986 yards)
Tackles: Anthony Watkins* (85)
Sacks: Scott Crichton* (6)
Interceptions: Jordan Poyer* (4)

Spring answers

1. Running game revival: Head coach Mike Riley has been adamant that his team will be better at running the ball in 2012. The Beavers rotated through four backs last season -- mostly because of injuries -- but redshirt freshman Storm Woods has come on strong in the spring. Though a pecking order hasn't been established, it's safe to say that the Beavers will have a deep rotation.

2. Secondary depth is solid: With Watkins sidelined during the spring with a shoulder injury, it opened up opportunities for Ryan Murphy and Tyrequek Zimmerman to replace the graduated Lance Mitchell. Murphy, last year's nickelback, looks like he's won the job to start along Watkins. Pair that with Poyer and Reynolds and the Beavers should be solid in the defensive backfield.

3. LB corps filling out: D.J. Welch looks like the heir apparent to Cam Collins on the strong side. Feti Unga, who was among the conference leaders in tackles last year prior to a knee injury, appears to be back and ready to go for the fall. Michael Doctor also appears more comfortable as he readies for his second year as a starter. Rueben Robinson and Cade Cowdin should provide the Beavers with some good depth across the board.

Fall questions

1. Offensive line issues: With only eight healthy linemen this spring, there wasn't much of an opportunity to fill out a starting five. Riley said he doesn't like leaving spring without knowing who his starters are, but it's just something they have to deal with. Andrews helps solidify the line and Grant Enger and Colin Kelly will be in the mix when they return from injury. But with a big influx of freshmen, Riley has essentially said all positions are up for grabs.

2. Has Mannion taken the next step? If you ask Riley, he has. If you ask Mannion, he has. But it won't be known until he steps on to the field. He showed last season that he has the potential to be an A-list quarterback in this conference. Better decisions should improve his 16-to-18 touchdown to interception ratio and an improved running game will almost certainly be a plus.

3. Who is No. 3 at WR? We know about Wheaton. We know that Cooks is up and coming. But who is going to be that No. 3 option for Mannion? Jordan Bishop is penciled in as the slot guy, but he missed his second straight spring. That opened the door for Obum Gwacham to emerge as the potential No. 3. He's Wheaton's immediate backup on the outside, but Riley couldn't help but gush about Gwacham's performance this spring.

Some quotes from the Pac-12 coaches conference call earlier today.

• Arizona coach Rich Rodriguez on how his players grasped his philosophy: "I think they grasped it pretty well from the progress from the first practice to the last. We tried to coach them up and educate them on how practice is going to run and the tempo we were going to go out and the things we wanted to achieve in each and every practice. For the first practice, which was tough on guys, about halfway through they were gassed and done and struggling to the end, to the last practice of spring they were moving around a little better ... I think they saw a whole other level of continuing we have to be in just to get through practice, let alone to play at the pace we want to play at."
• ASU coach Todd Graham on the quarterback situation: "Obviously, we're a lot closer than what it appears probably from the outside. It was a great evaluation for us. And to be honest it's very difficult to rep three guys and I was very impressed that we were able to install the amount of the offense that we did install and we did it with three different guys."
• Cal coach Jeff Tedford on the progress of quarterback Zach Maynard: "I thought he did a nice job. We were so far ahead of last year when he was new into the system. We were able to do much more on offense this spring and move along and much more efficient. You could really tell his experience from the season had really paid off with the speed of the game and the management of the game. He really improved obviously through a year. Spring was very effective for him."
• Colorado coach Jon Embree on splitting quarterback reps this fall: "With two to three going after it you have to be creative. We'll do some different things to make sure they get quality reps. It may be by day, it may be by drill ... if it's a clear cut deal, I'm not going to waste time. I think it's important that the team knows and that quarterback know that they're going to be leading the team."
• Oregon coach Chip Kelly on quarterback Bryan Bennett after the spring game: "He was fine. I saw him Monday and he was good. There's not much we can do about the games of the past. He's getting in and watching film on his own because we're in that part of the season. I saw him in there watching tape and getting ready for camp coming up. Everything is a learning experience for everybody in our program. It was a good learning experience for Bryan to go through."
• Oregon State coach Mike Riley on Sean Mannion's progress: "To summarize it, I think he had a very valuable freshman year. He's a tremendously hard worker. Conscientious. So what we're looking for is just continued growth. Quarterbacking is a never-ending story of decision making, getting the ball out of your hands. Getting it to the right guy. I thought he had an excellent spring that way. He'll take all of that work into the summertime and be prepared for fall camp so we're just looking for bigger and better things."
• Stanford head coach David Shaw on The Big Game in October: "I think the biggest change is all of the activities around the game, it's going to be hard to do all of those because they're not at the end of the season. The last couple of years it's been the second to last game of the regular season. But now, so early in the season, we've got too much work to do. We can't afford to have too many distractions. I've talked to coach Tedford and we're going to try to organize that week to where we can still do some of the traditional things, maybe just earlier in the week. We're just mid-season. We can't have too many other things going on."
• UCLA coach Jim Mora on the need to cut scholarships (he said they need to cut three): "Probably a combination of both [grayshirting and current players]. I've talked to all our recruits and all our current players about their futures at UCLA."
• USC coach Lane Kiffin said he wants to see improvements in the running game: "I think we did improve in the second half of the season comparable to the first half ... obviously we lost our left tackle Matt Kalil, so that will be tough to replace. But Curtis coming back after a 1,000-yard season. He's coming into his senior year. I'm looking for him to improve with D.J. Morgan going into his second year of playing with us. We aren't very deep, but we would like to definitely improve our rushing stats."
• Utah coach Kyle Whittingham on what he learned in the first year in the Pac-12: "I don't know if we learned anything new. We had an idea going in that it was going to be very competitive ... it was very apparent on tape that there was a lot of good athletes in this conference and some great coaching and that was the case. I can't say that anything surprised us."
• Washington coach Steve Sarkisian on finding a third wide receiver: "We know who Kasen Williams is. We know who James Johnson is. Who's going to be the third guy that's a consistent contributor. Can Cody Bruns get healthy and do it? Can a young guy? Can a Jamaal Jones, DiAndre Campbell, a Marvin Hall, one of those types of guys, step up. That will be big."
• Washington State defensive coordinator Mike Breske on the new system: "Speaking for my first go-around with coach Leach going through spring ball, it was a little bit unusual in terms of 70-75 percent of the balls in the air from a defensive perspective. Growing process, [it was] coaches learning kids, kids learning about their coaches and how to practice, that type of thing. Once we got to practice 15 we accomplished a lot of the things we were looking for going into the spring."

Last week we gave you our thoughts on who we believed was going to be the breakout player in the Pac-12 this season.

Kevin Gemmell went with Oregon State wide receiver Brandin Cooks, citing the fact that he has a quarterback on the rise in Sean Mannion and an outstanding receiver opposite him in Markus Wheaton, who is likely to draw a lot of the double coverage away from Cooks.

Ted Miller went with defense, selecting Cal defensive end Deandre Coleman. Also noting surrounding talent, Miller stipulates that teams who try to double up on Coleman are going to be in trouble because the rest of the Cal defensive line is so good.

Did we pick the wrong guys?

Stanford linebacker James Vaughters -- who is expected to play a much larger role at middle linebacker -- reportedly had an outstanding spring session and is a budding playmaker on a very talented front seven.

Oregon has an impressive, up-and-coming tight end in Colt Lyerla, who is expected to replace the uber-productive David Paulson. Lyerla caught all of seven passes last year, but five of them were for touchdowns.

Then there is Washington wide receiver Kasen Williams. He may have already broken out last year -- catching 36 balls and six touchdowns while returning 15 punts. What can he do with more playing time and a quarterback under Heisman consideration?

Which of these guys is the breakout player to watch in the Pac-12?

Catching you up on all of the scrimmage and spring game info from over the weekend.

OREGON

One of the most secretive quarterback competitions in the country made a very public splash as Marcus Mariota outshined Bryan Bennett in Oregon's spring game.

Mariota ran for an 82-yard touchdown, threw for another and led his team to four touchdowns on five drives. He completed 18 of 26 passes with a score and an interception while rushing for 99 yards on five carries.

Bennett, conversely, was 19-of-32 for 209 yards, throwing two interceptions (including a pick-six) and he also fumbled.

“That’s why you have days like this,” UO coach Chip Kelly said. “It’s interesting to see how guys react.”

A very important note from Rob Moseley of The Register-Guard:

Afterward, Kelly and offensive coordinator Mark Helfrich reiterated that Bennett and Mariota will be judged on their entire bodies of work from this spring, and that the Ducks won’t feel any pressure to name a starter until the week of their 2012 opener, Sept. 1 against Arkansas State. Public opinion, at least, no doubt swayed toward Mariota on Saturday.

In other words, while Saturday provided a nice peek behind the curtain, official word probably isn't coming any time soon.

OREGON STATE

Sean Mannion completed 8 of 15 passes for 81 yards with no touchdowns and an interception. Backup quarterback Cody Vaz, who coach Mike Riley has singled out numerous times for having a good spring, was 11-of-21 for 151 yards with a touchdown and an interception.

“I thought they both made some good throws and plays in general,” Riley said. “I feel like we have two starting quarterbacks right now.”

Malcolm Agnew had the lone rushing touchdown while Jordan Jenkins led the way with nine carries for 45 yards. Storm Woods carried eight times for 37 yards. Kicker Trevor Romaine connected on field goals of 41, 33 and 45 yards.

Ryan Murphy, Micah Audiss and Peter Ashton all recorded interceptions for the defense and Audiss blocked a 50-yard field goal attempt.

“We have a long way to go before we win a game, but there were guys making plays today,” Riley said. “We had a great spring practice session and I’m excited to get going again this fall.”

UCLA

The Bruins might be a step closer to naming a starting quarterback, writes Chris Foster of the LA Times.

Redshirt freshman Brett Hundley had a strong showing on Saturday, working almost exclusively with the first-team offense, where he completed 7 of 11 passes that included a 28-yard touchdown to Shaquelle Evans and he also added a 5-yard scramble for a touchdown.

"Getting 24 plays was fun," Hundley told Foster. "But I don't worry about whether I'm getting looked at longer. I just trying to master my craft."

It appears Hundley is finally starting to distance himself from seniors Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut, the other two top contenders for the starting job. But despite the surge over the past few practices from Hundley, head coach Jim Mora wasn't ready to name anyone the starter yet.

"We will announce it at the appropriate time, when it becomes apparent, when we have a chance to sit down as a staff and talk about which way want to go," Mora said.

WASHINGTON

Washington's defense was the stronger unit in Saturday's Spring Game.

In a format with the defense being awarded points for stops, turnovers, etc., the defense topped the offense 36-10. With close to 12,000 fans on hand at CenturyLink Field, head coach Steve Sarkisian saw a defensive unit that was much maligned last season show encouraging improvement.

"I thought our guys defensively really played well and that's on a lot of fronts," head coach Steve Sarkisian said after the game. "One, I thought we lined up really well. We didn't have a bunch of busts where we lined up wrong. They were aggressive. They played enthusiastic and I thought one of the big telling things defensively is that they won a lot of the one-on-one battles, especially down the field with the ball in the air. They closed on the ball and they were confident closing on the ball in the back end and they made plays. That was extremely encouraging.''

Quarterback Keith Price completed 14 of 28 passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. Running back Bishop Sankey did the bulk of the work on the ground, rushing for 34 yards on 11 carries. James Johnson led the receiving corps with six catches for 42 yards.

But the story was defense. Andrew Hudson helped lead the charge for the Huskies with six tackles, a pair of sacks and 2.5 tackles for a loss.

As Oregon State wraps up its spring session Saturday with its Fan Fest activities at Reser Stadium, head coach Mike Riley said he's feeling pretty good about what the Beavers accomplished this spring.

Last year's growing pains, which led to a 3-9 season, also produced a lot of first-time starters who now have some game experience. In fact, there will be 27 players on the 2012 roster who have started at least one game. That depth allowed Riley to really focus on the details this spring.

"I'm not sure we got the whole volume of what we wanted to get in, but we got to repeat a lot of stuff," Riley said. "We took this spring as a fundamentals look. We tried not to be too exotic. We worked on the timing of certain routes with the receivers and quarterbacks, worked on the details of fundamentals and blocking schemes. It was a good mixture of coverages, but not too much that we can't get good reps. Volume hasn't been great, but our work on the details has vastly improved."

Riley said he's liked the growth of the quarterbacks, citing an improvement in efficiency and overall production. Starter Sean Mannion said he's a much more confident quarterback as well.

"The Sean Mannion now is more comfortable," Mannion said, when asked to describe himself from last year to this year. "I think he's more experienced. I think he's improved his accuracy, improved his decision making. But that being said, I know there is a long way to go."

The biggest frustration for Riley this spring was the lack of depth on the offensive line. With players like Colin Kelly and Grant Enger out, Riley said it was a good chance for other players to compete. Plus, with an influx of offensive linemen coming in this fall, there is more uncertainty across the line than any other position group on the Beavers' roster.

"You always want to come out of spring set on starters," Riley said. "But we're not going to be able to do that on the offensive line. We'll still be scratching and clawing to find the right group of guys."

Riley said he's been very pleased with the development of safeties Ryan Murphy and Tyrequek Zimmerman. With Jordan Poyer and Rashaad Reynolds returning at both cornerback spots, Riley thinks he's got a pretty good secondary.

"I like the look of that group a lot," he said. "They are all really instinctual players as well as talented. That goes a long way to being successful. Reynolds has grown a lot and Poyer is a proven commodity and it's been fun watching the two safeties grow."

Oregon State also was one of its deepest wide receiving corps in years. And Riley has previously said he wants to take more shots down the field this season. He's moved Obum Gwacham into the slot as a third receiver (though he'll continue to back up Markus Wheaton) in an effort to get more playmakers on the field.

"It's a good step for the growth of this offense and we really like [Gwacham] in that spot," Riley said. "We've gotten a good look at him inside and we've been really pleased how he's adapted to the role."

A so-called "breakout" player can be a solid player who becomes very good or a guy who comes from nowhere to fill a critical role.

It's not a one-size-fits-all deal. Which makes it perfect for our weekly Take 2: Who is a potential breakout player in the Pac-12 this year?

Kevin Gemmell: I talked with Mike Riley earlier this week and mentioned to him I was thinking of picking Brandin Cooks as my potential breakout candidate in the conference this year. I could almost see his eyes light up over the phone lines. Riley loves this guy, and said he's going to play a big role in the OSU offense.

There are a few factors that led me to picking Cooks even before I talked with Riley.

First, he has the one thing that, as the old cliché goes, you can't teach. And that's speed. He's incredibly fast -- maybe even faster than the guy who starts opposite him, Markus Wheaton. He doesn't have the size of Wheaton (Cooks is 5-foot-9, Wheaton is 6-foot) but he makes up for it in quickness.

Riley even went so far as to compare the two -- noting that Cooks is a lot like Wheaton was two years ago. Lots of speed, but needs to become more polished on his route-running.

And that leads me to point No. 2. He's had an entire offseason to work with quarterback Sean Mannion. Last year, neither of them knew if they were going to play, so the chemistry wasn't always there. This season, Mannion knows he's the guy, and he knows who his receivers are going to be, and they've all been working out, developing their timing.

Third, he's learning from one of the best receivers in the conference. Cooks, who caught 31 balls for 391 yards and three scores last year, can use the veteran Wheaton as a sounding board, and also a measuring stick. Talking with Wheaton earlier this week, there is a friendly rivalry going on between the two -- which will likely equal more production for them both.

Also, Cooks is likely to see more one-on-one coverage as Wheaton ascends to the top of the Pac-12 receiving hierarchy. The veteran will probably draw more help over the top, leaving the other safety to handle the third receiver. If Cooks gets into a one-on-one footrace with a cornerback, chances are he's going to win it.

Finally, the Beavers have re-committed themselves to the running game. Whether it actually produces is another question. But if it does (and there are still concerns on the offensive line to consider), then Wheaton and Cooks will both enjoy a boost in their numbers.

I'd put Cooks on pace for about 55-60 catches, about six or seven touchdowns and around 800-900 yards receiving. If he hits those numbers, that strikes me as a pretty good breakout year.

Ted Miller: Kevin went with offense, I'm going with defense. And I'm going big. As in 6-foot-5, 311 pounds.

Those are the dimensions of California's junior defensive end Deandre Coleman, who was a beast this spring and could play his way onto the All-Pac-12 team by season's end.

Those who regularly read the blog know I've already crossed this road with Coleman. After an early April visit to Berkeley, I wrote this about the reloading Bears defense, which contained plenty of input from coach Jeff Tedford and defensive coordinator Clancy Pendergast.

Start up front, where Pendergast and Tedford are practically giddy over the maturation of 6-foot-5, 311-pound end Deandre Coleman. Said Tedford: "He may be one of the best that we've ever had." Keep in mind that Bears have produced two first-round NFL draft choices at end -- Tyson Alualu and Cameron Jordan -- over the past three seasons.

"Best we've ever had?" That's high praise for a player who had only 19 tackles last year. But inside that tepid number is this: six tackles for a loss and two sacks (sure three tackles for a loss were against lowly Presbyterian, but work with me here).

Here's how you extrapolate a breakout. You take a guy with impressive physical talent who saw regular action behind good players as a redshirt freshman and sophomore, and then toss in his better play over the final third of last season. Then you watch him push people around this spring and record five tackles in the spring game. Then you just, well, look at the dude. Let's just say he carries his 311 pounds well.

Further, the supporting cast on the Bears D-line is strong. Folks aren't going to be able to commit two guys to Coleman and not pay for it.

Bottom line: Coleman, with his size, should be able to hold up well versus the run, and, with his athletic ability, could record eight or so sacks.

The bad news for Cal fans is that if he has the sort of season that Tedford and Pendergast believe he can, he might not return for his senior year.

The Pac-12 wide receiver hierarchy probably looks a little something like this: Robert Woods, Marqise Lee (feel free to flip-flop those two at your leisure), Keenan Allen, Marquess Wilson. Some pretty elite guys.

That's usually followed with an: "Oh yeah, doesn't Oregon State have a guy that's pretty good, too?"

"Haha, yeah, that sounds about right," says Markus Wheaton with a chuckle.

To the folks in Corvallis, he's a bona fide superstar. But in a conference that will probably own the Biletnikoff Award this year, separating yourself as a superstar in a pack of superstars isn't always easy.

"I try not to worry about that stuff," Wheaton said. "I'm more focused on what we've got here."

It's got to bruise the ego even a little bit, though. Right?

"Not really. It just makes you want to work harder," Wheaton said.

Wheaton was definitely a victim of the Beavers' lack of success last season. He only found the end zone once, but caught 73 balls for 986 yards and was the ultimate security blanket for green quarterback Sean Mannion.

"If we won nine games last year like we did a couple of years ago, more people would know about him," said OSU head coach Mike Riley. "That's a big factor. I think our team will be better next year and that will help. He just needs to keep growing and doing what he does. Then our team needs to improve around him."

Mannion showed tremendous potential in his first season as a starter -- throwing for 16 touchdowns, more than 3,300 yards and completing 64.5 percent of his balls. He also looked like a first-year starter, tossing 18 interceptions.

With a more efficient Mannion and a stronger running game to support the passing attack, Wheaton figures to make the jump from "that Oregon State guy" to being known as one of the elite receivers in the conference.

"For me, it's all about working on the small things," Wheaton said. "I've worked on my blocking, because I want that to be a big part of my game. But for us, it's going to be the details. Too many times last year the little things got away from us. This year's team is going to be very detail-oriented."

Riley recalls when Wheaton first came to OSU. He was pure speed, without much nuance for the position. Now he's evolved to a point where Riley considers him in that top class of Pac-12 receivers.

"He can run with anybody, catch with anybody and has great ability to run with the ball after the catch," said Riley -- who also integrates Wheaton into the running game. Last year he carried 25 times for 7.6 yards per carry. "He's just a fast, gifted athlete. Early on for him, it was just run. Now he's learned how to run a route and he's got good chemistry with the quarterback."

Wheaton is not a particularly vocal guy. That's something he's working on. He knows the very youthful Beavers roster is thirsty for leadership. He's raising his voice more, but wants his teammates to learn by his example.

"I'm consistently pushing him," OSU wide receivers coach Brent Brennan said recently. "And the best thing about him is he wants to be coached. He wants to be better. He wants to learn. He wants to improve his game. I'm constantly in his ear, on his butt about what's right, what's not right, what can be faster, what his tendencies are ... he continues to learn and improve."

Earlier in the week, we noted that Athon Sports ranked Pac-12 QBs 1-12.

Here's the Athlon ranking again:

1. Matt Barkley, USC
2. Keith Price, Washington
3. Jeff Tuel, Washington State
4. Sean Mannion, Oregon State
5. Bryan Bennett, Oregon
6. Zach Maynard, Cal
7. Brett Nottingham, Stanford
8. Kevin Prince, UCLA
9. Jordan Wynn, Utah
10. Matt Scott, Arizona
11. Mike Bercovici, Arizona State
12. Connor Wood, Colorado

For one, Athlon went ahead and named QBs for teams with on-going QB competitions. Obviously, many of you had thoughts on the pecking order. It should come as no surprise that we did, too. So here's what we think.

Kevin Gemmell: Here are my thoughts.

[+] Enlarge
Kirby Lee/US PresswireNot many would argue with USC's Matt Barkley being ranked as the Pac-12's top QB.
• I don't think there is any debate about Nos. 1 and 2. That's where I'd put them.
• Whoever wins the Stanford job is way too high for No. 7 -- considering neither Nottingham nor Josh Nunes have even started a game. Until proven, Stanford's QBs belong in double-digit country.
• Jordan Wynn is ranked too low. As the Athlon folks admit, he's a tough one to gauge simply because of his past injury problems. But when he's healthy, he's one of the top five quarterbacks in the conference. And right now he's 100 percent healthy. I'd put him in the Nos. 4 to 5 range.
• I like Jeff Tuel and I like his potential. And I think that's what these rankings are banking on -- what he'll be able to do in Mike Leach's system. But he's still a first-year player in the system and he'll still have Connor Halliday clawing for the job in the fall so I'm not sold on the No. 3 spot. Probably 6 or 7.
• I think Mannion is poised for a big year. If the offensive line can get squared away and he has the time to throw in relative comfort, he'll have a big season. The 4 spot seems about right, give or take.
• Due to the media blackout at Oregon, we don't have much of an idea of what's happening with Bennett or Marcus Mariota. I can only go on what I saw from Bennett last year and he was very capable of running the offense. And anyone capable of running Oregon's offense is going to be good. If it's Mariota, that means he's played better than Bennett and that's impressive. I'd bump Oregon to No. 3.
• Maynard has a good running back, good receivers and he ended the year on a decent clip. Middle of the pack seems about right.
• Like Tuel, I think Scott is loaded with potential. Plus he's a veteran guy with some experience under his belt. Doesn't belong in double digits.
• UCLA just escapes double digits in my opinion because at least there is some experience within the three-way competition. If it ends up being Brett Hundley, it's because he beat out two guys with starting experience. And we all know what Noel Mazzone can do with an offense.
• ASU is another major question mark. Inexperience plus a new system equals potential quarterback struggles. But whoever gets the job at least has some good weapons around him and an offense that is potentially explosive.
• Colorado's quarterback to be has a tough road, no matter who wins the job. I've read mixed reports about Wood, but had the chance to speak with him and he comes across as confident and poised. Unfortunately, confidence and poise doesn't equal receivers.

So, with that said, here's my list as of right now.

1. Matt Barkley, USC
2. Keith Price, Washington
3. Oregon quarterback to be named
4. Jordan Wynn, Utah
5. Sean Mannion, Oregon State
6. Jeff Tuel, Washington State
7. Zach Maynard, Cal
8. Matt Scott, Arizona
9. UCLA to be named
10. ASU to be named
11. Stanford to be named
12. Colorado to be named

The floor is yours, Mr. Miller. Have at it.

Ted Miller: I can't wait for this: "Miller, you're an idiot. Our TBA QB is way better than their TBA QB! DO THEY PAY YOU FOR THIS!!! I HATE YOU!!!! ARRRRRR!"

I ditto Kevin on Nos. 1 and 2. Barkley is the No. 1 QB in the nation and Price is in the preseason top 10. After that, well, things are pretty fluid.

Here's my ranking:

1. Matt Barkley, USC
2. Keith Price, Washington
3. Jeff Tuel, Washington State
4. Jordan Wynn, Utah
5. Oregon QB to be named
6. Matt Scott, Arizona
7. Sean Mannion, Oregon State
8. Zach Maynard, California
9. UCLA QB to be named
10. Stanford QB to be named
11. Arizona State QB to be named
12. Colorado QB to be named

I've typed this before, but folks forget how good Tuel is when healthy. He's passed for 3,845 yards in his career with 25 TDs. I think he will get drafted in 2013.

Wynn is a lot like Tuel: When healthy, he's good. He's passed for 4,390 yards in his career with 31 TDs and 16 interceptions.

Not a big fan of giving a high ranking to a TBA, but Oregon's TBA gets special consideration at No. 5 because Chip Kelly has yet to fail when it comes to breaking in a new QB. We know Bryan Bennett is capable based on what he did when Darron Thomas was hurt last year, so if he gets beaten out by Marcus Mariota, well, Mariota will have to be pretty good, too. Still, this is an unknown with two ultimately unproven players.

Scott, with just five career starts, at No. 6 might surprise some folks. Here's my thinking. In 2009, Scott initially beat out Nick Foles for the starting job. In 2010, he came off the bench for an injured Foles and won a pair of starts, playing just short of brilliantly. His 150.95 efficiency rating would have finished fifth in the Pac-12 this season. He threw for a career-best 319 yards against UCLA, and won Pac-10 Offensive Player of the Week with a near-flawless performance against Washington (just ask Huskies fans). Finally, he's a great fit for Rich Rodriguez's spread-option offense.

Mannion and Maynard were a toss-up. Maynard had better numbers overall and surged late in the regular season, but Mannion has better upside. What tipped my rating to Mannion is his better receivers. They should help Mannion put up big numbers in 2012.

Then we come to the TBAs, non-Oregon. UCLA is tops among them because you have two veterans with plenty of starting experience in Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut. If redshirt freshman Brett Hundley is good enough to beat out both, well, then he'll be pretty promising.

I think, at worst, Brett Nottingham or Josh Nunes, both once top recruits for Stanford, will be at least adequate. But neither has started a game or even seen meaningful action.

I also don't think Arizona State is in a jam at QB. Mike Bercovici, Michael Eubank and Taylor Kelly all have their pluses. But each is inexperienced.

As for Colorado, the job was Texas transfer Connor Wood's to win this spring, and it appears he was not consistent enough to do that. He remains the favorite though, and there's no question about his potential. Still, as Kevin noted, the Buffaloes have receiver issues.

We love us some lists here at the Pac-12 blog. And the folks at Athlon Sports keep obliging, so we'll keep running them.

Last month they brought us the much-debated Pac-12 coach rankings which spawned a Take 2 and a poll that registered more than 7,500 votes.

Now they have ranked the Pac-12 quarterbacks.

In compiling their rankings, they took into account 2011 numbers, the sort of personnel returning in 2012 and how each quarterback is expected to perform.

Here's the ranking:

1. Matt Barkley, USC
2. Keith Price, Washington
3. Jeff Tuel, Washington State
4. Sean Mannion, Oregon State
5. Bryan Bennett, Oregon
6. Zach Maynard, Cal
7. Brett Nottingham, Stanford
8. Kevin Prince, UCLA
9. Jordan Wynn, Utah
10. Matt Scott, Arizona
11. Mike Bercovici, Arizona State
12. Connor Wood, Colorado

Don't think we're going to just leave it at that. Ted and I are already in the works of compiling our own quarterback rankings for this week's Take 2. Look for it on Friday. Until then, have some fun with this one.

The Pac-12 is the conference of quarterbacks. And that's making the Pac-12 less newsy this spring because there isn't much quarterback news. And apparently won't be even when the last whistle sends us into the true offseason.

It appears few coaches are eager not only to announce a starter but also to create a depth chart behind a returning starter.

With Arizona, Colorado, Stanford and USC already done and Arizona State, California, Utah and Washington State finishing up this weekend, here's a look at where things stand -- which is generally up in the air.

Arizona: Matt Scott is the starter. The battle for the backup job is wide-open, with a junior college transfer and two freshmen coming in and part-time receiver Richard Morrison also in the mix.

Arizona State: The Sun Devils quarterback competition still seems be a three-man race between Mike Bercovici, Michael Eubank and Taylor Kelly, though it's clear coaches would like to reduce things to a two-man race ASAP. There has long been a strong sentiment for the physically impressive Eubank, but most of that is speculative. Still, I'd guess Eubank will be in any mix of a final two. Too much dual-threat upside to ignore.

California: Zach Maynard is the starter. Allan Bridgford is No. 2. It doesn't appear that touted true freshman Zach Kline will do any better than win the No. 3 job.

Colorado: Buffalo fans were goosed about Texas transfer Connor Wood before spring. Then when his only real competition, Nick Hirschman, re-injured his foot, it seemed like spring would become a coronation. That didn't happen. Doesn't mean Wood won't win the job. Only that the competition will go into the fall, and there could be a wildcard (or two). Such as a freshman or perhaps Jordan Webb, a potential transfer from Kansas.

Oregon: Closed practices have made the Pac-12's most interesting quarterback competition a footnote. Bryan Bennett or Marcus Mariota? No one knows, and won't know until Chip Kelly decides to announce a decision.

Oregon State: Sean Mannion is the starter. Capable Cody Vaz is the backup. I've got $1 that says nothing changes, barring injury.

Stanford: To me, there is more movement here than some suspect. I saw Brett Nottingham, the 2011 backup, as the favorite to replace Andrew Luck heading into the spring. It seems Josh Nunes has made up ground. Is it meaningful he played the spring game entirely with the first-team? How can it not be?

UCLA: A looong way to go here. I felt a solid lean for newblood -- redshirt freshman Brett Hundley -- before new coach Jim Mora's first spring began. But you can't discount Kevin Prince and Richard Brehaut's vastly superior experience. Brehaut decided not to miss spring due to baseball, as he previously planned, which would have eliminated him from the competition. Further, coordinator Noel Mazzone isn't looking for a run-first quarterback. He wants a guy who can dish it around accurately.

USC: Spring was all about finding a backup for Matt Barkley, and the competition wasn't resolved. Max Wittek is an intriguing talent. Cody Kessler is the swashbuckler. Jesse Scroggins is the guy who may have blown his chance by forgetting to do his classwork.

Utah: Jordan Wynn, the clear starter, is having a good spring. It appears true freshman Travis Wilson has asserted himself in the backup competition.

Washington: The real battle to be Keith Price's backup won't start until the fall when touted incoming freshmen Cyler Miles and Jeff Lindquist arrive, but Derrick Brown has been solid this spring.

Washington State: Not unlike the man himself, I believe this is Jeff Tuel's job to lose. But it's still too early to count out sophomore Connor Halliday, who's missed spring practices with a lacerated liver.

Last week we gave you our thoughts on which of the bottom four offensive teams in the conference last season had the best chance of showing significant improvement in 2012.

Utah, UCLA, Oregon State and Colorado ranked 9-12, respectively, in scoring offense. Nationally, Utah was 74th, UCLA was 88th, Oregon State was 100th and Colorado was 109th out of 120 FBS teams.

Ted Miller picked the Beavers, citing the expected improvement of quarterback Sean Mannion and a strong receiver corps that includes Markus Wheaton and Brandin Cooks and also good depth at the running back position.

Kevin Gemmell went with the Bruins, noting that new offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone has a knack for turning struggling offenses around and that the new scheme would bring out the talents of the wide receivers, which the pistol offense failed to do.

Did we go with the wrong teams?

What about Utah, which has one of the most dynamic running backs in the conference in John White IV and a healthy Jordan Wynn running the show at quarterback? Reports out of spring practice are that new offensive coordinator Brian Johnson has breathed some life into the group.

Is Connor Wood the answer for Colorado at quarterback? Tony Jones has been getting good reviews at running back out of spring ball. The loss of Paul Richardson is pretty catastrophic, but could an unknown wide receiver step up to help the Buffs improve their offensive numbers?

Which of these four teams has the best chance to significantly improve on offense in 2012?

Heading into the 2010 season, it was not uncommon for media sorts to volunteer Oregon State as a program that had the best staff of assistant coaches in the Pac-10.

Why? Good numbers without stockpiles of elite recruits. Non-elite recruits becoming NFL draft choices. Thirty-six wins over the previous four seasons. You know, the usual suspects.

Oh, but how two down seasons can change things. After going a combined 8-16 over the past two years, many Beavers fans are either calling for head coach Mike Riley's head, or they are at least calling for the heads of his coordinators: Mark Banker on defense and Danny Langsdorf on offense.

How quickly can things change? Well, I wrote this heading into 2010 as part of a "Don't be surprised if..." series: "Don't be surprised if ... Beavers offensive coordinator Danny Langsdorf becomes a hot head-coaching candidate when new starting quarterback Ryan Katz posts surprisingly strong numbers this fall."

Katz posted pretty good numbers in 2010 -- 60 percent completion rate, 18 TDs, 11 interceptions -- but he was promptly and surprisingly displaced as the starter by redshirt freshman Sean Mannion at the beginning of the 2011 season. And Langsdorf is now fighting for his job instead of presiding over his own program.

In fact, there now appears to be some question as to whether Riley will take over play-calling responsibilities from Langsdorf in 2012, which Riley gave to Langsdorf midway through the 2008 season. This question is being -- legitimately -- asked because Riley is calling plays this spring.

Riley was noncommittal -- and a tad uncomfortable -- with this line of inquiry Monday, and you can see video of his thoughts here. He called it "not a big deal." He said he was calling plays so he could see how the offense reacted against certain looks from the defense: "It's a way to orchestrate a big-picture look," he said.

When asked if it was for spring only, he said, "For right now, it's only for spring."

That qualifies as a "maybe," not a "Yes" or "No."

So here's my defense of Langsdorf, who also coaches the Beavers QBs. It might not be completely comforting for Beavers fans, but I think it's fair and accurate: The reason the Beavers offense has struggled the past two seasons ... drum roll please ... is a lack of good players.

I know: Thud.

The 2010 season likely would have been different if receiver James Rodgers hadn't blown out his knee during an impressive win at Arizona on Oct. 9. And the Beavers would have qualified for a bowl game if typically reliable tight end Joe Halahuni hadn't dropped a 2-point conversion that would have beaten homestanding Washington in double-overtime.

2011? Well, that was just pretty lousy. Riley, Langsdorf, Banker, the players -- everyone associated with the program -- surely spent some time wondering where they failed.

Still, as the Pac-12 blog observed while praising Langsdorf just two years ago:

In his six seasons as offensive coordinator, the Beavers have posted five of their top-nine all-time seasons of total offense. Remember the early careers of quarterbacks Matt Moore, Sean Canfield and Lyle Moevao? One word: Yucky. Remember their late careers? Two words: Dramatic transformation. Canfield earned first-team All-Pac-10 honors in 2009 and joined Moore in the NFL.

In 2008, with Langsdorf calling plays, the Beavers ranked 32nd in the nation with 30.5 points per game and 30th in the nation with 407.1 yards per game. In 2009, they ranked 26th in points (31.5 ppg) and 34th in yards (410.6 ypg).

In other words, Langsdorf has been a successful coordinator and playcaller. At least when he's shown up for battle with more than a pillow shield and plastic sword.

Things set up fairly well for the offense heading into 2012. Langsdorf has his returning starter at QB in Mannion. He has a good crew of receivers, led by Markus Wheaton. But the offense will struggle if it can't generate a running game, which mostly hinges on improved play on the offensive line, which has been sub-par two years running.

One of the criticisms of Riley has been his loyalty to his assistant coaches, but he's made tough decisions recently, including firing longtime linebackers coach Greg Newhouse in March of 2011 (mostly because of recruiting shortcomings). If Riley takes away play-calling responsibilities from Langsdorf, it will be a painful blow to both men.

But it appears that possibility is at least being considered, so it will be worth asking about in advance of the season opener on Sept. 1 against Nicholls State.

Points, points, points. This is the Pac-12 after all, where offense rules. Last season, five Pac-12 teams ranked in the top 30 in scoring average. Others, however, weren't as explosive. Colorado (12th in the conference/109th nationally), Oregon State (11/100), UCLA (10/88) and Utah (9/tied for 74th) all had trouble consistently finding pay dirt. So this week we're looking at which of these four teams has the best chance to show significant offensive improvement.

Ted Miller: Oregon State’s offense was bad last year. That’s the obvious bad news. More obvious bad news: It was bad for a fundamental reason: It couldn’t run the ball, ranking 118th in the nation with just 86.9 yards per game. The end result was an offense that ranked 11th in the Pac-12 in scoring (21.8 points per game) and 10th in total offense (373.7 yards per game). And while we’re being party poopers, why not note there are only eight healthy offensive linemen this spring, which makes it impossible to field a full second team?

Ah, but we come not to bury the Beavers, but to praise them! This half of the Pac-12 blog is providing Oregon State fans an iron-clad guarantee: The Beavers' offense will be better in 2012. Perhaps much better. And that’s why we believe they will win enough to earn a bowl berth after consecutive seasons at home during the postseason.

Why? Let’s start in the cockpit with quarterback Sean Mannion, who won the starting job as a freshman over returning starter Ryan Katz, only to discover THE NEW CAR! he’d been given the keys to was a Pinto. With little support from a running game to keep defenses honest, Mannion threw a lot but not always successfully, ranking ninth in the conference in passing efficiency with 16 touchdowns and 18 interceptions. But two numbers are notable: First, he completed 64.5 percent of his passes and was sacked just 27 times in 473 attempts. That suggests two things. Mannion is both accurate and has good pocket presence. Accurate? That completion percentage ranked fifth in the conference, ahead of Oregon’s Darron Thomas and Arizona State’s Brock Osweiler. As for pocket presence, the Beavers ranked fifth in the conference in sacks surrendered despite ranking third in pass attempts. And that was with no running game.

Mannion’s supporting cast at receiver is strong. Three of the top four receivers are back, including Markus Wheaton and speedy flanker Brandin Cooks. And essentially the entire cast at running back is back.

So, really, it comes down to the offensive line, where three starters are back, not including tackle Michael Philipp, a 2010 starter who is trying to get a once-promising career back on track. Don’t expect to hear glowing reports this spring. Tackle Colin Kelly and guard Grant Enger, both returning starters, are out with injuries, so there’s a lack of bodies. But in the fall they should be healthy just as a pair of intriguing reinforcements arrive: touted freshman Isaac Seumalo, rated the No. 19 overall player in the nation in 2012 by ESPN Recruiting, and junior-college transfer Stan Hasiak, who saw plenty of action during his tumultuous time at UCLA. Both are potential – even likely -- starters.

Mannion flashed plenty of potential in 2011. He will be far more seasoned in 2012. The offensive line will be better, too, which means at least a mediocre running game to keep defenses from pinning their ears back and going after the quarterback.

In other words, the Beavers offense will be much improved overall in 2012. Now ... about that defense ...

Kevin Gemmell: I'm glad you brought up Osweiler, because he's somewhat pertinent to the team I'm picking to improve offensively -- UCLA.

All together now: "Ding, dong, the pistol is dead." And not a half-snap too soon. Time to make way for the shotgun.

To see where the Bruins are headed on offense, you need only to look back at what Osweiler did the past two seasons with the Sun Devils -- specifically what he was able to do with Noel Mazzone running the show.

Now Mazzone is new coach Jim Mora's offensive coordinator at UCLA. I know there is a multi-quarterback competition in the works. That certainly will have some bearing. But even so, it's almost impossible for the Bruins not improve on last year's 23.1-ppg scoring average with this time-tested offense.

Consider the Sun Devils of 2009, pre-Mazzone: 90th in total offense (334.4 yards per game) and 91st in scoring average (22.3 points per game). Now, look at Mazzone's first season in 2010: 29th in total offense (425.6) and 28th in scoring average (32.2). Last year: 25th in total offense (445.8) and 28th in scoring offense (33.2).

Translation: The guy knows how to move the ball and create points.

I talked earlier this week with Brett Hundley, one of those quarterbacks in the hunt for the starting gig, he says this offense is much simpler and allows the quarterback to play more quickly and think less. Makes sense. And whoever wins the gig will have an experienced running back in Johnathan Franklin beside him. The fifth-year senior was 24 yards short of a 1,000-yard season despite an impressive 5.9 yards per carry average.

But this offense is about moving the ball in the air. And finding three or four receivers to consistently perform is going to be just as important as finding the right guy standing five to seven yards behind the center. Mazzone has said he's not married to four- or five-receiver sets. So bona-fide talent Joseph Fauria should get plenty of chances to catch the ball from the tight end position. Devin Lucien, Shaq Evans and Ricky Marvray are the likely wide receiver trio. But unlike the previous offense, the receivers won't be square pegs in round holes. This offense should accentuate the speed and athleticism that UCLA always seems to have, but never knows quite what to do with it.

The Bruins were in the bottom half of the nation in sacks allowed last year, but the return of tackle Xavier Su'a-Filo, who is back after an LDS mission, should help bolster the line. All indications out of spring are that he looks solid. Jeff Baca and Greg Capella both saw significant playing time last season (Capella started 14 games and Baca 13), so that experience should help cut back on the sacks.

Now, to the quarterback spot. Kevin Prince has the most experience, followed by Richard Brehaut. Both are seniors. But there is a call from fans to completely cleanse themselves of the previous regime and start fresh with Hundley, a 6-foot-4, 225-pound dual-threat quarterback who might be the most athletic of the bunch.

Whoever wins the job is destined for a pretty good season. Because given Mazzone's history of turning slugs into sluggers, UCLA looks like the team to drag itself up from the Pac-12's offensive cellar.