ESPN College Football

Posted by ESPN.com's Chris Low

With spring practice kicking off at South Carolina today, it's worth taking a look at the different quarterback situations around the league.

Similar to last year, there's a ton of uncertainty. The only sure starters are Florida's Tim Tebow and Ole Miss' Jevan Snead. Others are likely starters, but Tebow and Snead are the only sure things.

Here's the way I see it for all 12 schools:

ALABAMA

Nick Saban is opening the competition up in the spring between junior Greg McElroy and redshirt freshman Star Jackson. McElroy has more experience, but Jackson has more talent. McElroy is the odds-on favorite to be the opening-game starter, but look for Jackson to also play in 2009. A third option could be heralded freshman A.J. McCarron, who doesn't arrive until this summer.

ARKANSAS

If the Hogs can keep Michigan transfer Ryan Mallett out of the Dickson Street bars, he's exactly what Bobby Petrino is looking for in his offense. Redshirt freshman Tyler Wilson and Jim Youngblood will also compete for the job during the spring, but it would be a huge upset if Mallett doesn't win the job.

AUBURN

New Auburn offensive coordinator Gus Malzahn insists he's not making any judgments based on last season as he looks for a quarterback to run his spread offense. Therefore, juniors Kodi Burns and Neil Caudle will enter the spring dead even. Senior Chris Todd is sort of the forgotten guy and says his throwing shoulder is much healthier. He's still probably a long shot. Redshirt freshman Barrett Trotter is worth keeping an eye on, and top freshman signee Tyrik Rollison will join the fray in August. Burns gets my nod as the starter to open the season, but watch Rollison later on if he picks up the offense.

FLORIDA

The only problem here is if Tebow should go down. Then it's all on sophomore John Brantley. Cam Newton left the program after running into trouble off the field and will play at a junior college next season.

GEORGIA

Fifth-year senior Joe Cox has waited his turn, and he's the guy to beat. The Georgia players seem to have genuine confidence in him, and that's a good sign. He'll have to fend off challenges from freshmen Aaron Murray and Zach Mettenberger, who both enrolled early and will go through spring practice. Sophomore Logan Gray is a terrific athlete and could be used situationally.

KENTUCKY

Rich Brooks says that Mike Hartline heads into the spring as the starting quarterback. The junior from Canton, Ohio helped rally the Wildcats in their bowl win last season and played well in that game. He was inconsistent, though, throughout much of the season and lost his job at one point to true freshman Randall Cobb, who remains the most dynamic athlete on the team. Cobb's quarterback days aren't over, and Hartline will have to play well to keep from being overtaken by Cobb again. The Wildcats also signed two highly rated quarterbacks in the 2009 class -- Morgan Newton and Ryan Mossakowski. Newton could really make things interesting this fall.

LSU

Jordan Jefferson is the favorite to be the opening-game starter after ending his true freshman season last year as the Tigers' starter. But he'll have another true freshman to deal with this spring. Russell Shepard enrolled early and is the kind of explosive athlete LSU offensive coordinator Gary Crowton loves at the quarterback position. If Shepard can throw it well enough, he's going to be hard to keep off the field. Sophomore Jarrett Lee is still around after a rocky first season last year, but he could look to transfer if he sees this spring that he's not going to play much.

MISSISSIPPI STATE

It's probably going to be Tyson Lee by default to open the season, and he's anxious to get a crack at Dan Mullen's spread offense. Sophomore Chris Relf also returns, and true freshman Cameron Lawrence was moved to quarterback for depth purposes. He enrolled early and will go through spring practice. Tyler Russell, the top prep quarterback in the state last year out of Meridian, looms as the Bulldogs' quarterback of the future. But he doesn't get to campus until this summer, or as offensive coordinator Les Koenning puts it, "as soon as we can get him here."

OLE MISS

Snead was playing like one of the best quarterbacks in the country when the season ended a year ago. The Rebels are going to put even more on him in 2009. His backups are senior Billy Tapp and redshirt freshman Nathan Stanley. There's always the option of Dexter McCluster and the Wild Rebel, too.

SOUTH CAROLINA

Even the Head Ball Coach admits that the Gamecocks are pretty much putting all of their eggs into Stephen Garcia's basket. He'll go through his first spring practice at South Carolina after being suspended the last two years during the spring. It's probably now or never for Garcia, who's going to get to run a little more spread offense next season. Walk-on Zac Brindise is behind Garcia along with redshirt freshmen Aramis Hillary and Reid McCollum. The Gamecocks want to also put in a package for true freshman Stephon Gilmore, who will go through spring practice and vie for one of the starting cornerback jobs.

TENNESSEE

It's a three-man race among Jonathan Crompton, Nick Stephens and B.J. Coleman. For what it's worth, new Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin told recruits that Crompton, who will be a senior, was more than capable and that he was held back by the system last season. Crompton has to prove this spring he can th
row the ball on time and make good, sound decisions and make them quickly. While Crompton is probably the favorite to open the season as the starter, Coleman is a competitor and won't go quietly. Whoever it is, the Vols' overall play at quarterback can't get much worse than it was a year ago.

VANDERBILT

One of the hardest battles to call will be at Vanderbilt. Senior Mackenzi Adams has the experience and has bailed the Commodores out more than once the last two years. But sophomore Larry Smith has the better arm. Smith was the starter in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl last season and looked good throwing the ball. The Commodores have no choice but to improve their passing game, which ranked 112th nationally a year ago, and Smith probably gives them the best chance to do that.