Where do nation's top QB battles stand after spring practice?

Published Jun. 30, 2017 6:28 p.m. ET

Sports Illustrated, Chris Johnson/Sports Illustrated

Spring practice isn't very useful in providing meaningful competition on which to assess players. The intra-squad scrimmages that are open to the media or broadcast on television often feature obscure point systems, minimal contact and vanilla gameplans. But for teams sorting out quarterback competitions, these scrimmages, and the many other practices that are often closed to the public, can be somewhat valuable. They're the biggest chance before fall camp for signal-callers to further their cases for the top spot on the depth chart.

Some coaches head into the summer genuinely torn about which QB is best suited to help his team win, others needlessly prolong the charade into fall camp and still others just end the speculation by naming a starter. Regardless of the outcome or lack thereof, the end of spring practice is a key milestone and a good time to take stock of some of the most intriguing quarterback battles, real or contrived, facing Power 5 programs.