Pac-12 spring preview: Top storyline, newcomer to watch for each team
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While the conference deals with its impending search for a new media deal and potential expansion in the wake of USC's and UCLA's 2024 departure to the Big Ten, this spring will be the first time we get to see glimpses of some of the Pac-12's new additions as well as returning stars as it solidifies itself as the conference of quarterbacks.
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USC's Caleb Williams leads the charge after winning the Heisman last season as a sophomore while Oregon's Bo Nix, Utah's Cam Rising and Washington's Michael Penix Jr. all opted to return to school for one more year. All four of those teams should enter and emerge from spring ball as the favorites.
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But don't overlook teams like Oregon State and Washington State. The former added Clemson quarterback D.J. Uiagalelei in the transfer portal while the latter has Cameron Ward coming back for another season. Rounding out the lineup is Kent State transfer Collin Schlee at UCLA (who will have to keep an eye on freshman Dante Moore), Notre Dame transfer Drew Pyne (who landed at Arizona State under new coach Kenny Dillingham) as well as returning starters Jayden de Laura (Arizona) and of course, Deion Sanders' son Shedeur Sanders, who will be kickstarting a new era of Colorado football.
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In what is already a transition year for the Pac-12, it may be staring at its best chance to get a team back into the College Football Playoff since Washington's lone appearance in 2016.
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Arizona
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Top storyline: Can Arizona's defense improve? It's hard to overstate how bad the Wildcats' defense was last season. They were one of the worst 25 teams in the nation in both passing defense and rushing defense while having one of the 20 best offenses in the country. The disparity between the two units is stark, but it also means there's plenty of room for improvement. Defense will certainly be the talk of spring camp, especially after the unit lost players like defensive lineman Kyon Barrs and corner Christian Roland-Wallace to USC in the transfer portal.
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Newcomer to watch: Defensive lineman Bill Norton and linebacker Daniel Heimuli are two transfer additions that could help the lackluster unit head in the right direction while incoming four-star freshman linebacker Leviticus Su'a from California proves that head coach Jedd Fisch can recruit potentially elite defensive players, not just those on offense, too. All three will be players to watch in spring as Arizona continues to pry itself away from the bottom of the conference. -- Uggetti
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Arizona State
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Newcomer to watch: Drew Pyne. The effect of Dillingham's hire has been felt immediately in not just the recruitment of five-star quarterback Jaden Rashada (who has now flipped to the Sun Devils), but the addition of Notre Dame's Pyne by way of the portal. Pyne threw for over 2,000 yards with 22 touchdowns and only six interceptions last year in South Bend and provides a more than reliable option for ASU at a position that has seen better days in Tempe. Pyne will provide a perfect option to bridge the gap between last season and Rashada's eventual expected rise to starter. -- Uggetti
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Cal
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Top storyline: The Justin Wilcox era has officially entered win-or-else territory. After five full seasons -- plus the limited 2020 season -- the Bears have yet to register a winning record in conference play under Wilcox and, even more troubling, have regressed each year since going 8-5 in 2019. That's enough time to understand what to expect with Wilcox in Berkeley and if there isn't significant improvement this season, it's fair to expect a change. The timing is interesting here because had the plug been pulled last season (as the Bears went 4-8, 2-7), the logical replacement would have been former Cal quarterback Troy Taylor, who instead took the job at Stanford after David Shaw stepped down.
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Newcomer to watch: Jake Spavital is back in Berkeley as the offensive coordinator after serving the past four seasons as head coach at Texas State. His return to Cal, where he served as the offensive coordinator for Sonny Dykes in 2016 -- and, briefly, as the offseason interim head coach -- represents a blow-it-up-and-start-over approach to the offense, which has been a glaring weakness during Wilcox's tenure. -- Bonagura
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Colorado
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