When the calendar turned to March, some (most) immediately turned to hoops. Consider it the ultimate wakeup call to start researching for your bracket.

But hoops isn’t the only thing that’ll be on my mind in the coming days and weeks. Why? Spring football in the SEC is loaded with storylines.

Here are the 5 that I can’t get enough of:

1. The Auburn quarterback battle

I’m all about it. As I’ve written about several times, I love the dynamics at play here. Without a returning starter, this is a battle that features pretty much everything you could ask for.

You’ve got the system guy in Malik Willis, who will probably be the perceived favorite even if he’s not the most gifted quarterback in the room. You’ve got Cord Sandberg, the 24-year-old former baseball player who’s trying to become the 2019 version of Chris Weinke. There’s the highly-touted second-year guy Joey Gatewood, who had Auburn fans giddy when he signed last year. And then there’s the ultimate wild card, 5-star recruit Bo Nix, who could be the next true freshman quarterback to take the SEC by storm.

The crazy thing is that Gus Malzahn might go through spring camp and still try to bring a graduate transfer on board. You know, just in case there weren’t enough dynamics at play already. Given the pressure Malzahn is under in 2019, I wouldn’t rule anything out.

I’m here for all the steps that are ahead in what’s easily the SEC’s most intriguing quarterback battle.

2. Outspoken Barry Odom

This version of Odom that’s calling out the NCAA and calling out Tennessee is the best version of Odom. He’s been unapologetic, honest and just downright inspiring in the wake of this bowl ban ruling. I’d love to live in a world in which all college football coaches take Odom’s approach. Shoot, I’d settle for a world in which everyone adopted Mizzou’s new spring media policy:

Odom is going to have plenty of opportunities to push buttons if needed. If that means calling out another SEC coach for contacting his seniors to try and get them to leave Mizzou, he’ll do it. If it means hurrying the NCAA along to hear the school’s appeal, he’ll probably do that, too.

Give me the #NoFilter Odom all day, every day.

3. The RichRod experiment

I don’t think this is getting enough attention nationally. I know it’s a big deal around Oxford, but I get the feeling that the average college football fan will watch that late-September game against Alabama and see Rich Rodriguez on the Ole Miss sideline then blurt out, “wait, when did that happen?!”

Well, don’t be that fan. Instead, follow along for the RichRod/Matt Luke ride. Rarely do you have someone step in as a coordinator with nearly 2 decades of Power 5 head coaching experience. It’ll be fascinating to see how he and Luke gel because their offenses have been historically different. Based on that, they might even have different starting quarterbacks in mind.

Is Luke going to be surrendering control of the offense? And if he’s not, how will RichRod’s ego handle that?

I tend to think that Luke thought about all of these potential factors when he made the bold decision to hire Rodriguez after the falling out he had at Arizona in 2017. But anyone can say the right things in an interview or when addressing the media. We’ll get the first glimpse of that over the course of the next few weeks.

4. The Ryan Hilinski hype train

It left the station a long time ago, but now that South Carolina’s quarterback of the future (pictured above) is enrolled and in spring camp, we’re going to get regular doses of the true freshman doing things like this:

I’m not sure if the throw or Hilinski catching the snap was more impressive. Either way, the prized recruit is going to continue to generate excitement among Gamecocks fans, some of whom are already clamoring for him to start over Jake Bentley.

Would I still bet on Bentley being the opening day starter? Absolutely. I’ve written a lot about Will Muschamp’s desire to show that he can actually develop a quarterback. Bentley succeeding is a big part of squashing that narrative.

Is that going to stop videos like these with Hilinski throwing darts from surfacing? Nope.

5. The reaction of Alabama/Georgia fans watching Jalen Hurts/Justin Fields suit up elsewhere

Alabama and Georgia fans are both in happy, committed relationships. They each have a pair of Heisman Trophy candidates at quarterback. But will they be a bit jealous watching their exes do big things elsewhere? Of course. That’s totally understandable.

Every time there’s video of Hurts squatting nearly 600 pounds or Fields throwing dimes in practice, that “one who got away” thought will creep into the back of Alabama and Georgia fans’ minds. Whenever new Heisman Trophy odds come out with Hurts and Fields near the top, there will be a bit of resentment there, too.

Again, Alabama and Georgia fans are happy. They’re watching their exes elsewhere because of how good of starters they have. But go ask Texas A&M fans how it felt to watch Kyler Murray win the Heisman Trophy and become an overnight phenomenon in Norman instead of becoming Johnny Manziel 2.0 in College Station.

I’m not saying that’ll happen with Fields or Hurts. And even if it does, I wouldn’t bet on there being a massive disparity between Tua Tagovailoa and Jake Fromm.

But will it be extremely interesting to watch the reaction if and when Fields and Hurts dazzle all spring? Definitely.