Spring is officially in the books. That means no more spring games and no more way-too-early predictions. The next time we watch practices, we’ll be within a month of actual football.

We at least have a better idea of where we stand now than where we stood a month ago. So what is the big spring takeaway for each SEC team?

Let’s start with the West:

Alabama — The quarterback battle is far from over

Raise your hand if you were bracing for the nauseating amount of  questions along the lines of “which quarterback looked better today, coach?” The good news is that Tua Tagovailoa’s injury shifted the narrative that he and Jalen Hurts were competing every day. The crazy thing is that we might have even less clarity on the situation than we did a few weeks ago.

The comments from Hurts’ father certainly pour cold water on the belief that Hurts would switch positions if he didn’t win the job. And without seeing Tagovailoa in the spring game, we don’t know where his development is at. Saban wants this thing to last as long as possible in hopes that neither would transfer, but that’ll be easier said than done.

On the bright side, at least we didn’t get fatigued from the daily evaluation of both players in spring camp. I wouldn’t get carried away from anything Hurts did in the spring game against the nation’s best defense, though some people will.

Make no mistake. This is still a battle, and there will be plenty more developments before this is settled.

Arkansas — Bret Bielema to Chad Morris is warm milk to Red Bull

I have no doubt that schematically speaking, Arkansas will look more different than any SEC team. They ran about a billion and one plays in the spring game and Morris said that he wanted to be even faster. It’s one thing to talk about doing things differently for a new coach, but it doesn’t really sink in until you see it.

Obviously the roster isn’t where Morris wants it. I don’t know if that’s going to make Arkansas even a mediocre team in the West in Year 1 of the Morris era, but I do feel confident that they’ll be an entertaining team with the style that they’ll play. If this offense continues to progress after having to start from scratch in the spring, they’ll make significant strides from what we saw in 2017.

Auburn — Gus Malzahn might wrap each player in bubble wrap this summer

It didn’t feel like a day without an Auburn injury this spring. Receivers Eli Stove and Will Hastings both went down with season-ending anterior cruciate ligament tears, defensive tackle Daquan Newkirk tore his Achilles, offensive linemen Nick Brahms and Kaleb Kim both had their springs cut short and Jeremiah Dinson got hurt in the spring game. That was after the Tigers entered spring with Jarrett Stidham recovering from shoulder surgery.

Credit: Marvin Gentry-USA TODAY Sports

Malzahn had to defend his strength and conditioning program in early April. That’s where we’re at with this injuries. If Malzahn can find a way to bubble wrap each player this summer and keep them away from any stairs or sharp objects, he probably will.

LSU — This offense is still a complete mystery

The only thing that I would bet on with the LSU offense is that it has a whole lot less pre-snap movement than it did last year. As for who starts where and who becomes the focal point, that’s completely up in the air.

Usually, it’s a safe bet that LSU is going to have at least one stud running back and they’re going to dominate the offensive touches. Without a guy who rushed for 100 yards last year, I question that. I also question whether a quarterback without a career start in the SEC will flourish with a new offensive coordinator.

The good news is that LSU will add Texas Tech transfer receiver Jonathan Giles after he sat a year. It had to make Tiger fans breathe a little easier seeing the former Red Raiders leading receiver in the spring game.

Still, I can’t help but think that 6-6 FPI projection from ESPN was directly related to the lack of proven pieces in that LSU offense.

Mississippi State — The 2018 hype is real

Follow me all aboard the 2014 Mississippi State hype train. Oh, I meant the 2018 MSU hype train. Yes, I do think this has potential to resemble that Dak Prescott-led 2014 season in Starkville with it being Nick Fitzgerald’s final season. Of course it’ll be Joe Moorhead’s first season in Starkville.

But all reports out of camp are that this group is confident that it’ll make noise in the West. And for anyone saying that MSU lacks defensive talent outside of Jeffery Simmons and Montez Sweat, they probably didn’t see backup linebacker Willie Gay earn a comparison to the reigning SEC Defensive Player of the Year.

But back to the offense. Obviously we weren’t going to see Fitzgerald in the spring game. Still, it’s hard not to be encouraged from what we’ve seen and heard from the MSU offense this spring. Austin Williams has been the deep threat that the Bulldogs need to run Moorhead’s offense and even the tight ends are being used as downfield threats.

It’s a new era in Starkville, and there might even be some unprecedented preseason hype.

Ole Miss — The cloud is gone

That seemed to be the theme of the spring in Oxford. Not only is Matt Luke locked in as the full-time coach, but the NCAA investigation stemming from the Hugh Freeze era is over. Sure, the postseason sanction is still there, but we at least know what Ole Miss’ fate is.

It felt like a huge weight lifted off Luke’s shoulder this spring. Well, either that or I’m just not used to seeing the spring version of Matt Luke. Whatever the case, this should still be a group that plays loose and should have limited off-field distractions. The Rebels are going to continue to recruit well and in all likelihood, they’ll put up a ton of points this fall.

As for whether the Rebels actually stop anyone on defense, that’s a different discussion.

Texas A&M — Jimbo is doing this right so far

I don’t know if Fisher is going to win national or even SEC titles in College Station. I do know that he’s passing all the tests so far. If you’re a Texas A&M fan, there should be zero ounce of buyer’s remorse through spring.

I love how open Fisher has been with welcoming back guys like Johnny Manziel. With his current roster, Fisher has been making a lot of the right moves. You could tell in the spring game that he’s been coaching up both Nick Starkel and Kellen Mond, and both are legitimately battling for the starting gig.

What I really liked was what I saw during the Texas A&M spring game when SEC Network showed clips of Fisher in practice. He wasn’t treating anyone with kid gloves and he looked like he was in midseason form. He clearly already has the respect of that locker room. Even better, he feels comfortable enough to coach that way because guys have already bought in.

There are still some long-term questions I have about the heights that Fisher can lift the Aggies to, but his stock certainly rose after his first spring in the SEC.