I try not to overreact.

It’s important. Last year, Arik Gilbert was the star of Georgia’s spring game. The year before that, Agiye Hall was the star of Alabama’s spring game.

Was either an indicator of future performance? Nope. It was the high point of both of their times at their respective programs before transferring.

Take that as my way of saying that sometimes, spring games are just spring games. They don’t have to be a sign of bigger things to come.

At the same time, we do also get some real takeaways. Let’s dig into that:

KJ Jefferson and Will Rogers in new offenses will take some getting used to

Not gonna lie. It’s weird seeing the SEC’s 2 most experienced quarterbacks running new schemes. Dan Enos didn’t come to Arkansas to run the Kendal Briles offense, and Kevin Barbay didn’t come to MSU to run the Mike Leach offense.

We’ve got KJ Jefferson operating under center and Will Rogers throwing to tight ends. The goal for both is that they can operate some more pro-style concepts and make a seamless transition. That’ll be easier said than done.

We saw Rogers and the MSU running backs struggle with some of those exchanges, which should be ironed out by fall, but it’s a reminder that even the basics have a learning curve. We also saw Rogers get to air it out a bit, which should be more of a priority in Barbay’s offense. We know that scheme should yield more man coverage. Thus, we’ll get Rogers taking some shots like this to give his guy a chance:

Rogers has 5 career completions for 50 yards in 3 years as a starter. I’ll bet those plays come a whole lot more often as long as he’s healthy, even if it comes with a few more turnovers.

Jefferson is going to operate a bit slower than he’s used to. That’s obvious. That means reacting to what the defense is doing pre-snap instead of having the defense react to Arkansas’ offense. He’s got the freedom to make those adjustments, whether that’s putting a man in motion into the backfield to help with protection. Jefferson told the SEC Network crew that “I’m starting to like under center more than shotgun now.”

Another thing Jefferson will like? The fact that Arkansas should be able to execute running plays under center wherein he’s not taking hits on the RPO. It’s easy to forget that in the previous offense, Jefferson would take his licks even when he wasn’t the ball carrier. Compare that to looks like this:

Don’t get it twisted. Enos’ offense will still have those RPOs for Jefferson. But knowing how important his health is to Arkansas’ hopes of staying afloat in the West, this is exactly what the doctor ordered.

There figure to be some growing pains for Jefferson and Rogers in their new schemes — Rogers stayed into the spring game late to continue to get reps — but in the long term, both guys could wind up looking like the best versions of themselves in 2023.

The Lane Kiffin-Jimbo Fisher beef is alive and well

So in case you missed it, Chris Marshall, a former 5-star receiver who transferred from A&M to Ole Miss, had an interesting moment in the Grove Bowl. Kiffin wasn’t pleased to see that Marshall didn’t get the ball to the official after hauling in a pass in the red zone.

Shots fired? Absolutely, especially after Fisher said that “everyone does the same thing” on offense, which Kiffin reacted to on Twitter. Kiffin made it a point to bring Marshall to the side and let him know why that sequence frustrated him in the Ole Miss up-tempo offense.

Kiffin trolling Fisher will certainly be a staple of the SEC West until further notice.

I’m ready for Ulysses Bentley IV to be a thing

At this time last year, I was ready to see the SMU transfer become a star alongside TCU transfer Zach Evans. Instead, Bentley broke his wrist against Georgia Tech while Quinshon Judkins took off and became a star. But now with Evans gone, Bentley is capable of having a big role in the offense.

On Saturday, he was phenomenal. He had a nice grab in the end zone that Walker Howard floated perfectly over the top on a rollout, and more importantly, he busted a very Judkins-like long touchdown run.

After that, Kiffin complimented his ability to just see the hole and hit it. That’s an area that Kiffin said Bentley struggled with when he returned last year, and that he needed to learn that he couldn’t just cut to the outside and outrun everyone in the SEC.

Bentley has a sneaky good chance of being one of the conference’s better playmakers, so long as he can stay healthy.

The Ole Miss QB battle isn’t over, but Tennessee’s is

We have 2 similar offenses that have 2 entirely different quarterback rooms. Ole Miss has arguably the most intriguing quarterback battle of any team in America with Oklahoma State transfer Spencer Sanders and LSU transfer Walker Howard joining incumbent starter Jaxson Dart. Tennessee, meanwhile, has veteran Joe Milton and 5-star freshman Nico Iamaleava to replace 25-year-old Hendon Hooker.

But it’s pretty obvious both programs are in different spots with their quarterback decisions.

Milton, as long as he’s healthy, is going to be Tennessee’s starter. You saw on Saturday that he can operate the tempo that Josh Heupel wants, and with 2 years of work that’s been put into developing his poise and decision-making, it’s clear that Milton will be the guy.

And I say that not to knock Iamaleava, who did some impressive things in his own right on Saturday. Iamaleava can operate at a high tempo, as well. His presence for when to tuck it and run already looks like it’s at a high level, albeit in a non-contact setting. Iamaleava’s best ball of the day was a play where he rolled out to his right and he fired a ball on a line 30 yards downfield. It was a perfect throw and catch on the right sideline, and as Jordan Rodgers pointed out on the broadcast, a reminder of why he’s so highly regarded.

Still, though. It’s Milton who’ll get another shot to run the offense.

As for Ole Miss, well, that’s a different story. Dart has been the favorite in spring, and understandably so. He’s the only one with experience in the offense. Sanders was also dealing with a shoulder injury that limited him in spring. To run the Kiffin offense, at that speed, you need reps.

Sanders looked excellent both with his arm and his legs on Saturday. Even though it’s tough to gauge mobility in a spring game, it’s a bit different to say that when you’re talking about a guy with over 500 rushing attempts at the Power 5 level. We even saw Sanders scoot a bit on a reception off the “Philly Special” play.

If we’re being honest, Sanders probably had the best day even though it was Dart who got to rally the troops back with a walk-off 2-point conversion. Does that guarantee that Sanders will be the guy to start the season? Of course not. Keep in mind that Ole Miss wasn’t blitzing. They ran their 4 base defenses, and obviously, Sanders wasn’t live.

But any notion that Dart was going to be established as QB1 by the end of spring should be gone.

It’s not night and day yet, but Bobby Petrino’s fingerprints are on the A&M offense

If you were expecting A&M to come out and operate tempo and pre-snap motion like Ole Miss or Tennessee, well, you were probably disappointed. But at the same time, we saw the pre-snap motion early and often. We also saw the Aggies take some chances downfield like this beautiful ball on play-action from presumed backup Max Johnson.

Keep in mind that A&M was never going to show everything offensively in a spring game. There’s still a bit of a learning curve, which perhaps explains why there was a scoreless drought that lasted 6 drives in the first half (A&M’s loaded defensive line might’ve had something to do with that as well). But at the same time, we also saw some better spacing, and we saw Ainias Smith and Evan Stewart both making plays downfield early.

There’s no denying that in theory, Petrino’s offense will yield better results than what we’ve seen during 2 years of offensive ineptitude. The weapons at receiver and the experience on the offensive line should bode well for Conner Weigman.

As long as Fisher is willing to take a back seat with play-calling, better days are ahead for the Aggie offense (which isn’t saying much).

Georgia’s DL now has another massive hole to fill

No, not just Jalen Carter. We found out on Saturday that Bear Alexander plans to enter the transfer portal. That was significant news on the day that the spring window began.

Alexander was expected to be a major contributor in the post-Carter world after he had 2 sacks as a freshman, 1 of which came in the national championship. Instead, defensive line coach Tray Scott is going to once again need to find another option to help control the line of scrimmage.

Maybe someone like 5-star early enrollee Jordan Hall, who had a nice deflection at the line of scrimmage in the first half on Saturday, could be one of those guys. Or perhaps UGA will replace Alexander with a portal addition of its own.

Smart said on Saturday that Alexander’s decision is “the climate we’re in.” I suppose if there’s anyone who has shown it can overcome defensive line losses in recent memory, it’s Georgia.

Still, though. That wasn’t an ideal way for G-Day to kick off.

Carson Beck is gonna be QB1 in Athens

Why? I wrote all about it here.

This will be DK Joyner’s most active role in South Carolina’s offense … I hope

OK, so there’s part of me that’s trying to will this into existence. I’ve long been a fan of Joyner, just like every other Gamecock fan on planet earth. Once a Will Muschamp-era quarterback, we were then led to believe that Joyner’s impact was going to be at receiver. The Mayo Bowl MVP performance at quarterback to close 2021 was a reminder of what Joyner could do as a versatile weapon in the offense, and he returned for Year 5 in hopes of having his most expanded role in the offense.

Then last year happened.

Joyner only had 20 scrimmage touches in Marcus Satterfield’s offense. Well, that’s excluding his 3 passes for 101 yards and a score. He played 155 snaps, 40 of which came in the bowl game when Satterfield was off to Nebraska.

Naturally, Joyner’s 6th and final year of eligibility in Dowell Loggains’ offense will be at … tailback. We saw a glimpse of that on Saturday night. He had 3 touches in the first quarter of the spring game, 2 of which were rushes that went for 5 and 9 yards. In fact, Joyner’s 9-yard carry was the first run of the game.

“More of that, please” said every South Carolina fan.

One would think that with MarShawn Lloyd off to USC (the other one) and even tight end/part-time running back Jaheim Bell off to Florida State, South Carolina needs a complement for JuJu McDowell. Joyner should be that guy. It’s never been a question about ability with the 6th year senior. It’s always been about finding a way to maximize his skill set.

Fingers crossed that the third position is the charm.