What we saw at Jacksonville State football's first spring practice, quarterback competition update

JACKSONVILLE − Jacksonville State football got spring practice started with a two-hour practice Saturday at JSU Stadium, and there's a lot to unpack from the first day.

The Gamecocks officially started another quarterback competition Saturday with five signal callers getting a solid amount of reps in the fast-paced practice. Jacksonville State also officially welcomed two new defensive coaches.

Here's what the Gadsden Times saw at Saturday's practice:

No clear pecking order at QB

All five quarterbacks on the roster were getting plenty of reps during Saturday’s two-hour practice. With most drills being run with no defenders, or coaches playing defensive back, all the quarterbacks looked strong at times, but who led off each drill would change. It did seem that Logan Smothers and Ashton Frye, last year's Nos. 2 and 3 were leading, but it’s still too early to tell who the starting quarterback could be come game one.

Smothers was first out with what could be the starting offensive line in team drills, but even that rotated throughout practice.

Offensive line sees influx of size

The Gamecocks' offensive line looked bigger at the start of spring practice than the start of fall practice. One reason is the addition of Cincinnati transfer Cam Jones, who looks all of the 6-foot-8, 330 pounds at which he's listed. Getting bigger was a priority this offseason, and the trenches look to have grown at least to start spring. The main starting group included Jones paired with Clay Web at left guard, Will O'Steen at left tackle andCameron Griffin at right guard. The center in that pairing was wearing No. 55, but no offensive lineman is listed with that number.

Still too early to see impact of new coaches

With most of the practice spent in individual or small team drills, it was too early to see the impact of the two new defensive hires. Defensive coordinator Luke Olson and defensive back coach Brandon Napoleon were seen coaching players, but as far as scheme, we'll have to wait until the spring game or longer to see how much of the Gamecocks' defense will look different than last year's.

Gamecocks look relatively healthy

With around 10 players wearing the yellow/injury jerseys, the Gamecocks looked healthy to start spring practice, which is always a welcomed sign. Most of those out had offseason surgeries and should be ready for fall camp. Sean Brown, one of last year's starting tight ends, is out with a shoulder injury but will be back.

Napoleon was riding around practice on a scooter following Achilles surgery, which was successful as he announced on X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter on Wednesday.

Maxwell Donaldson covers high school sports and Jacksonville State athletics for the Gadsden Times. Find him on Twitter/X @_Max_Donaldson and contact him at MDonaldson@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: What we saw at Jacksonville State football's first spring practice