Spring Practice Stock Characters: Meet the Heirs Apparent

Renewing the annual templates of spring. Monday: The Dueling Quarterbacks. Tuesday: The Early Enrollees. Wednesday: The Comeback Kids. Today: The most anticipated new starters after a year or two on the bench.

• WILLIAM GHOLSTON, DE/LB, Michigan State. Gholston was the only five-star signee in the Big Ten in 2010, a product of both his bloodline (his cousin, Vernon "Guns" Gholston, was an All-American at Ohio State and a first-round draft pick) and William's own 6-foot-7, 240-pound frame as an incoming freshman. The hype didn't do much for him last year, when he was relegated largely to garbage time snaps at defensive end before opting for season-ending shoulder surgery in November – a sacrifice made specifically to have him back in time to compete for the vacancies at end and strongside linebacker. With All-America mainstay Greg Jones and veterans Colin Neely and Eric Gordon on their way out, the Spartans are short on difference makers in the front seven, and have no one else approaching Gholston's potential ceiling as a pass rusher or sideline-to-sideline tackle machine.

• JACKSON JEFFCOAT, DE, Texas. Another five-star freshman with a familiar name, except Jeffcoat made a better first impression with a pair of early starts and a handful of plays in opposing backfields over the first half of the season. It just so happened that Jeffcoat's four-game, ankle-driven hiatus coincided with the Longhorns' collapse into a four-game losing streak at the hands of traditional whipping boys Iowa State, Baylor, Kansas State and Oklahoma State, which combined to average 32.5 points in victory. It would be beyond a stretch to pin that on Jeffcoat's presence (or lack thereof) on the depth chart, but it won't be this fall: Even with linemate Alex Okafor's move back to end from tackle, where he spent most of 2010, Jeffcoat will be counted on as a sophomore to anchor the pass rush at an alarmingly thin position by Texas standards.

• CHRISTIAN JONES and JEFF LUC, LBs, Florida State. FSU's defensive revival was led by a long-in-the-tooth linebacker corps that barely left the field, including a pair of seniors, Kendall Smith and Mister Alexander, who go out with 45 career starts between them. But their exit should make for a tailor-made transition to two of the Seminoles' most hyped 2010 signees, whose adjustment to the starting lineup – Luc in the middle, Jones on the strong side – after an apprentice year of mostly special teams duties will be the proverbial X-factor for a unit that otherwise returns nearly intact, and for the 'Noles' chances of (finally) making good as the consensus preseason favorite in the ACC.

• CHRIS MARTIN, LB, Florida. The Gators got a good, long look at most of the stars of their celebrated freshman class last fall – four true freshmen broke into the regular rotation on defense alone and should start the spring as solid sophomore starters – with one glaring exception: Chris Martin, a five-star defensive end/linebacker prospect who was forced to sit out the season as a post-signing day transfer from his original choice, California. With his late arrival, Martin may be overshadowed by even more hyped classmates Ronald Powell, Sharriff Floyd and Matt Elam, who are already familiar faces for Florida fans, but he won't be any less significant as the odds on favorite to take over as the third starting linebacker. If it's not Martin in that spot, it could be a dire situation.

• LOGAN THOMAS, QB, Virginia Tech. Thomas' emergence is so critical to the Tech offense this fall that the Hokies rearranged the duties of the coaching staff to accommodate their new quarterback, who may be Frank Beamer's last if he sticks for the next three years. At 6-6/240, Thomas was generally listed as a tight end as an incoming recruit in 2009 and can't hope to match the mobility of outgoing starter Tyrod Taylor, easily the Hokie's best signal-caller since Michael Vick. But Thomas brings an arm to the position that Taylor couldn't, and the ability to stretch the field like no Tech slinger since, well, since Michael Vick. He's not going to be that good, but Beamer clearly putting their eggs in Thomas' basket for one final BCS championship run over the next two or three seasons before he calls it a career.

• SPENCER WARE, RB, LSU. Ware lingered in the background throughout his freshman campaign, saving all of his Hulk power for an out-of-nowhere, 102-yard rampage – including gains of 18, 24 and 26 yards on just ten carries – in the Tigers' Cotton Bowl win over Texas A&M, the first extended action of his career. It was also the first time since the 2007 BCS championship team an LSU offense managed to put 40 points on the board against a defense that didn't finish in the bottom 25 nationally in points allowed. And with starter Stevan Ridley's bizarre decision to declare for the draft, it shoved Ridley into the spotlight for an offense that will need more than a few repeat performances to fulfill its SEC and BCS championship ambitions.

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Note: USC receiver Kyle Prater is omitted from the list because he's likely to miss most of the spring with a fractured foot, but may be back by the end of drills.
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

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