3 College Football Programs Whose Stock Has Risen After Spring Games – Sports Illustrated

In this story:
With the wide-reaching return of spring games to practically all of FBS College Football, fans got to see exciting developments this spring, ranging from first-year coordinators looking like seamless fits running new systems with new players to emerging young stars.
These three teams got a mixture of both over the past two weekends, having the best College Football spring games of anyone.
First-year Ohio State Buckeyes offensive coordinator Arthur Smith's system looks like it'll fit the personnel. Junior receiver Jeremiah Smith, the potential 2027 NFL draft's No. 1 pick, and 5-star freshman Chris Henry Jr. got plenty of looks from QB1 Julian Sayin and QB1-in-waiting Tavien St. Clair.
There were some knocks on the offensive line and the non-Jeremiah Smith/Henry receivers, but in his debut, Arthur Smith's offense looked like it'd be an explosive improvement over Brian Hartline's.
That could be enough to get the Buckeyes over the top after their offense sputtered out in the Big Ten Championship against the Indiana Hoosiers and then in their lone CFP matchup, a Cotton Bowl Classic loss to the Miami Hurricanes.
Outside of a leg injury to senior linebacker Daymion Sanford, Mike Elko has to be happy with how the Texas A&M Aggies' Maroon & White spring game went on Saturday. Alabama Crimson Tide transfer receiver Isaiah Horton had a spectacular grab with Aggies corner/nickel Justin Echols draped all over him, providing TAMU with a potential 1:1 KC Concepcion replacement.
Redshirt freshman Brady Hart looked like a capable successor to Marcel Reed under center. Elko appears to have built something sustainable in College Station if the spring game is any indication of what's to come in 2026. Better yet, 2027 looks to be in good hands as well.
Speaking of setting his program up for the future, like Hart in the Lone Star State, Jared Curtis looks like the next great QB in the Music City. The Vanderbilt Commodores didn't get any crazy stats from their true freshman, but Curtis passed the eye test with flying colors.
The Nashville Christian School product showed poise scrambling out of broken plays and evading the incoming pass rush. Having convinced Curtis to turn down a likely better chance to win it all with the Georgia Bulldogs, Vanderbilt is banking on Curtis taking the reins as soon as possible and not letting the standard fall too far from the Diego Pavia era. Clark Lea got promising results at the Black and Gold game.
Loading recommendations… Please wait while we load personalized content recommendations
Andrew is a freelance sports journalist based in Austin, Texas. His work has work has been featured in ON SI, The Miami Herald, Bleacher Report, Sporting News and Yahoo Sports. Andrew graduated from Brooklyn College with a degree in journalism.
© 2026 ABG-SI LLC – SPORTS ILLUSTRATED IS A REGISTERED TRADEMARK OF ABG-SI LLC. – All Rights Reserved. The content on this site is for entertainment and educational purposes only. Betting and gambling content is intended for individuals 21+ and is based on individual commentators' opinions and not that of Sports Illustrated or its affiliates, licensees and related brands. All picks and predictions are suggestions only and not a guarantee of success or profit. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, crisis counseling and referral services can be accessed by calling 1-800-GAMBLER.

source