ESPN Independents and Others Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

I think there was a little confusion yesterday about the list I posted in the morning. And that's my fault. I posted it without any sort of blurb about what the list entailed.

That's not my preseason top 10. That's the spring top 10 based on what's remaining on the team and what the team added with recruiting. It's also a reflection of which teams need to find key players this spring. That's why Utah isn't on the list. It needs a lot of its backups and new players to fill key roles from last year's team. And Boise State is low because it needs to basically find a new starting receiver corps and heart-and-soul running back.

Below is a list of teams to watch heading into the spring. None of these teams are on the list I posted yesterday, but could be on the preseason top 10 after a strong spring.

For those of you who think that spring football doesn't matter, it does to teams like the ones listed below that have to fill major holes either left by graduation or guys leaving early for the NFL. Spring is where a championship season begins.

Top 10 teams to watch this spring (in no particular order):

1. Utah -- The Utes have a lot of skill and leadership to account for this spring with the loss of almost all of their key players. The biggest hit is at quarterback. While Corbin Louks is a good player, he'll need to develop the leadership that Brian Johnson possessed. That's going to be tough to replace.

2. Tulsa -- Last year wasn't exactly how Tulsa wanted the season to go and it might be awhile before it's in the hunt for a BCS game again. The Golden Hurricane has to find a new quarterback, running back and a receiver to replace Brennan Marion and complement Damaris Johnson.

3. Navy -- The Midshipmen have a nice nucleus of defensive players returning, but lost all of their key offensive players, including the entire backfield that was the No. 1 rushing offense last season. Ricky Dobbs already has shown he can run the Midshipmen offense, but he'll need help.

4. Troy -- The Trojans will have a quarterback controversy on their hands with the return of Jamie Hampton, who suffered a torn ACL in the middle of the season. Levi Brown, Hampton's replacement, led the Trojans to a Sun Belt title. A fierce battle like this could be difficult on the team.

5. Rice -- The Owls have had two winning seasons in the past three, but those days will be gone if coach David Bailiff can't find a group of players to replace Chase Clement, Jarett Dillard and James Casey, one of the most prolific scoring trios in the country this past season.

6. Florida International -- The Golden Panthers started to show some life and gain some confidence with their five-win season. With several of those players returning and a great recruiting class on the way, there's a good chance FIU could be the Sun Belt team to beat.

7. Ball State -- The loss of Nate Davis is huge, but new head coach Stan Parrish contends that he has a gem in quarterback Kelly Page, a redshirt freshman from Dallas. The Cardinals do return several key defensive players, and running back MiQuale Lewis, who ranked fifth in the country in rushing.

8. Buffalo -- Coach Turner Gill is determined to prove that this past season's Mid-American Conference championship was no fluke, but he'll have to do so with a new quarterback and almost an entirely new offensive line. Buffalo does return star running back James Starks and wide receiver Naaman Roosevelt.

9. Florida Atlantic -- After a slow start to the season, the Owls went on to win six of their final seven, including a victory in the Motor City Bowl. The Owls return 12 starters, but almost all of those players are on offense. FAU will need to almost completely rebuild its defensive line.

10. Louisiana Tech -- The Bulldogs have 17 starters returning from last season's team that won eight games. The thing the Bulldogs will need to refine this spring is consistency so they can go up against Boise State and perhaps steal the WAC in 2009.