Spring is officially here.

Next week, Eastern Michigan opens its first of 15 practices on its alternative practice sites to prepare for the 2024 season. The team will practices every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday from March 11 through April 12. The spring game, on the day of the final practice, will be at 6:30 p.m. inside the Indoor Practice Facility — “the bubble”.

Unlike most years, the spring game won’t be had on the gray turf since that’s being replaced, along with other necessary construction. So long, outdated track around the field.

With EMU’s spring season starting back up, it’s time to look at this roster, starting with its offense, to preview some of the storylines around each position.

(Note: Two asterisks ** means a player has walk-on status).

ROSTER BREAKDOWN

IT’S ABOUT SURVIVAL

Austin Smith had his shot at being EMU's starting QB in 2023. Even after being an early enrollee out of high school in 2021 to seeing some earlier-than-maybe-expected playing time in 2022, his first year as a full-year starter was just brutal.

And now he's transferred off, now at FCS-level Austin Peay.

Cam'Ron McCoy is just a full-time baseball pitcher now.

How long will Ike Udengwu be able to hold onto his spot on the roster? What are the chances that Udengwu ends up as EMU's QB2 yet again?

There's so much attention surrounding the three new QBs. There's an immediate answer for the upcoming season, and lots of promise behind Cole Snyder with Drew Viotto and Jace Stuckey.

This spring is going to be pivotal for Udengwu’s survival at the FBS level. Should he provide a good challenge, it’d make sense for EMU to try to keep the scholarship quarterback who’s been with this offense and has a leg-up in the system that way. But if he falls short to either EMU’s new freshman or transfer redshirt-freshman, the path for Udengwu to see the field won’t look too promising.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN

EVERYBODY’S AUDITIONING FOR A TOUCH

This time last year, this position room was probably the safest-looking group on the field. Samson Evans could take a bruising on his way to being EMU’s all-time touchdowns leader, and Jaylon Jackson’s dynamic speed is certainly going to be difficult to replace on offense and special teams.

The 1-2 punch of Evans and Jackson doesn't come around every year. EMU’s lucky to have had them be on the offense for two. Now, Evans is graduated and working toward the NFL. Jackson transferred to Iowa State.

But what about this year? What about Delbert Mimms and Dontae McMillan?

Elijah Jackson-Anderson and Deion Brown?

EMU grabbed onto different kinds of talents through the portal, and is trying to develop its playmakers through some high school signees too. There’s a lot of capable backs here, but not a ton of experience cutting it up on the gray turf.

With all of the moving parts around EMU’s offense, this position group went from being the easiest spot on this offense to predict to the most difficult.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN

TRANSFERS ARE GREAT, BUT WHAT ABOUT THE YOUNG RECEIVERS?

Giving out last year’s #2 jersey was a no-brainer, especially after Darius Lassiter hit the spring-time transfer portal. Tanner Knue was the lone, returning starter at this position in 2023, and he had the credentials of being a walk-on-turned-scholarship player with All-MAC honors.

J.B. Mitchell’s breakout season where he played in every game for EMU consisted of 35 catches for 398 yards, and one score.

Assuming EMU will rise from its 55% completion rate, will there be any more juice coming from the outsides?

EMU got three transfers this year, including two former MAC guys. Tyler Walton played at Ohio, Oran Singleton got started at Akron. While the transfers should do a lot of leading on this team, the recent signees should be taking steps forward to get more playing time than they’ve had before. The upperclassmen could be used a lot this year, but this might really need somebody to have a true breakout sophomore or freshman receiver.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN

A VERSATILE, NOW MORE EXPERIENCED, ROOM; WILL IT LEAD?

Tight end has been a room built with guys of different strengths and varying skill sets. Some guys are primarily big-bodied receivers. Others act like another offensive lineman. Sometimes they’re somewhere in between.

Pretty much everybody in this room is back from last year too. Andreas Paaske left for Arkansas, and EMU responded by getting a graduate transfer from Florida. Not a huge receiving threat at Florida, but Odom caught a pair of TDs in 2022.

Who knows where and how Odom ends up on the field this season. Jere Getzinger is the position’s leading returner with 43 games played and 926 career snaps played (per Pro Football Focus). Any improvement in the passing game with Max Reese and Blake Daniels will take some stress away from the wide receivers.

ROSTER BREAKDOWN

EMU MUST FIND QUICK ANSWERS

The only full-time returning starter on this offensive line stands at left tackle. Mickey Rewolinski, who made his first full-season as a starter, is back with some, but not many, memorable faces to his right.

Chris Mayo played and started in a handful of games in relief for Zack Conti (now at Southern Miss.) at left guard. Brock Roman, who battled back from injury only to be injured again, should compete again for starts at center. Carson Lee, who finished the year at center, is also back.

But the two mainstays at right guard and right tackle are graduated out of the system, and EMU’s going to have to establish not just five starters that can withstand an entire season, but a pool of backups for when they don’t.

Does it matter that EMU didn’t get any Divison-I level lineman through the transfer portal? The two non-JUCO transfers it brought in came from Wayne State (D2) and Hope (D3).

EMU has plenty of O-linemen that have signed out of high school over the years and taken redshirts to develop, but now’s the time to see who’s ready to be on the field. There are just four players with 20 combined starts coming back to this offensive line, and only one, Rewolinski, was a season-opening starter.