Georgia Southern football spring practice is here. Here are five storylines to track

The second year of the Clay Helton era in Statesboro is underway.

As spring practice for Georgia Southern football ramps up this week, it's time to take a look at the program post-coaching carousel and transfer portal.

The Eagles finished 6-7 last season, but successfully proved a high-volume passing attack can work in the land of the triple-option. With several new, but familiar, faces on the coaching staff and question marks at the quarterback position, defense and others, it's set to be a busy spring in Statesboro.

Here are five things to watch this spring as practice ramps up:

Georgia Southern quarterback battle

Kyle Vantrease came to Statesboro a year ago and immediately completed the most prolific passing season in the program's history. His 4,253 passing yards and 27 touchdowns shattered the previous single-season marks, held by Antonio Henton (1,852 yards and 15 touchdowns in 2008). In fact, Vantrease also finished the season with the second-most passing yards in a career at Georgia Southern behind Eagle great Tracy Ham.

While Vantrease's college career has come to an end, the reality that Georgia Southern is now the home of a high-powered passing attack has not. Now it's up to a new crop of quarterbacks to take the baton. Simply put, it's a crowded quarterback room. Transfers Davis Brin (sixth year, Tulsa), JC French (R-Fr., Memphis), Beau Allen (R-Jr., Tartleton State) are newcomers to the program.

Of the group, Brin has the most on-field experience. He started 22 games at Tulsa over 2021 and 2022 seasons, passing for 5,407 yards and 35 touchdowns. Allen appeared in three games at Kentucky in 2021 before transferring to FCS Tartleton State last season, which he threw for 2,357 yards and 22 touchdown in 11 starts.

Other familiar faces in Helton's crop of quarterbacks include Colton FitzGerald (R-So.), Kyle Toole (R-Jr.), Connor Cigelske (R-Jr.), David Dallas (R-Fr.) and Brooks Pangle (R-Fr.).

Brandon Bailey and a new-look defense

After losing defensive coordinator Will Harris to the Los Angeles Chargers just over a week ago, it didn't take long for Helton to name a replacement. He quickly tabbed Georgia Southern alum Brandon Bailey to lead the defensive unit in 2023.

Bailey served as defensive coordinator for Buffalo, a unit that finished fourth in scoring in the Mid-American Conference. Prior to his time at Buffalo, he spent three seasons as a defensive assistant at Texas A&M. Bailey graduated from Georgia Southern in 2016, where he served as student assistant.

"We are very excited to welcome Brandon Bailey and his family back to Statesboro," Helton said in a university release. "Coach Bailey has learned under some of the best coaches in the country and used that knowledge to drastically improve Buffalo's defense last season. Brandon is known as one of the top young coordinators in college football, and his defense was one of the nation's leaders in takeaways last year. I am certain our defense will rise to new heights under his leadership."

Bailey takes over a defensive unit that ranked last in the Sun Belt Conference in yards allowed per game (496.2) and 13th in points per game (32.3) a year ago.

Strong group of receivers

Unlike the quarterback position, there will be familiar faces on the perimeter of this Eagles' offense.

Fifth-year senior Khaleb Hood returns as the leading pass-catcher with 87 grabs for 925 yards, but he's joined by the team's second-leading receiver in Derwin Burgess, Jr. (58-717). They're joined by a pair of Division-I transfers in sixth-year senior Anthony Queeley (Syracuse) and senior Jaylon Barden (Pitt). A physical receiver at 6-foot-2, 200 pounds, Queeley caught 15 passes for 222 yards and two touchdowns in 10 games for the Orange last year. Barden played in eight games at Pittsburgh in 2022.

Helton made a splash in this area, hiring former Georgia Southern receiver BJ Johnson as the new receivers coach. Johnson was a significant part of Willie Fritz's offense when the Eagles made the transition to the FBS level in 2014-15. He coached receivers at Gardner-Webb last year and spent time as a graduate assistant at Texas Tech and Colorado.

A name to look for is sophomore receiver Dalen Cobb. The 5-foot-10, 195-pound Cobb was a quarterback and track star at Washington-Wilkes High School and averaged over nine yards per catch in Bryan Ellis' offense last season.

Kicker U

Atlanta Falcons' star Younghoe Koo was the program's first full-scholarship kicker when he set foot on campus in 2013. With the development of kickers like Koo and Buffalo Bills' pro bowler Tyler Bass, Georgia Southern football has become synonymous with the position.

In that sense, the Eagles will be looking for the next placekicker in line this spring. Losing punter Anthony Beck and kicker Alex Raynor to graduation at once will put a lot of eyes on the special teams units early on. Redshirt-senior Michael Lantz returns after spending last season on kickoffs, racking up 26 touchbacks on 78 attempts. He's joined by senior Nebraska transfer Brendan Franke, who saw 36 of his 54 kickoffs for the Cornhuskers end up as touchbacks.

Other kickers on the roster include Britton Williams (R-So.) and Chase Folser (R-Fr.). On the punting side, Australian freshman Alex Smith comes in as one of the more highly-touted punters in his class. He'll compete with Matthew Daniel (R-Sr.) and Walker Bradberry (R-So.) for the job.

Another Eagle returns to the nest

In a similar vein to the receivers, Helton brought in another former Georgia Southern standout to lead the safeties and nickels on the defensive side of the football.

Darius Eubanks returns to Statesboro after spending last season at Liberty as the defensive backs coach. The former Eagles' linebacker had previous stops at Samford, Georgia State, Western Carolina and Arkansas. A native of Thomson, Ga., Eubanks spend four seasons in the NFL with the Minnesota Vikings, Cleveland Browns, Dallas Cowboys and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Five things to watch in Georgia Southern football spring practice