By Derek DeBurger

The 2025 spring football came and went without much of a bang.

The offense avenged their loss from the spring game a year ago, beating the defense 32-24.

With not many fireworks on the field, and none yet loaded into the cannons at L&N Stadium, there were still some takeaways to be had.

Miller Moss is the clear starter at quarterback

The USC-transfer got off to a bit of a slow start, but settled in as he was given more reps. Miller Moss finished the game going 18-of-26 with 208 yards and a touchdown, but also threw the lone interception of the game.

While Moss’s interception wasn’t the only mistake he made, there was more good than bad. And the thought of him still having an entire summer to work with Jeff Brohm and Brian Brohm is promising.

Brady Allen was the first quarterback off the bench, and he looked shaky at times.

Allen did have a nice drive to start the second half, including a great throw and catch to Antonio Meeks and a touchdown pass to Jaleel Skinner.

But Allen’s first half was hard to watch at times, with just 39 yards on 3-of-5 passing with his completions coming on short passes to running backs and tight ends.

Deuce Adams also struggled to stretch the ball down the field, refusing to take any big gambles deep. The positive you can say about Adams is that he made some smart plays in the face of pressure with several check downs and a pass thrown out of bounds to avoid a sack.

Receiver depth is a real problem

Caullin Lacy had a big catch from Moss on the first drive and a touchdown in the second quarter, and Chris Bell had a bit of an inconsistent night. Outside of the top two options, there was nothing to write home about.

Whenever Allen and Adams were on the field without Lacy and Bell, there was next to no separation being made beyond the numbers. Regardless of who was taking snaps, whoever was at running back seemed to emerge as the third option in the passing game.

There will likely be a large number of passing plays that involve catches out of the backfield, and it will be out of necessity.

I would not be surprised to see if the coaching staff goes after a wide out in the spring transfer portal.

Cornerback is less worrying than anticipated

The position group that worried me most going into Friday put some of my fears at ease.

Rodney Johnson looked good, forcing Bell into some drops and grabbing the only interception of the game.

Rae’mon Mosby held his own, too, and Jabari Mack made some plays against different groups.

What doesn’t have me giving the sign of approval just yet is how little I saw from the receiving corps. If there were more confidence in the weapons, I would have been very happy with what I saw on the turf. But outside of Johnson and maybe Mosby, I don’t know how the secondary would hold up against a dangerous passing unit.

Photo by Vinny Porco