Recruiting season is now over. Recruits have signed their Letters of Intent, and many have enrolled on campus already. Now, the focus turns to Spring Games, where schools showcase the players who will take the field in 2014. For many schools, these games are tryouts for openings in the starting lineup, voided by players graduating, declaring for the draft, or otherwise no longer with the team. One position where the battles are consistently in the spotlight is the quarterback position. 

This year, there are quite a few openings in college football at big name programs that will have competitions play out through the summer. However, the Spring Game is a great springboard to launch themselves into contention or secure themselves as the front runner,

Here are five quarterbacks who could benefit the most from a strong performance.

Max Browne (USC)

With a new coaching staff in place, the quarterback competition is now open. With Max Wittek transferring, the battle will be between Browne and incumbent starter Cody Kessler. While Kessler played well down the stretch, Browne has all the tools to develop into an elite quarterback at the college level.

Browne redshirted this past season, as Lane Kiffin and Co. were on the hot seat, so they went with Kessler, a quarterback who understood the system better.

Will Grier (Florida)

An early enrollee, Grier has a great opportunity to come in, play well in the Spring ame and put himself in position to start for the Gators as a true freshman. Jeff Driskel played poorly last season, as eDraft's Derrik Klassen discussed last September, and is also recovering from a season-ending injury. After Driskel’s injury, Tyler Murphy had an opportunity to showcase his abilities, but didn’t do anything to convince the coaching staff that he could be the quarterback of the future. Since the coaching staff is on the hot seat, it’s hard to picture them going with a true freshman, but if Grier can prove he can run the offense, he may be the best quarterback for the job. 

Kenny Hill (Texas A&M)

With Johnny Manziel moving onto the NFL, the Aggies are now tasked with filling the void that he leaves, a task that will be easier said than done. Manziel was a superstar, a human highlight reel, and arguably the most exciting college football player of the generation. It will not be easy to find his replacement, but Texas A&M has three possibilities: Matt Joeckel, Hill, and incoming freshman Kyle Allen, one of the top recruits in the country.

Joeckel had the opportunity to play last season when Manziel was suspended for the first half of the Rice game, and performed well, and Allen was arguably the top quarterback of his recruiting class. Hill certainly has an uphill battle ahead of him, but unlike Joeckel and Allen, who will have the spotlight on them heading into the A&M Spring Game, he can fly under the radar then explode onto the scene with a strong performance and build up steam into fall camps.

Tyrone Swoopes (Texas)

Case McCoy has graduated. There is no guarantee that David Ash will be able to play again because of concussions. The quarterback job is Swoopes’ to lose. However, with four-star commit Jerrod Heard coming to campus, there will likely be a quarterback battle for the job. Swoopes has a huge opportunity to secure the job before Heard ever sets foot in Austin with a solid performance at the Spring Game.

DeShaun Watson (Clemson)

Watson was the top-ranked dual threat quarterback in this year’s recruiting class, so he will be given an opportunity to win the job, regardless of whether he enrolled early or not. By setting foot on campus early, Watson will have an opportunity to showcase his abilities in the Spring Game and win the starting quarterback role, now open with Tajh Boyd’s graduation. Boyd was a dual threat quarterback as well, so the offense is already tailored to that type of skillset, giving Watson an advantage over Cole Stoudt, his competitor for the job. A strong Spring Game can help all but  secure Watson the job before fall camp begins.