Pac-12 Spotlight: Five preseason storylines to follow

The Pac-12 has a lot of interesting storylines heading into this football season, from a Heisman race between two quarterbacks in Los Angeles, to new coaches taking over proud programs and many more. Here is a look at five of the most interesting ones as fall camp heats up.

RELATED: Big Ten storylines | SEC | ACC

An intriguing quarterback triumvirate has emerged in the Pac-12 this season. Even though most of the talk revolves around USC’s Sam Darnold and UCLA’s Josh Rosen, let’s not forget it was Washington’s Jake Browning, who led the Huskies to the College Football Playoff last season.

Still, the NFL has its eyes on the Darnold/Rosen matchup and so will everyone else who follows Pac-12 football. The Trojans could be one of the nation’s best teams and the debate should rage – especially if Rosen returns to form after an injury sidelined him last season and Darnold continues to dominate the conference – which quarterback should be taken first in the NFL Draft. If things go really well for both, a Heisman Trophy battle could be waged out West and we could be talking about the first overall pick in the draft if all things come together.

Washington made it to the College Football Playoff a year ago before succumbing to Alabama and USC brushed off a slow start to defeat Penn State in the Rose Bowl. That sets up nicely not only for a burgeoning Pac-12 rivalry between the Trojans and the Huskies but a chance for one of those squads to make it to college football’s Final Four.

No one seems to be betting against Darnold, the USC quarterback who can do no wrong, although he does have young receivers. Browning and the Huskies should have the firepower to compete with any team, although there are significant replacements needed for Kevin King, Sidney Jones and Budda Baker on defense and John Ross on offense. USC and Washington don’t meet in the regular season, so a conference championship showdown might be in order.

A lot of chatter around the Pac-12 is just how well Oregon first-year coach Willie Taggart is doing on the recruiting trail. People are taking notice as the Ducks have jumped to No. 1 in the conference, with the fifth-best class nationally behind Miami, Ohio State, Penn State and Tennessee. That’s better than Washington, which was in the College Football Playoff, and USC, the Rose Bowl champs, along with every other team in the Pac-12.

Taggart and his staff have already dipped into Texas for two four-stars, Florida for two other four-stars, North Carolina for a four-star running back and the Ducks are doing really well in California and the Pacific Northwest as well. Let’s also not forget that 2019 five-star WR Arjei Henderson from Richmond (Texas) Travis has already pledged to Oregon. Taggart hasn’t coached a game in Eugene yet, but he’s got a lot of people fired up about the program’s direction.

UCLA went a disappointing 4-8 last season and it was ugly at times in Westwood, but there’s reason for hope thanks to Mr. Rosen. The former five-star quarterback is back with the Bruins, possibly for his third and final season, and he seems more motivated than ever to turn things around and point UCLA in the right direction.

Rosen has plenty of talent in the backfield and enough at wide receiver. And then there are uber-talented freshmen Darnay Holmes and Jaelan Phillips who could make UCLA’s defense something special. All the talk is about USC and Washington being the cream of the crop in the Pac-12 and rightfully so. Even though UCLA’s schedule is challenging with Texas A&M in the season-opener and then road tests at Stanford, Washington, Utah and USC, the Bruins won’t have it easy, but they do have plenty of talent to do something special this season.

There are two new coaches in the Pac-12 this season and a few on the hot seat as well but the focus here is on Taggart and Cal’s Justin Wilcox, who inherit different situations with admittedly different expectations.

Wilcox interestingly said at Pac-12 Football Media Days that he and the new coaching staff hardly watched last year’s game tapes because they’re implementing a new system. A fresh start might be what the doctor ordered in Berkeley. Wilcox is a defensive-minded coach and that’s what Cal desperately needs. Its offense is just fine – if a quarterback emerges.

Taggart has done incredibly well on the recruiting trail but let’s see how it all turns out on the field. He has losing records at both Western Kentucky and USF, but has shown his ability to turn around moribund programs into winners. Can he do it with the Ducks – and quickly?