BC begins spring ball on Tuesday morning and while we know a lot about this team given how it handled itself with the TC situation a year ago, there's still a lot of questions.

Still in search of the program's first eight-win or more season since 2009, it's imperative the Eagles get over that hump. As I've said before, I believe this team can get to that mark, but the schedule is extremely difficult. I genuinely believe there's a lot of talent and depth, but it's also a lot of unproven talent and depth.

Here's five things I'll be watching closely over the next month inside Fish:

1. QB's

How does James handle his first bit of legit team activity as 'the guy?' Everyone here knows I've been a believer since last year's spring camp where I thought he thoroughly outplayed Castellanos at times. Is there further improvement? Immediate chemistry with guys like Bond, Skeete and Harris? I'm anticipating a huge year for that WR group, but that only happens if James has taken another step. We'll see a small sample size starting this week.

Everyone's intrigued by Dylan Lonergan and Shaker Reisig for obvious reasons too. I'm also curious who gets early backup reps.

2. Who's next up trying to replace Ezeirauku?

s this finally the year my guy Josiah Griffin gets the nod? He's been here for long enough now and continues to improve, we just need to see it more often. If it were up to me, he's the first guy getting that chance, but we'll see. I'm also interested to see who is up first and second in the middle with the loss of Horsley as well.

3. O-line configuration

Clearly, there's no point in talking ACC title contenders or anything like that if the line is a mess. The bad news is that you lost Ozzy and Drew. The good news is you still have plenty of experience in that room with Logan, Jude, Dwayne. Otto, Kevin and others. This is a big year for Matt Applebaum after giving a big (figurative) middle finger to all of his doublers and haters last season.

4. LB's

Bryce Steele, Jaylen Blackwell, Owen McGowan, recent scholarship recipient Juan Lazabal. It feels like you have a very capable, talented unit even before you go through the rest of the roster, but it's also a very unproven unit too. Spring ball is MASSIVE for this group in particular. The good thing is they've all been with DC Tim Lewis for a year-plus now, so hopefully they're able to hit the ground running on Tuesday. Health - some obviously much worse than others - with those three guys has been a concern, so I believe this team has to make sure they develop the depth guys so you're not running into the same problems the program has been at this position for what seems like 20 years.

5. Special teams and new guys

w Biggest issue last year and it wasn't even close. Does this team have a punter? Is Andy Quinn the answer at kicker? Who pushes him for the job? Who are the return guys? All important questions that need to be answered.

I mentioned Lonergan and Reisig earlier, but there's a whole group of new faces none of us really know much about, Looking forward to seeing if any of these guys stand out early.

I'll have updates from each of the 15 practices barring any scheduling issues with my other jobs. Really looking forward to it, this is where guys like James and Harris shined last season. Veterans may not need spring ball, but for the younger less-experienced talent, this next month needs to be treated like training camp.

Job interviews begin Tuesday for all of them.