There will be a number of storylines to keep in mind when Georgia opens spring practice today. To name a few: Who will ultimately emerge—and at what position—as the Bulldogs’ starters along the offensive line? What will be the team’s running back rotation? Who will claim the two cornerback spots?

For comparison sake, and listed in chronological order, UGASports has come up with our opinion of some of the top spring storylines/anecdotes in Georgia football history—all of them arising during the first couple of spring practices.

1901: After extensive research, we believe Georgia began practicing in the spring as early as 1901. Billy Reynolds, the Red and Black’s eighth head coach in only the school’s tenth year of playing organized football, felt that practicing football as early as possible was a “necessity.” Reynolds taught his team a few fundamentals to open up the spring session of 1901, including not to “run away with the idea that the best kicker will always be placed at fullback,” and “for God’s sake, keep politics out of athletics.”

1914: Believing his team would need extra work entering the spring because of the departure of legendary halfback Bob McWhorter, head coach Alex Cunningham took full advantage of the preseason period. However, for those players who still needed "to learn the game,” they were instructed merely in "forward passing, falling on the ball, punting, and the receiving of punts." The far-from-stringent practices featured "no tackling, no charging nor scrimmaging."

Compared to today's standards, Cunningham might have taken it easy on his team during the spring of 1914. Regardless, the innovative coach was undoubtedly effective as he remains one of the most valuable figures (and perhaps the most underappreciated) in Georgia football history. Whereas the first 18 seasons of Georgia football witnessed 14 different head coaches and endured 11 non-winning seasons, Cunningham's stay at UGA lasted a full decade and suffered just one losing campaign.

1923: By the early 1920s, the Georgia football program was considered one of the South’s best. Still, first-year head coach George “Kid” Woodruff, who'd been part of Georgia football’s successful foundation during the early 1910s as a player, was not overly impressed. Just before his first spring practice, Woodruff not only informed his squad that “all fundamentals” of football would be engaged, but the head coach went even further, delivering an open-tryout request to the UGA student body: “Come one, come all. No matter how green, how small, you will be welcomed.”

1942: Following the first spring practice of 1942 in early February, the Georgia team was celebrated with a barbecue dinner organized by R. E. Poss, “Clarke County’s king of barbecue.” During the festivities, there was the curious comment that Spec Towns won the “eating title.” Reportedly, the slender UGA head track coach and assistant football coach ate three pounds of pork, one pound of lamb, and three quarts of hash—and that didn’t include all of the “tomatoes, slaw and bread” he consumed.

1963: The first day of spring practice in 1963 was an omen of sorts for Johnny Griffith and what would be his final season as Georgia’s head coach. Reportedly, Griffith had “nothing but disgust” for the play of his first team—so much so, he made the first unit scrimmage an extra hour following practice, against the team’s fourth unit. After the scrimmage, an incensed Griffith refused to talk with the media. This left assistant coach John Gregory to sum up the performance of the Bulldogs’ first team: “It was just like the upsets you see during the season, when one team rests on its—to be polite—laurels.”

1971: When spring practice of 1971 opened, Georgia’s inspirational defensive coordinator Erk Russell was spotted wearing a t-shirt reading “New Life, Work Harder” printed across the front. Onlookers assumed it was Russell’s way of motivating a squad coming off 5-5-1 and 5-5 records the previous two seasons. Instead, “That [shirt] was something I had left over from last year,” Russell said to the contrary following practice. “I guess it still applies, though, doesn’t it?”

1981: It has long been believed that quarterback Eric Zeier, coming off a phenomenal high school career in 1991, was the first Georgia player to do what is now commonplace: enroll early in college in order to participate in football for spring practice. However, the Bulldogs’ first early enrollee was more likely from a decade before, resulting when Georgia had just lost their All-American placekicker Rex Robinson to the NFL. The Bulldogs asked Robinson’s assumed replacement, Kevin Butler, from Redan High School, to enroll early the spring before his freshman year. Problem was that Butler was also a standout high school soccer player. Nevertheless, having played in just six games for Redan’s soccer team that winter and spring, he enrolled early at UGA. There, Butler was fittingly met by Robinson, who offered some advice on the in-game pressure of placekicking: “Rex told me this spring to . . . concentrate on just kicking the ball [during games] like you would in practice,” Butler said.

1996-1997: With the arrival of head coach Jim Donnan in 1996 came defensive backs coach Greg Williams, who was seemingly always quick with a quip for the media during spring practice. The first spring, Williams was asked about junior safety Armin Love who, after starting nine games the season before, had entered the spring fourth on the depth chart. Yet, after only a practice or two, Love had demonstrated some improvement. "Armin was in the doghouse,” Williams said. “But he got in a Corvette and drove it right out of there."

A year later in 1997, Williams was asked about the progress of sophomore Earl Chambers, a former quarterback-turned- wide receiver hoping to challenge for the starting strong safety job once he adapted to the secondary. "Earl's not used to wrapping his arms up on tackles," Williams said. "I don't know if he's got a girlfriend. If he doesn't, we may have to get him one so he can learn to wrap up."

2014: When Georgia opened spring practice seven years ago, on March 18, 2014, it seemed as if assistant coach Jeremy Pruitt, with his animated fashion, stole the show. In a limited viewing session, the media witnessed the first-year defensive coordinator throw his hat, shout “put your hands on him like you mean it,” scream “explode through him,” and there was even a threat of, “if you don’t like it, get out” (and there were plenty of others we cannot publish). It was somewhat of a far cry from what had been the norm under conservative Mark Richt. Speaking of which, when later asked about Pruitt’s animated style, the Georgia head coach simply responded, “Yeah, Jeremy, he’ll get after it.”