Shoulder pads popping. Whistles chirping. Coaches shouting.
After a one-year hiatus due to COVID-19, college football's spring practices are back as teams slowly begin to resume more normalcy amid the worldwide pandemic.
What hasn't changed since a year ago are the teams at the top of the sport's upper echelon -- Alabama, Clemson, Ohio State, Oklahoma and Georgia.
Even with the Crimson Tide, Tigers and Buckeyes needing new quarterbacks, those perennial powers aren't expected to slip much.
Here are the storylines, players and coaches to watch this spring:
Compelling storylines
1.