The college football spring game schedule kicked off in earnest last weekend with 13 Power Five teams hosting their annual events.

While spring games are hardly benchmarks for future successes – it remains a glorified scrimmage – there are certainly things to be learned from these out-of-season contests. With teams such as Clemson, Florida State and Oklahoma in action Saturday, these are the things we’re taking away from the weekend’s spring game slate.

Ole Miss – The Rebels are just fine at WR

There are a lot of question marks surrounding Ole Miss in 2017, but one thing is for sure: Shea Patterson does not lack for targets. The Rebels may have lost three of their top four pass catchers this offseason, but that didn't matter Saturday.

A.J. Brown reeled in 133 yards on five catches, Van Jefferson had six catches for 126 yards, while the speedy D.K. Metcalf had four receptions for 98 yards. All three are sophomores like Patterson, and they, along with talents like Markell Pack and Damarkus Lodge, make for a dangerous receiving unit. Ole Miss has always thrown the ball well under Hugh Freeze, and it doesn't look like that'll change in 2017.

TCU – Defensive line might be a strength

Most will talk about the offense, or the lack thereof, coming out of TCU's spring game as total points (6) just clipped total turnovers (5). But the most important thing to come out of the scrimmage was the production of the defensive line. TCU’s leading pass rushers from a year ago, Josh Carraway and Aaron Curry, both graduated leaving a void of 20 tackles for loss and 13.5 sacks. Fortunately for the Horned Frogs, returners like Mat Boesen caused havoc as did ULM transfer Benjamin Banogu. Depth is a plus for TCU along the defensive line, and that was on full display Saturday.

Also, TCU's offensive struggles are a little easier to understand when you note five wide receivers and the team’s leading rusher (Kyle Hicks) were out for the game.

Florida - Feleipe Franks is the Gators' QB

Franks entered the spring as Florida's quarterback of the future. Friday night during Florida's spring game, he emerged as the signal caller of the present.

Franks, who played with the starters for the entire first half, finished the day 8-of-14 for 119 yards and a touchdown. Head coach Jim McElwain said of Franks: "I think he's ahead [of Kyle Trask and Luke Del Rio], there's no doubt about it."

Incumbent Del Rio will return later this offseason to compete for his spot, though he failed to impress a year ago, and the Gators are still pursuing possible graduate transfer options (here's the latest on the Gators and Malik Zaire) but, at least for now, there is a clear leader in Florida's quarterback battle.

Purdue – Jeff Brohm gets creative

There was a lot to take away from Purdue’s spring game, Brohm’s first with the Boilermakers, but none of that is as entertaining as this play.

Purdue spring game. Put this one in the why didn't I think of that category. A by design fake flea flicker pic.twitter.com/uwIS0BphTh — Anthony White (@AWhite_73) April 8, 2017

Yep, that’s a fake flea flicker a mere 22 seconds in. The play is both hilarious and devious, and it worked to perfection. Teams don’t usually show much during these scrimmages, but kudos to Purdue for this April gem.

Auburn – Jarrett Stidham looks great

It’s been more than a year since Jarrett Stidham last took a live action snap, but that didn’t seem to bother the Baylor transfer Saturday. Stidham finished 16-of-20 for 267 yards with the Tigers scoring on five of the six drives he led.

Sean White – who missed the spring game recovering from a broken arm he suffered in the Sugar Bowl – might be the incumbent, but there is little doubt who will be Auburn's starter next year. The Tigers went out and got Stidham, a former five-star prospect, for a reason.

Oklahoma – There is depth at RB

It will be impossible to replace the production of the departed Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon (2,334 yards, 22 TDs), but the spring game showed the Sooners will not be short on options at running back. Sophomores Abdul Adams and Rodney Anderson are certainly intriguing options with their experience in the program, but it was a pair of newcomers (freshman Trey Sermon and JUCO transfer Marcelias Sutton) who impressed most.

Sermon, a powerful runner in the Perine mold, finished the day with 63 yards on 10 carries and the game’s first touchdown, while Sutton – who runs a legit sub 4.4 40 – ran for 73 yards on 13 carries.

Also of note: Kyler Murray isn’t likely to play next season with Baker Mayfield back for his senior year, but Murray flashed during the spring game with a 9-of-13, 144-yard performance. The Sooners might have to find a package to get him on the field. Equally as impressive, Murray did so a day after the Sooners took on the Longhorns in baseball. Murray flew from Austin to Norman on Saturday morning for the spring game. He then flew back to Austin on Saturday evening to make Oklahoma's Sunday rubber match with Texas.

Texas A&M – Quarterback is a big question mark

Spring games often create separation when it comes to position battles, but that wasn't the case for the Aggies in their search for a starting quarterback.

Redshirt freshman Nick Starkel got the most run Saturday, but his play plummeted after starting the day 3-of-3 for 56 yards and a touchdown. Starkel finished the afternoon 10-of-27 for 174 yards, and his accuracy was a big cause for concern. True freshman Kellen Mond struggled, too, finishing 4-of-12 for 114 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. He wasn’t really allowed to scramble – his strength – but he had major consistency issues.

Senior Jake Hubenak finished the day 8-of-13 for 47 yards. That looks like the best stat line of the group, but it was also decidedly average.

Iowa State – Quarterbacks can indeed play LB

Joel Lanning has played in 22 games the past two seasons for Iowa State at quarterback. He’ll play next season, too, except this time he’ll likely be the team’s starting middle linebacker. That’s right, the most interesting transition of the college football offseason is taking place in Ames. Thus far, the returns are impressive.

Lanning recorded four tackles and an interception (the most impressive play of the day for the Cyclones) during the spring game, and he very much looked the part of a middle linebacker. Quarterbacks beware next season; this former signal caller is on the hunt.

Clemson – No definite answer at QB

Dabo Swinney ended the spring the same way he started it – saying Kelly Bryant would replace Deshaun Watson at quarterback if the season started today. But other than that statement in favor of the rising junior, formerly Watson’s backup, not much is clear for the Tigers at quarterback.

Bryant actually ended the game with his finger in a splint, while freshmen Zerrick Cooper and Hunter Johnson took some lumps.

"Zerrick and Hunter have had some really good days [this spring]," Swinney said, "and they've had some inconsistent days. Both are learning, growing every day. They'll take that into the summer, and by the time we get to fall, you'll see the transformation."

Florida State – Cam Akers was the offensive MVP

247Sports ranked Cam Akers the country’s No. 1 overall running back in the 2017 class for a reason, and he showed that Saturday, rushing for 87 yards on 10 carries to go along with two receptions for 15 yards. The true freshman hasn’t even been in Tallahassee for a whole semester yet, but he very much looks the part of a future star.

Expect Akers to be a large part of the Seminole offense next season.

North Carolina – Brandon Harris might have competition at QB

LSU transfer Brandon Harris wasn’t available to North Carolina this spring, but he might get pushed a bit when he arrives later this year. Harris is considered the leader in the race to replace Mitch Trubisky, but two signal callers impressed during the spring game Saturday.

Sophomore Nathan Elliott, Trubisky’s backup last year, finished the day 8-of-12 for 213 yards and three touchdowns, while redshirt freshman Chazz Surratt, a former four-star recruit, went 5-of-14 for 90 yards. One Tar Heel, linebacker Andre Smith, even compared Surratt to Lamar Jackson.

North Carolina went after Harris hard for a reason, but Saturday’s spring game showed Harris won't be able to just walk into Chapel Hill and start.

Wake Forest – The offense is closing the gap

Wake Forest made the jump from 3-9 to 7-6 in Dave Clawson’s third season, and a big reason for that was the play of the defense. The Demon Deacons defense finished 23rd nationally a year ago, surrendering just 22.2 points per game. So what held Wake Forest to just seven wins? That would be an offense that finished 118th nationally at just 20.4 points per game.

The Demon Deacons failed to crack the 16-point barrier in each of their six losses last year. So when the offense won an offense vs. defense spring game, 43-24, it was considered a sign of progress for Clawson.

“I think overall there was a huge gap between the offense and the defense and I think that gap is starting to get closed a little bit,” Clawson said.

Mississippi State – Secondary play should be better

Mississippi State finished last in the SEC and 120th nationally a year ago in passing defense, but Saturday’s spring game showed the unit should make strides in 2017.

Defensive back Cameron Dantzler redshirted last year as a true freshman due to an ankle injury, and he made up for lost time Saturday with two interceptions (both of which came against Nick Fitzgerald) and a tackle for loss. At 6-foot-3, the former wide receiver has both the speed and length to be a standout at corner. Brian Cole, a JUCO transfer, added an interception at safety, while another JUCO transfer, Johnathan Abram, added four tackles, many of which were booming hits.

The Bulldogs lacked depth in the secondary a year ago, but with newcomers like Dantzler improving depth, they should be much better defending the pass this upcoming season.