Position battles are a key part of spring practice. Players have 15 practices to make a case for themselves to win a starting job or set the stage for a competition that continues into the summer and fall training camp.

This week, we're looking at key position battles -- excluding quarterback -- for each SEC team. Here, we turn our attention to Arkansas, which begins spring practice on Tuesday:

Departed: Drew Morgan, Keon Hatcher, Cody Hollister, Dominique Reed.

Spring contenders: senior Jared Cornelius, sophomore Brandon Martin, sophomore La'Michael Pettway, sophomore Deon Stewart, sophomore T.J. Hammonds, redshirt freshman Kofi Boateng, redshirt freshman Jordan Jones, junior Jonathan Nance.

Summer contenders: true freshman Maleek Barkley, true freshman Jarrod Barnes, true freshman Koilan Jackson, true freshman Devion Warren.

The skinny: There are jobs to be had at receiver, with four of Arkansas' top-five receivers from 2016 now gone. Cornelius (32 catches last season) is the lone returning receiver with double-digit receptions to his credit and figures to be a starter at one receiver position.

The other starting job is up for grabs. Martin, an ESPN JC 50 signee who was country's top-ranked junior college receiver recruit, will have a good shot. He signed with LSU in 2015 before going the junior college route. He's big (6-foot-4, 215 pounds) and talented (was the No. 111 overall player in the 2015 ESPN 300).

Stewart and Pettway both logged playing time last season, but only sparingly (they appeared in 10 games but combined for only three catches). Both should be in the mix. Boateng and Jones redshirted last season. Nance is also a junior college transfer like Martin (and actually played with Martin at Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College) and should be in the mix as well.

One interesting possibility is Hammonds, a 2016 ESPN 300 signee who played running back last season as a true freshman but will get a look at receiver.