Louisiana Tech will hold its first of 15 spring practices on Tuesday afternoon.

The gridiron version of the Sonny Cumbie era is set to officially begin with plenty of excitement surrounding the program.

Let's take a look at 5 questions that Sonny Cumbie and Co. will be looking to answer this spring.

1 -- Who emerges in the race to be the starting quarterback?

You knew this was going to be one of the key storylines this spring, didn't you? The quarterback position is always polarizing. Always.

Matthew Downing, Parker McNeil, Caleb Holstein, Andrew Brister and Landry Lyddy will battle it out to be QB1 this spring. Luke Anthony is still on the shelf with the lower leg injury that he suffered against TCU in December of 2020.

Downing has 44 career pass attempts at the FBS level. McNeil has 2. Holstein, Brister and Lyddy have combined for 0 career attempts.

Needless to say, there isn't a whole lot of experience for Sonny Cumbie to work with, but he did bring in Downing (TCU) and McNeil (Texas Tech) as transfers this off-season to ramp up the competition.

Lyddy was signed in the 2022 recruiting class and enrolled early this spring.

Who steps to the front and takes command of the job entering the summer? Time will tell, but it will be a fun battle to follow over the next 5 weeks.

2 -- Can the offensive tackles hold up in pass protection?

It's no secret that Louisiana Tech has struggled to protect its quarterback in the passing game the last 2 seasons.

The Bulldogs allowed 148 quarterback pressures and 28 sacks in 2021.

Nathan Young will be tasked with raising the play of the offensive line, particularly the tackles if Tech is going to light up the scoreboard in 2022.

Dakota White and Biron Rossell are back at offensive tackle after combining to play 994 snaps a season ago.

DeMarcus Gordon, Carson Bruno, Erron Bean, and Kenneth Bannister were signed in the 2021 recruiting cycle and will need to provide solid contributions in 2022.

Elijah Bowser (Navarro JC) and Brett Canis (Texas Tech) were added in the off-season to provide additional competition this spring.

There will be upwards of 8-10 guys fighting for a spot in the two-deep at offensive tackle this spring. May the best man win.

3 -- Tyler Grubbs, Maki Carabin and Allen Walker return at linebacker, is there enough depth?

Tyler Grubbs has 196 tackles and 19.5 TFL in his first two seasons at LA Tech. He's back for 2022.

Maki Carabin has 67 tackles in three seasons at LA Tech. He's back for 2022.

Allen Walker has 23 tackles in three seasons at LA Tech. He's back for 2022.

Beyond those three, there isn't much depth at LB for the 'Dogs.

Hugh Davis was brought in from Boston College to play a role. We'll see how the 5'11, 220-pounder looks this spring.

Tech desperately needs a guy or two step up this spring at linebacker.

4 -- With the additions of Myles Brooks and Willie Roberts, is it possible the secondary is a strength?

Myles Brooks and Willie Roberts enjoyed standout careers at Stephen F. Austin before transferring to LA Tech this spring.

The duo combined for 137 tackles, 12 INTs and 38 PBUs during their time in Nacogdoches. Both Brooks and Roberts have two years of eligibility remaining.

Who returns in the secondary for the Bulldogs in 2022?

Beejay Williamson, Jaiden Cole and Myles Mason all return at safety.

Williamson was an All-CUSA selection in 2020 but had an up and down year in 2021 with 52 tackles, 3 INTs & 2 PBUs.

Cole had 48 tackles and 2 INTs while playing a career-high 554 snaps across 11 games.

Mason was limited to only 7 games due to injury after transferring in from Arkansas last off-season.

All three players could potentially start in DC Scott Power's attacking defense in 2022.

Cedric Woods is the lone corner that returns with experience. Woods had 31 tackles and 7 PBUs as a 2nd-year player in 2021.

Beyond the four returners and two newcomers, Scott Power will be looking for some guys to step up this spring.

Brodrick Calhoun and Dallas Taylor-Cortez are two older guys at cornerback that need to step up.

If the Bulldogs don't get answers to some of its questions on the back end this spring, it wouldn't be a huge shock to see Power look towards the transfer portal this summer for additional help.

5 -- Outside of Jacob Barnes at kicker, what does things look like on special teams for the 'Dogs?

Jacob Barnes is 29/35 (83%) over his two years as the place kicker at Louisiana Tech. Barnes is back for 2022 and expected handle the place kicking duties once again.

Who will kickoff? Who will punt? Those are questions that Special Teams Coordinator Dan Sharp will be looking to answer this spring.

Buck Buchanan and Patrick Rea were both signed in the 2022 recruiting cycle to possibly fill these roles.

Buchanan will not enroll until this summer, but Rea is expected to participate in spring practice.

Austin McCready, Arlind Bengu and Caleb Phillips will also be competing for roles this spring as well.

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