Editor’s note: A previous version of this article said that Travis Jonsen was a red shirt sophomore. 
Oregon football took the field Tuesday for the first of 15 spring practices allowed in preparation for its April 30 spring game. The Ducks will practice three times per week over the next five weeks.
Oregon is coming off its worst regular season since 2007 — a 9-4 campaign that ended with a disastrous loss to TCU in the Alamo Bowl.
It finished outside of the AP top 10 for the first time since 2009, and many preseason polls have predicted that the Ducks will start the 2016 season ranked in the 15-20 range. 
Here are some major story lines to follow as the season approaches.
— For the second year in a row ,Oregon looked to the FCS ranks in search of a signal caller. The Ducks added former Montana State quarterback Dakota Prukop in December, and the graduate transfer senior is already on campus and enrolled in classes at Oregon. Prukop will attempt to make the Big Sky-to-Pac-12 jump just as Vernon Adams Jr. did last year for the Ducks. Prukop will have the added benefit of participating in spring ball, familiarizing himself earlier with Oregon’s offense. Adams was one of the most efficient quarterbacks in the country when healthy, and if Prukop is able to deliver a similar performance over a full season, Oregon will be in good shape.
The starting quarterback position is by no means already decided, but Prukop is certainly the front-runner at this point. He has the athleticism required to succeed in Oregon’s system, and he has been working with quarterback guru George Whitfield of late to refine his footwork. Also in contention will be redshirt freshman Travis Jonsen, redshirt senior Jeff Lockie and redshirt junior Taylor Alie.
— Oregon boasted one of the top wide receiver groups in the country last season, and it may be just as deep at the position this season — even with the departure of seniors Bralon Addison and Byron Marshall.  The starting outside receiver positions will likely be locked down by redshirt junior Darren Carrington and redshirt senior Dwayne Stanford, but there are plenty of reps up for grabs at the inside receiver spot.
— DeForest Buckner spent the 2015 season terrorizing Pac-12 offenses and delivered one of the best seasons by a defensive player in Oregon history. The All-American Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year’s departure leaves an enormous hole on the Oregon defensive front.  Buckner is one of seven departing Oregon players who held a starting spot on the front seven at some point last season, and the Ducks will infuse an entirely new starting defensive front this year. Torrodney Prevot is the Ducks’ lead returning tackler, and Henry Mondeaux had four sacks last year. Both will play key roles in revitalizing Oregon’s defense this year as the Ducks adjust to playing Brady Hoke’s 4-3 defense.
— Speaking of Hoke, his addition to the Oregon program may prove to either make or break Oregon’s season. Although Hoke was the head coach at several major programs before landing at Oregon, this is his first stint as a defensive coordinator. Hoke is scrapping the 3-4 defense that Oregon has used since 2008 and instead installing a 4-3 look that will use four down lineman and three linebackers. Oregon ranked 116th in the nation in total defense last season, and Hoke’s new scheme should provide a fresh approach.
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