BOWLING GREEN — As the Bowling Green State University football team opens spring practice there are plenty of storylines that will play out over the next month and leading into fall camp.

RELATED: BG football looks to put 2017 in rear-view mirror

Here are three reasons to pay attention to Bowling Green spring practices:

1) To see what will the Falcons defense look like this year: Obviously BG hopes to be better than last season, when it surrendered an average of 506.6 yards (worst in the Mid-American Conference) and 38.0 points (11th in the 12-team league) per game. Head coach Mike Jinks hired a new defensive coordinator, former Nebraska DC Carl Pelini, as well as four other new defensive assistant coaches. They will have seven returning starters and 23 letter winners from last season to work with, but the only member of that group to earn All-MAC honors was safety Jamari Bozeman in 2016. How the D comes together will be a key for 2018.

2) To learn if the BG offensive line be pieced back together: Last season injuries hamstrung the Falcons late in the season, but what was a problem in 2017 is a plus in 2018 as the injuries gave younger players such as sophomores Caleb Bright, Tim Blair, and Joe Ware game experience. Bowling Green lost two starters to graduation, but if returnees such as senior Austin Labus as well as juniors Jack Kramer and Lorenzo Taborn are solid, the Falcons can start rebuilding depth at that position. Opportunities for increased playing time also exist for senior John Kurtz, junior Matt Tanner and redshirt freshmen such as Zach Dziengelewski (a Swanton native), Derek Downs, and Sam Neverov.

3) To find out if the Falcons can show progress as a team in 2018: BG fans were crying with the slippage to a 4-8 record in 2016, and they were howling when last year’s team posted a 2-10 mark. The nonconference schedule will again be a challenge thanks to three games against Power Five opponents, including a home game against Maryland as well as road contests at Oregon and Georgia Tech. But the Falcons must show forward movement this season, whether that improvement is in closer losses or outright victories — especially in MAC play — or the noise will become deafening.

Contact John Wagner at jwagner@theblade.com, 419-724-6481, or on Twitter @jwagnerblade.

First Published March 20, 2018, 8:20 p.m.