As the glow of a Rose Bowl victory begins to fade, the Oregon football team returns to practice today as a new season begins in earnest. There are new faces — three early-enrollee freshmen, including prep standout Arik Armstead — and freshly eroded holes to fill at crucial positions. As befits the season, it is a time of opportunity for many young players and potentially a crucial juncture for the program after the departures of LaMichael James and Darron Thomas.

Fans and media won’t be watching, as practices have been closed to the public, but Kelly and his coaching staff certainly will be. It all culminates with the annual Spring Game at month’s end, but for now, the daily practice grind consumes players’ lives. As Kelly stressed in a teleconference last week, jobs are neither won nor lost during the spring — it is just the first in a long series of evaluations about potential and production.

“It’s our first chance to get back and start doing football with them,” Kelly said. “And our expectations are the same: just improvement in every aspect of what they’re doing. That’s what we’re looking forward to and getting excited to get back out there and play some football.”

Of foremost concern heading into spring drills, of course, is the quarterback situation. Though sophomore Bryan Bennett is presumed to be the frontrunner after impressing in limited playing time last season, by no means is the competition over. Redshirt freshman Marcus Mariota is also in the running, and 2012 recruit Jake Rodrigues is among the three early enrollees participating in spring practice. For now, Kelly and his staff are focused on giving each player a fair shake.

“Everything’s wide open, doesn’t matter what position you play on our team,” Kelly said. “It’s always been that way, since day one, and it’ll always be that way. Our program’s founded on competition, so we don’t go in saying who’s what at every position.

Where Bennett is a known commodity with game-breaking speed and a strong arm, Mariota and Rodrigues are relative mysteries in the eyes of many. Kelly, for his part, watched Mariota in practice throughout the 2011 season and saw considerable growth throughout.

“He improved everywhere, and that’s the key,” Kelly said.  ”There’s never one thing, and it’s never, no matter who you are, ‘Hey if he does this thing a little bit better, we’re going to be OK.’ There’s got to be improvement in everything. There’s got to be improvement of his defensive recognition, there’s got to be improvement in his footwork, got to be improvement in his ball-handling, got to be improvement in his decision-making.

“And that’s the one thing we were real excited about with him. Each week you could see him starting to grasp things.”

Of considerably less doubt is the status of running back Kenjon Barner, who is set to step in as starter in James’ place. Freshman Tra Carson’s departure and De’Anthony Thomas’ evolution into more of a slot receiver leaves the backup spot wide open, though, which could be problematic should Barner suffer any sort of injury.

“You never know how it’s going to play out, but I know Kenjon is capable of being a 25-carry guy if need be,” Kelly said. “It always helps that you have depth there, and we’ve been fortunate to have at least two guys, and sometimes three, and sometimes four that can do it.”

That may not be the case this time around, but Kelly is unequivocal in his belief in Barner.

“He’s going to be one of the top running backs in the country,” Kelly said.

Elsewhere, David Paulson’s departure leaves the starting tight end slot open for Colt Lyerla, who impressed in his freshman season both on offense and as a special teams gunner. Incoming freshman tight end Evan Baylis, a four-star Rivals.com recruit out of Colorado, enrolled early and will look to make his mark as a potential backup.

Spots at linebacker, wide receiver and defensive line are also there for the taking, and that’s part of what makes this such an exciting time of the year for Kelly.

“It is a new year, it’s a new time, and that’s the exciting part,” Kelly said. “There’s pieces to the puzzle that will be new, and it’s exciting to see how those guys will fit in.”