Baylor is the first Big 12 team to get spring ball rolling when it hits the practice field Thursday afternoon. Here’s a preview of what to look for from the Bears this spring.

Offensive returner ready to take next step: WR Ishmael Zamora. He was only targeted by Seth Russell three times last season as a redshirt freshman but was a favorite of Jarrett Stidham (seven catches on eight targets 102 yards, two scores). He should take over this season in the Jay Lee role as Baylor’s big man outside who, at 6-foot-4 and 220 pounds, can go up and get it. He’ll beat you with 4.47 40-speed after the catch, too.

Defensive returner ready to take the next step: LB Aiavion Edwards. He played his tail off in the Bears’ Russell Athletic Bowl win over North Carolina with 17 tackles, a sack and a forced fumble. Edwards goes into his senior year with seven career starts and a good chance to take over as a full-time starter next to Taylor Young and establish himself as a consistent difference-maker.

Redshirt freshman to watch: Only two members of Baylor’s 2015 class saw the field last season (Stidham and punter Drew Galitz), which is pretty remarkable. Redshirting everyone else is a real luxury, and most of those signees won’t have to play huge roles in 2016. Second-year guys like RB Ja’Mycal Hasty and WR Blake Lynch could move up the depth chart, but there are a lot of experienced players ahead of them and their best opportunities might come in the second half of blowout wins.

Most significant position battle: The left tackle job that Spencer Drango held down for 48 games is a pretty important one. It’s hard to tell whether there will be much of a battle here, since Mo Porter does looks like the favorite. He was ESPN’s No. 3-rated junior college offensive tackle recruit in 2015 and got to spend a redshirt year learning from Drango. At 6-foot-6 and 330 pounds, he’s certainly going to look the part if he’s indeed able to win the critical job.

Key midterm enrollee: It’s hard to believe DT Jeremy Faulk was once a no-star recruit who spent two years at FAU. He’s grown into a 6-foot-1, 295-pound monster who racked up 87 tackles, 18.5 tackles for loss and All-America honors in his lone season at Garden City C.C. Getting into Baylor’s strength program this winter should help Faulk continue to blossom, presumably becoming the Bears’ starting nose tackle right away.

Question that could be answered: We’ll get a better sense of how Russell is coming along from a health-and-recovery standpoint during the spring. Less than four months have passed since Russell’s season-ending neck surgery. He hasn’t been cleared for full-contact workouts yet, and Baylor will certainly be cautious about easing Russell back into action. We’ll see what Art Briles has to say regarding Russell’s updated recovery timeline and his own expectations for when the senior QB will be OK to play.

Question that won't be answered until fall: Yes, we’ve hit on the issue of Baylor’s rebuilt offensive and defensive lines repeatedly this offseason. It’s pretty important. The staff typically puts out a post-spring depth chart, so we’ll have a good idea of who the frontrunners are to start this season. But we won’t really know how those units will gel -- or how dominant they can become -- until they get rolling full-speed in fall practice and non-conference play.