The Tulsa football program is in the midst of spring practice, and the Hurricane has a new coach leading the quarterback room. Unfortunately, the QB position isn't currently at full strength.

While Kirk Francis -- who threw for 967 yards and 6 touchdowns in four games as a true freshman last season -- is getting plenty of work this spring, Cardell Williams -- who threw for 1,149 yards and 10 TDs in 2023 -- is out due to injury.

"(Kirk’s) doing good. And, we have a signee that's not here," said Tulsa head coach Kevin Wilson. "And then Cardell, he had an injury they thought would heal. And it didn't. So they went in and did a little cleanup deal, so he's gonna miss probably the bulk of spring.

"We took a chance. Because it's best not to operate. But it just, every time he threw, it just didn't feel right to him. So Cardell is now missing some of the competitions – it’s a little bit more just Kirk’s world right now."

Wilson was hoping to watch Francis and Williams compete during the spring session after both had promising moments last season.

"My whole thing was I thought Kirk did well, I actually thought Cardell showed a lot of good flashes," said Wilson. "I wanted to have a really good spring, really good summer. Let the two guys battle it out, develop some depth, develop the quarterback room -- that will be Coach Dennis’ charge now that he's here to keep that going."

Coach Dennis is former Ohio State QB coach Corey Dennis. He was announced as Tulsa's new passing game coordinator and quarterback coach on March 5.

"We are fortunate to add Corey Dennis to our coaching staff," Wilson said. "I had the opportunity to work with Corey for six years at Ohio State and know him very well, personally and professionally. Corey is the guy I pursued as the best coach to join our staff.