Spring preview series ($): Position battles | Breakout players, defense | Breakout players, offense

More: Spring football schedule | Look back at 2017 season

Analysis ($): Projected spring two-deep

Purdue enters spring football practice next week with questions, following its first winning season since 2011.

Jeff Brohm's first season was defined by its stifling defense, under co-coordinators Nick Holt and Anthony Poindexter, and its creative offensive play-calling on a unit that utilized two quarterbacks.

Those elements — the defense, the offensive play-calling and who is running that unit — will be interesting to watch this spring.

Which position battles could shape up to be most important? Which players could break out, given a wealth of opportunities with departures after the season? Which young players may rise this spring? What are the biggest questions for the spring?

In our spring preview series, we will offer thoughts on each topic.