I’m kind of curious as to what college football fanatics, which I have reason to believe many of you are, think of the list posted today by Worlwide Leader.com blogger Bruce Feldman and his “To Catch a Predator”-style mugshot (below) on the biggest myths of spring football.

Hot on the heels of the buzzworthy spring performers and all of the other spring football hype that we gladly shovel this time of year, this week’s list is about trying to stick a needle in all of that stuff:

1. “The Spring Game matters.” It only really is relevant if one of your starters suffers a season-ending injury. Otherwise it’s a good gauge to measure just how much your fan base cares and little else since coaches are petrified about showing off anything new to give their opponents something to start preparing early for.

2. “Doubts get erased.” Even seeing how an established starter meshing with a new position coach or coordinator’s scheme is very speculative since they really aren’t facing live bullets. Most coaches prefer to create favorable, “user-friendly” surroundings to foster confidence in their players. What it rarely does is foster much confidence in the coaching staff.

3. “You can win a starting job.” In most cases the guys who come out gangbusters in the spring fade. Or as one source put it: “What it generally does is let the more talented player know what the competition level is and what he needs to do in offseason to secure job.” Even if coaches annoint a starting QB out of a four-man race, it’s still sketchy. The thinking is usually they want to designate one guy as a leader of the offense to orchestrate summer 7-on-7 drills, but if that starting QB struggles in two-a-days, it’s back on the pile for him.

4. “We’ll be much more aggressive this year.” There has never been a coach hired who touts not being more aggressive than his predecssor. Fans love to hear it, and they, along with their players, like to believe that one of their problems before was they weren’t turned loose. Rarely do people like to hear that the team’s problem was that it took too many chances or that it led to a lot of undisciplined play as a team. The funny thing is what happened to all of those supposed passive guys who used to be coaching your team? Do they suddenly get a “Come-to-Joe-Lee Dunn” meeting before taking their next job?

5. “There are only 15 spring practices.” Technically, yes. Truthfully, not quite. NCAA rules prohibit programs from using 11-man formations, pads or working with an actual football, so instead they use pylons or taped-up towels rolled into a ball. Some would use tennis balls, which receiver coaches prefer since they are harder to snag. Coaches say the “pre-practice” practices are great for doing walk-throughs and aligning coverages and fronts, and some even do one-on-one drills, which don’t require a pigskin anyhow. Says one coach, “You gotta be a little sneaky, but it can be very helpful.”

6. “Stats are telling.” Quarterbacks aren’t “live” and so you might see a back-up defensive end notch three sacks in a scrimmage. Of course all he had to do was touch the QB to qualify for the sack. Also don’t get too fired up about that second-team fullback who averaged 11 yards per carry in the three spring scrimmages. It probably came running against a bunch of walk-ons whose names the coaches don’t even know.

7. “Since there’s no game to get ready for, it’s a great way to toughen guys up.” A generation ago this was the case since programs had bigger scholarship numbers and more time, but that’s gone now that only 11 of the 15 practices are in pads and time is much tighter.

8. “You can build a Heisman buzz in the spring.” No coach with a bona fide marquee player is crazy enough to risk him to injury to showcase him. Maybe 10 years ago before the web, when the media relied more on college football annuals which were written and edited in the early spring was there a lot of hyping, but now most schools wait till the summer to drum up the bandwagon.

It’s tough to argue that Feldman isn’t on to something. The reality is that spring football practice, especially in the modern age, is more for than the fans than it is for the program. Spring football games are really nothing more than a glorified intersquad scrimmage.

One of the myths, ‘stats are telling,’ is particularly bogus to me. About a month ago, I posted a blog about Notre Dame freshman QB Jimmy Clausen going 3-for-7 in Notre Dame’s spring game. Do these numbers mean anything? Absolutely not. Is there any reason to believe that those numbers will stop Charlie Weis in any way from declaring Clausen the starting quarterback? Get real.

Getting excited about spring practice is like getting excited about NFL minicamps.