Penn State Football: 5 Things to Watch in Bill O'Brien'S Spring Game

The Penn State Nittany Lions will take the field on Saturday as they play their spring game, putting an end to all of those spring practices. It is a new chapter in the Penn State legacy, as Bill O'Brien will be the new head coach of the team.

While the spring game is nothing more than an over-hyped practice, you can take a few things from it and learn a few things about the current team that they have in place. It's also a chance for players to move up the depth chart and earn more playing time.

Here are five things you should keep an eye on throughout the spring game.

Tight Ends Used

Penn State didn't use their tight ends much last season, but that's going to change under head coach Bill O'Brien. Tight end Garry Gilliam looks to make a full recovery from his MCL injury and should be a big part of this offense. Kevin Haplea and Jesse James have had great spring practices and will look to contribute as well.

"It's kind of like learning a new language," Gilliam said via the Pittsburgh Post Gazette about the new play book and different packages.

O'Brien is a coach who's had great success with Aaron Hernandez and Rob Gronkowski in New England. Expect to see similar play-calling for the Nittany Lions as he tries to get the same success out of his tight ends with Penn State.

Offensive Line

Penn State only allowed 14 sacks last season, which was the best in the Big Ten conference. That doesn't mean much when they lost every starter from a year ago except center Matt Stankiewitch. Trying to replace four starters from one unit isn't quite easy, but O'Brien has been happy with the progress the line is making:

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I have been very happy with the offensive line. When I took the job here, I was told the offensive line was not one of the stronger positions on the team. But I will tell you I have been pleasantly surprised with those guys.

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It's going to be interesting to see who steps up and what a possible starting five will look like.

Secondary

Much like the offensive line for Penn State, the secondary is missing all four starters from a year ago as well. The top two players who left were Nick Sukay and Chaz Powell. Combined, they finished with five interceptions last season.

Safety Malcolm Willis and cornerback Stephon Morris have the most experience of anyone on the team, and corner Adrian Amos is really making a name for himself early on. Stephen Obeng-Agyapong and Jacob Fagnano appear to be fighting for the strong safety spot.

For a team that relied so heavily on defense last season, this is a must fix, and it is something to keep an eye on tomorrow.

Quarterback Battle

O'Brien has a great history working with quarterbacks—he helped turn Tom Brady into what he is today—but working with the current quarterbacks on this roster, it may be his biggest challenge of all. Last year's starters, Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden, didn't exactly light the scoreboard up last year, and both failed to complete over 55 percent of their passes.

Redshirt freshman Paul Jones will also have a say in who's going to be the quarterback as well.

The quarterback position won't have an answer right away, but a solid performance by either one of these players could make them the favorite heading into the regular season.

Creative Plays

Penn State fans are real troopers for putting up with their offense last season (or lack thereof). The Nittany Lions were one of the worst teams in the country at scoring points and were almost nonexistent in throwing the football. You can blame the players for some of that production, but the coaching staff has to take some of the blame as well. 

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"It’s a new offense, and whenever you go from one system to another, it's going to seem like a lot," wide receiver Justin Brown said (via statecollege.com). "It’s a lot more stuff than what we did, because the past playbook was a little more simple, but this one is a lot more creative."

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Many teams don't like to show much in a meaningless spring game, but with a new head coach and many holes to fill, it couldn't hurt to show a few wrinkles. I'm sure the fans wouldn't mind either; after all, they deserve it for putting up with last season's performances.