Penn State Football: Spring Game Position Battles to Watch

Tomorrow marks the blue and white game at Penn State, in which the offense and defense will be going against each other with a modified scoring format (scoring details for offense here, and defense here). Penn State has a lot of work to do, especially on the offensive side of the ball, but it's a new era in Happy Valley under Bill O'Brien.

Quarterback

According to various reports, it sounds like Matt McGloin will be the Penn State starter going into the fall. O'Brien likely won't make an official announcement until August, but if McGloin is out-practicing Rob Bolden and Paul Jones and puts on a better display at this weekend's scrimmage, the announcement may just be a formality.

Still, insofar as Paul Jones is a mostly unknown quantity for those outside the program, a big day from him might increase the intensity of the quarterback battle going into the summer and fall. I am just going to assume Rob Bolden is not the best of the three quarterbacks, though. Some scenarios just strain credulity past its breaking point.

Offensive Line

Matt Stankiewitch is set in stone at center as the only returning starter on Penn State's offensive line. Adam Gress seems to be the favorite at starting left tackle, and reports are good about presumptive left guard Miles Dieffenbach. Jon Urschel and Donovan Smith could round out the group on the right side of the ball, but Mike Farrell has been noted as another possibility at tackle. Or the formation could be something else entirely. And Lord only knows what the rest of the two-deep will look like or what changes will take place on it in the fall.

The bottom line is this: Only the luckiest of teams can get by with five offensive linemen getting starts for the year. Penn State needs to identify its top eight or so, and right now, it's only got a top three or four as bona fide starters. We'll see where the coaches' sense of trust is in these players on Saturday, and where improvement needs to be made.

Tight End

Penn State actually has a good amount of talent at tight end; Garry Gilliam is likely going to be the first man in, and Kevin Haplea is the most likely to join Gilliam on the field early on (O'Brien famously used at least two tight ends the majority of the time at New England, and to great success).

The problem is that Gilliam is still recovering from a knee injury suffered 17 months ago, and while he's doing well enough to practice with a knee brace on, he's not all the way at 100 percent yet. He's got a few months to keep recovering, of course, but the Gilliam we see on Saturday won't be where PSU will need him to be in the fall.

Haplea was primarily a blocker in the stead of Gilliam and graduating senior Andrew Szczerba last season, as he's got only nine catches for 99 yards to his name for his entire career. Walk-on senior Brian Irvin, early enrollee Jesse James and converted LB Dakota Royer are all gunning for playing time, and we should see plenty of all five tight ends on Saturday.