Penn State Blue-White Game: What To Watch For

Penn State’s new chapter under newly hired Head coach James Franklin officially begins tomorrow afternoon at 1:30. The Blue-White game is Penn State’s annual spring football game that culminates weeks of winter workouts before starting the long grind to August.

The game kicks of at 1:30 with free admission and parking and will be televised on the Big Ten Network at 6 p.m Sunday. Early attendance expectations are ranging around 70-80 thousand fans and at least 100 recruits are expected.

WHAT TO WATCH FOR : 

1. Christian Hackenberg – Hackenberg is the machine that runs the offense and the success of Hackenberg is crucial to the success of the football team as a whole. Things to watch for with Hackenberg is how he has adjuseted to the new system Franklin has brought to Penn State as well as his ability to, hit any receiver at any spot, at any time.
2. De’Andre Thompkins – Thompkins is an early enrolle from the 2013 recruiting class and possibly could be Allen Robinson’s replacement. Thompkins, has been practicing over the winter on kick and punt returning both which have been weaknesses for the program the last few seasons.
3. Offensive Line- The offensive line is crucial to Penn State’s success this season, they have one goal for the whole season….. keep Hackenberg healthy. A failure to do this may result in a long season for Penn State depending on the play of projected back up Michael O’Connor. The offensive line has taken hits the last few weeks but with a lack of depth it will be important to see the skill set that Hackenberg will have in front of him. Miles Dieffenbach who had a severe knee injruy earlier in camp this year is set to play on Saturday, Diffenbach is the anchor of the offensive line with OT John Urschel heading to the NFL.
4. Secondary- Last season, the secondary was arguably the worst part of the defense. The success possibly lies on safety Jordan Lucas who is arguably the best player in Penn State’s secondary. Jesse James and De’Andre Thompkins will both be big recieving targets that could test the talents of the secondary. Look for improvement form CB Adrian Amos as he starts his second season at CB after being a safety.

Here is the Blue-White Game roster (couresty of gopsusports.com):

(Joe Hermitt, AP / PennLive.com)