STANFORD, Calif. -- With just one practice remaining before Saturday's spring game, Stanford associate head coach and offensive coordinator Mike Bloomgren is confident the Cardinal has taken significant strides towards replacing several pieces that left the team following last season.

Stanford OC Mike Bloomgren is pleased to see the progress his QBs are making this spring. Kyle Terada/USA TODAY Sports

Bloomgren took some time on Tuesday and told ESPN.com some of his major impressions up to this point.

With QB Evan Crower limited in the second session [deviated septum], what kind of progress has redshirt freshman QB Ryan Burns made working with the second team and how has Kevin Hogan looked?

Bloomgren: It's been a little trial-by-fire for Burnsy a little bit, jumping in there with the second group from the time he got back last Monday. And our defense is not the easiest one to jump in there against and try to decipher everything they're showing you. He's done a much better job. Every day he's gotten better. We've gone from a week ago to not being able to take the center-quarterback snap to start a play to now where we're doing that consistently well. As far as No. 8 [Hogan] goes, No. 8's been great all spring with very, very few exceptions. Leadership has been great, the way he's seeing and thinking this game right is outstanding. The things he's doing with us from a protection standpoint, getting us in the right protection, making the right adjustment to routes and is just throwing the ball really well.

RB Kelsey Young looked really good in the open scrimmage … has that been a consistent thing?

MB: I think that might have been Kelsey's best day. It's great to see it. He's taking steps every day at the running back position. The thing that you saw was the explosive runs and the consistent runs out of Kelsey, which was great to see ... the leg drive and the way he was finishing runs was outstanding and the things that's he's doing is getting better at protection every day.

What has the transition been like for Young converting back from wide receiver?

MB: When you talk about what Kelsey's done for us, Kelsey's always been an explosive runner. We've loved getting the ball in his hands, whether it was on a speed sweeps or on a screen, but the thing he wasn't the master of was running the ball from seven yards behind the quarterback, and it's taken a lot of work and he's seeing things really well. He's slowed his footwork down. I'm really pleased with how he's coming along.

The offensive line is going to look a lot different, but are you confident it will still be a very good unit?

MB: We're breaking in four new starters, and I don't know if I've ever been a part of doing that before. I wouldn't say for a second that it's been easy, but it's probably been easier than any other four you could break in. The five guys we're working with right now -- being those five guys from the class of 2012, [RG] Johnny Caspers, [RT] Kyle Murphy, [C] Graham Shuler, [LG] Josh Garnett stepping in besides [LT] Andrus [Peat] -- and then you've got people working in that are doing a great job. Brendon Austin, when he's healthy has been really good, playing the best football of his career.

Are there inherent advantages of those guys all being from the same recruiting class?

MB: Absolutely, but again, we've always had that regardless of class. Our offensive line has been so tight. I don't necessarily think it's just a product of them being in the same class.

How has the group of young tight ends developed?

MB: Austin Hooper has really stepped up. Unbelievable job at the Y position. Eric Cotton is doing some unbelievable things as a movement tight end, whether it's lining up extended and running great routes or sticking his face in there doing a great job in the run game. Then you have Greg Taboada still learning, and he's learning a lot, doing great things. When Greg knows what to do, he's really hard to stop.

What are you looking forward to getting out of Saturday's spring game?

MB: It's just another chance for us to go out there in our stadium, to put on our gear [on] and go through the motions and exercise playing a football game. Whether you're talking about X's and O's, we'll probably be limited in terms of what we do, but I want to see us go out there and put our best foot forward and play incredibly hard and finish the plays.