Welcome to Cardinalpalooza!

On Saturday, Stanford will hold a free all-day sports festival that includes:

There will also be tailgating, food trucks in the Pac-12 plaza and opportunities for fans to meet student-athletes following each event. Admission and parking are free.

Of course, the main attraction is the Cardinal & White Spring Football game, which kicks off at 1 p.m.

“Hopefully we’ll play fast, hopefully we’ll play well, hopefully guys will make some plays,” said Stanford football coach David Shaw, who admitted he has “absolutely no idea” what to expect from his players. “All spring has been a lot of back and forth … which as a coach you want to see both sides really showing the ability to play. And I expect the same thing Saturday.”

The defense, as the White Team, won last year’s spring game 47-23 on the strength of four turnovers.

“The biggest thing from my perspective is everyone just laying it all out there — everyone just flying around,” left tackle Kyle Murphy said. “If the defense makes plays just based off something that they did awesome, that stuff happens. But if you limit the mental mistakes and the small areas, the rest of the stuff takes care of itself.”

What’s the incentive for either unit to manhandle their teammates?

“The winner of the spring game always has a little more rest time when we do our conditioning test at the end of the summer time, right before fall camp,” Murphy said. “So that’s kind of like the only thing that you gain from winning. But other than that, we’re all buddies. So we’re all kind of talking smack to each other a little bit, kind of more bragging rights.”

A 6-foot-7, 298-pound senior, Murphy is moving across the line of scrimmage to replace Andrus Peat, who declared for the NFL Draft and is projected to be taken in the first round later this month.

“It’s just getting adjusted because everything shifts, like footwork-wise,” said Murphy, who still runs quite a bit into his former teammate on campus. “But other than that, it’s just regular football. I’m just doing the best I can do.”

Graduation and injuries have depleted the defensive line, which Saturday must rely on unfamiliar names to most fans. Players such as Jordan Watkins, who did not see action as a true freshman in 2012 and played in only four games last year.

“He’s making great strides this spring, getting a ton of reps,” said Murphy, who has lined up across from Watkins often this spring.

Sophomore defensive end Harrison Phillips was forced to play nose tackle as a true freshman in the fall, while pass rusher Solomon Thomas watched from the sidelines and is looking forward to his first Cardinal & White action.

“Watching both those young guys mature has been fun,” Shaw said. “Both are making strides.”

After Tuesday’s practice, Thomas said he stepped on The Farm weighing around 244 pounds. He’s listed at 256, but is probably closer to 275 pounds at the moment, with what he calls “good weight.”

“I feel like I’m more explosive, my strength is there, my strike is better, better grip strength,” said Thomas, who’s battled a turf toe in the spring while seeing time at end and nose tackle. “And definitely the knowledge of the game has gone up.”

Right tackle Casey Tucker, who saw action in five games as a true freshman, has stood out in Thomas’ opinion.

“He’s getting a lot better in his run blocking and he’s a great pass blocker,” Thomas said. “He’s just becoming more consistent. Me and him have some good battles.”

Another name to keep an eye out for is Joey Alfieri, an outside linebacker who didn’t play as a true freshman in the fall.

“He’s done amazing so far,” Thomas said. “Just came out of nowhere, so extremely athletic and explosive. … He’s extremely physical on run blocking and he’s just really impressed me. I think he’s impressed the whole defense.”

That’s plenty of teammates to keep Murphy and the rest of the offensive line busy Saturday as they look to battle in the trenches.

“Obviously our offense is going against our defense, so we’re a little more used to each other than we normally are — and this feels a little more like practice than a regular game,” Murphy said. “But I’d say the biggest takeaway is finishing the spring on a high note, making sure that we kind of build some momentum heading into the offseason and into fall camp. And give the fans something to be happy about.”

Email Vytas Mazeika at vmazeika@dailynewsgroup.com; follow him at Twitter.com/dailynewsvytas.