With Temple’s Cherry and White game this Saturday, there are a number of questions that hopefully this game can begin to answer. Either that or we’re about to realize just how badly we’ll lose to Penn State this year. Here’s what to look for at each position on offense:

Quarterback

It’s PJ’s senior season and a chance to showcase his true talent (which has no ceiling). Despite Walker being solidified into the starting role, the QB battle is still something of note this Saturday. It appeared Frank Nutile won the backup QB battle last year over Logan Marchi, but that spot is still very much up for grabs. It’ll be even more interesting when August rolls around and Anthony Russo is enrolled. Nutile loves to utilize his large stature and pocket presence while Marchi depends more on his ability to scramble and make plays with his feet. We’ll get to see a decent amount of both on Saturday.

Running Back

Jahad Thomas joins PJ in front running this offense in his senior campaign. However, the coaches have been emphasizing this offseason to give Jahad less of a workload to prevent wear and tear over the season. This means they’re looking for Ryquell Armstead and Jager Gardner to take more carries (I think Hood is injured right now, don’t hold me to that). Judging from the pressers, it sounds like while both backs are progressing, Armstead is starting to separate himself. They’re two very different styled backs and are both expected to be taking the brunt of the carries on Saturday.

Wide Receiver

The obvious and painful question here is how Temple is going to replace Robby Anderson. Thankfully, we saw Ventell Bryant take an enormous step last year and it appears he hasn’t skipped a beat, so we probably won’t see much of him. Adonis Jennings, Keith Kirkwood, and Cortelle Simpson are going to be the key players that will have to step up in a big way this year. Jennings and Kirkwood both have game experience under their belts and will be crucial in spreading the field, while Simpson will be looking to replace Christopher and Shippen. Returning for what feels like his eighth year is Romond Deloatch, a seasoned vet that remains a solid redzone threat (though hopefully he picks up a larger role this year). The biggest name to watch this game is Marshall Ellick. He never really seemed to develop into himself after redshirting in 2014 and rarely seeing the field last season. Rhule, though, has been absolutely raving about him so far this offseason and seems to think he is primed to have a breakout season. If he has any sort of a good spring game, look for me to predict him to go in the second round of the 2017 NFL draft.

Tight end

There’s no real position battle here. Colin Thompson returns – adding to the offensive senior leadership. Thompson provides a strong blocking option with solid hands while Kip Patton is more of a receiving tight end. Both are big and athletic, serving as very viable options for the position. Saturday will be a good gauge on how they’ve utilized the weight room in the offseason. Patrick Anderson and Jake Robinson will probably get some looks on Saturday, but I don’t see any surprises here (i.e. Patton breaking that monster catch and run last year).

Offensive Line

Center Kyle Friend graduated as the anchor and bright spot to what felt like kind of a fairly mediocre offensive line. As much as it hurt to see Friend miss a few games last season, backup Brendan McGowan provided some solid relief and it appears it’s his spot to lose. However, it doesn’t seem like McGowan will be playing on Saturday, so we’ll get a glimpse into how walk on Jordan Jones will fill in his shoes. Dion Dawkins returns after landing himself on Phil Steele’s 2015 AAC first team among other honors and will join Brian Carter in gluing together a viable offensive line rotation. Leon Johnson returns with a lot of experience, but he never really seemed to fully come together last year. He was nagged all season by an injury in the season opener, so I’m banking on this spring game to see his progress since then. Jovahn Fair is a name to lookout for later in the season, but unfortunately he won’t be participating on Saturday due to injury. There’s young talents in Aaron Ruff, Jaelin Robinson, and Darian Bryant, though it doesn’t sound like any has completely stood out in tape so far.

Essentially, the offense returns a lot of experience at every position and is a senior-loaded team. This means we’ll expect a lot from them this season only to be mildly disappointed and revert back to square one exactly one year from now.

Key names to watch: Marshall Ellick, Ryquell Armstead, Frank Nutile, Adonis Jennings, Jordan Jones, Cortelle Simpson