PROVO — The BYU football team will hold its annual spring scrimmage Saturday at 2 p.m. MT at LaVell Edwards Stadium. It will be the team’s first under new head coach Kalani Sitake.

The afternoon will consist of a variety of drills and other practice-level activities, and conclude with a full four-quarter Blue vs. White game, with offensive lineman playing for both teams.

Admission is free and open to the public, and the gate opens at 1 p.m. MT. Tailgate lots will be available beginning at 8 a.m. west of the stadium.

Here are six things to look for in the spring game.

How much of the offensive scheme will the Cougars show off?

Sitake said that the Cougars are going to hold back from showing too much of their offense in the spring game. That's fine; it's just spring football.

The intimation is that BYU wants to keep as much of a strategic edge going into its game against Arizona as it can. The question then becomes: how much of the offensive scheme will Cougar fans get to see on Saturday? My guess is that the Cougars will run basic plays and won't tip their hat too much. Whether or not that will lead to any explosive plays in the spring game is yet to be seen.

What base defense will the Cougars run?

During most of Bronco Mendenhall’s tenure at BYU, he ran a very complex 3-4 defense. Sitake and defensive coordinator Ilaisa Tuiaki have divulged that their defensive schemes will be much less complex and will focus on having Cougar players playing fast and aggressive. While Tuiaki said during his initial press conference that it had not been decided which base defensive scheme he would run, players have said some practices have come in a 4-3 defensive lineup.

On Saturday, BYU fans will get their first glimpse at the new defense and will get a better idea if the Cougars have the players in place to make that transition.

To what extent will Jamaal Williams and Taysom Hill be involved?

Both Williams and Hill will see reps in the spring game, with Hill playing during a 7-on-7 "skelly" session before the game as he recovers from a Lisfranc injury. While Cougar fans won’t get to see Hill do jaw-dropping things with his feet, they will get to see a glimpse of how much he has progressed as a passer.

Likewise, Williams is coming off a nasty knee injury that he has been rehabbing since being injured against Middle Tennessee State in 2014. He has been fully cleared to play, but he hasn’t seen any live action in a year and a half — and my guess is that the coaches will be cautious with him in the spring game, as well.

Who will be the Cougars' primary tight end during the spring game?

On almost every great BYU football squad, the team has had an explosive and reliable tight end. Former Cougar great and current offensive coordinator Ty Detmer wants to bring back the rich tight end tradition of the program after his predecessor, Robert Anae, went away from utilizing the position in his second stint in Provo. While most BYU faithful will be happy that the position is back, it is uncertain whether or not there is a player currently in the program who can be the next great one.

Which player who has switched positions will have the most impact on the spring game?

Numerous players in the program have been asked by the new coaching staff to change positions. Some of these players were significant contributors at their previous positions in 2015. Of particular note, Francis Bernard (running back to linebacker), Algie Brown (halfback to fullback) and Trey Dye (wide receiver to halfback). Bernard’s change is the most dramatic as he is now on the defensive side of the ball after having a stellar freshman season as a running back. It will be interesting to see who will have the biggest impact at their new position during the spring game.

How comfortable will Tanner Mangum under center and in the new offense during the spring game?

It might sound silly, but taking the ball from under center and receiving it from the shotgun changes a few things for the quarterback. The steps and reads are a little different. Mangum worked almost exclusively from the shotgun last year, so it will be interesting to see how comfortable he looks being under center and making his reads from that starting point.

Mangum had a terrific freshman campaign but he has a totally different offense to learn. The reads will be different and the plays will be new to him. Since Hill won’t be able to go live during the spring game, Mangum should get plenty of reps on Saturday. Cougar fans will get an idea of how well he has learned the new scheme and how comfortable he looks in it.

What’s most interesting to you about Saturday’s game? Leave a comment below.

Dylan Cannon is a regular KSL.com contributor and can be reached at DylanCannon86@gmail.com or via twitter @DylanCannon11.

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