Quarterback is getting so much attention because it is the one area that Penn State really struggled last season, and is the one position where new coach Bill O’Brien is expected to have the most immediate impact.

So how do the Nittany Lions look at the quarterback position heading into spring practice? Well this is the Lions depth chart and thoughts according to victorybellrings.com

QB1:
Rob Bolden (Jr.) or Matt McGloin (RS Sr.)

QB3:
Paul Jones (RS So.)

QB4:
Steven Bench* (Fr.)

Others:
Shane McGregor (Sr. if he returns)
Garrett Venuto (Jr.)

This could literally be upside down from what we see on opening day against Ohio University. I do believe though, that the indecisiveness of last year will be gone. O’ Brien will almost certainly pick a guy and give him the lion’s share of snaps in practice.
Bolden has all the physical tools, but seemed to regress last season. I am interested to see what comes of RoBo under the coaching of O’Brien.

McGloin doesn’t have the physical ability of the other guys, but has the experience edge and did improve on his turnovers last season. He will not go down without a fight…just ask Curtis Drake.

Paul Jones is a fan favorite, though he has not yet stepped foot on the game field. By his own admission, he has struggled with grades and with achieving the required amount of credits. He has a fantastic arm and was highly touted coming out of high school but PJ and fans must come to the realization that Penn State and Paul Jones may be close to cutting ties and going in different directions.

Steven Bench is the wild card. It’s not likely that a true freshman, enrolling in the summer, will be able to pass the players above him. However, if none of the current QBs can separate themselves from the competition in the Spring, that may leave the door open for Bench. Steven is armed with terrific accuracy and 4.61 speed to go along with his confident demeanor. I would not be surprised if Bench burns his redshirt early in the season for either grooming purposes, or because he outplays the competition.

When Penn State held its big Junior Weekend with some of the top recruits in the 2013 class last weekend, nine of the 50 attendees were quarterbacks from five different states. An incredibly high percentage and it shows how much emphasis that Penn State is putting on landing a top QB next February.

Penn State has already extended scholarship offers to Ashburn, Va., Stone Bridge’s Ryan Burns, and Fork Union, Va., Military Academy’s Christian Hackenberg.

Among the other quarterbacks on hand for Penn State’s Junior Day, according to the Altoona Mirror, were Brookfield, Conn.’s Boeing Brown, Plantation, Fla.’s Tyler Cogswell, Mentor, Ohio’s Mitch Trubisky, McKeesport’s Ed Stockett, Methacton’s Brandon Bossard, Philadelphia’s Mike Keir and Erie Cathedral Prep’s Damion Terry.

Hackenberg and Burns are by far the two best quartbacks on the list. Everyone else is posturing for placement should both of them head elsewhere, which would be a huge blow for Bill O’Brien who is expected to be able to recruit top quarterbacks based on his experience with Tom Brady and the New England Patriots.

Great roundup by Black Shoe Diaries on Penn State‘s potential 2013 recruiting class including details on the Penn State targets by position. Worth a read.

Some of the highlights from their post:

Junior Day, Part One:
In The Books. It’s still unclear as to when the next big group of recruits will be on campus, but the staff certainly put this one together in a hurry, which is hopefully a sign of many more. If we don’t see another group visit in March, the Spring Game in April should be a big weekend.

BOB’s First Commitment.
There hasn’t been a siren on the front page for 2013 yet, but Coach O’Brien actually got his first new player last week in the form of 6-3, 350 pound lineman Bryan Davie. Hailing from Eleanor Roosevelt HS in Greenbelt, Maryland, home of one Derrick Williams and current defensive back Stephon Morris, Davie impressed O’Brien enough to earn a walk-on spot in 2013.

In Visiting News:
Penn State Drop Edition. Up until a couple of days ago, Penn State had expected a pretty large (literally, figuratively) visitor this weekend, but it now appears that Williamstown (NJ) linebacker Buddy Brown will no longer be making the trip.

In Visiting News:
Cedar Cliff (PA) TE Adam Breneman will be at Ohio State early next week for a meeting with Urban Meyer and staff. His visit last Friday to Penn State was almost as good as could have been asked for (no commitment), so Meyer has an uphill battle here. But he’s still Urban Meyer.

Penn State hosted close to 50 high school junior football players this past weekend as part of its Junior Day and by the end of the weekend, four players were offered scholarships, according to Scout.com’s Bob Lichtenfels, who also provided a brief description for each recruit.

OT Dorian Johnson
He has as much upside as any lineman in the state of Pennsylvania. There are some coaches who like him more than North Allegheny’s Patrick Kugler, and that is saying something.

LB Zayd Issah
He is arguably the best two-way player in Pennsylvania, and he is still growing into his body. Right now he is an outside linebacker, but if he continues to add mass and fill out, he could be a bigger Aaron Maybin-type guy.

LB Alex Anzalone
He may be the best linebacker on the east coast. I have seen a lot of guys on film and his film pops out. It doesn’t take long to see that he is a no-brainer, offer-the-kid-now type of player. He is very good on offense as well.

DE Garrett Sickels
He is one of the best kids in New Jersey. When a kid up here draws SEC interest before his junior year, he is probably a pretty good football player. He is just that.

Several quarterbacks also were in attendance, including Christian Hackenberg and Ryan Burns from Virginia.
Cedar Cliff High School’s Adam Breneman, regarded as the nation’s top tight end prospect visited Friday, and Williamstown, N.J. linebacker Buddy Brown is expected on campus Feb. 25, according to Blue White Illustrated, a Penn State football recruiting website.

Penn State opens spring practice March 26, culminating with the annual Blue-White Game on April 21.

Penn State held their junior day over the weekend, and one of the players attending was the nation’s top tight end prospect Adam Breneman. Breneman is not only one of the top tight ends in the country, and he is the nation’s 22nd-ranked player overall according to Rivals.com. In case you didn’t already know, Breneman is also a Pennsylvania native, from Camp Hill.

Breneman and his family were asked to make the trip to Penn State a day early for junior day so Bill O’Brien and his staff could welcome Breneman and have more personal time with the top target in the next recruiting class.

“It was a great trip,” Breneman said. “I really got to spend a lot of the time with Coach O’Brien, I got to know him really well. I’ve already seen all the facilities, I’ve seen the campus, the academic side of everything, so this was really a chance to get to know all the coaches.”

O’Brien made stars out of Tight Ends Rob Gronkowski and Aaron Hernandez and that has to appeal to someone like Breneman who wants to also play on Sunday some day. Getting Breneman to commit early to Penn State would be huge as it will show that O’Brien and Penn Stare can still recruit the best players in the state.

When O’Brien took over the head-coaching job he said how important it was for Penn State to start winning back top in-state recruits. And it looks like Breneman seems to be leaning toward Penn State.

“I don’t think it’s a secret that I like Penn State a lot,” Breneman told Rivals.com. “I don’t have a list of top schools or anything, I still have a lot to think about. I was very impressed with Coach O’Brien though, seeing how I’m going to be used in his offense. Honestly, he got me real excited when we were talking about tight ends and how he wants to use them, but I’m definitely not ready to make a decision or anything like that yet.”

GoPSUsports.com talks with Penn State football Director of Strength and Conditioning Craig Fitzgerald inside the weight room

Penn State head coach Bill O’Brien talks to the media after the team’s early-morning run on Friday.

Penn State football strength coach Craig Fitzgerald discusses and demonstrates his offseason strength training program.

Bill O’Brien has finalized his coaching staff for the 2012 season with the hire of Charlie Fisher as quarterbacks coach. Fisher joins the Nittany Lions after one season at Miami of Ohio as passing game coordinator and quarterbacks coach.

“With the hiring of Charlie Fisher as quarterbacks coach, we have completed the Penn State football coaching staff,” O’Brien said in a release. “This is a staff made up of men who care about the mission of Penn State University and being successful on and off the field. It is also a staff of winners, with five staff members that have been a part of national championship teams as assistant coaches. This is a staff that has won many games; some while being a part of the same staff, and is a staff comprised of former head coaches, coordinators and tremendous recruiting experience.”

Fisher is a terrific hire by O’Brien. Fisher spent nine seasons at Vanderbilt, where he was instrumental in the development of future Chicago Bears stars, quarterback Jay Cutler and wide receiver Earl Bennett. Bennett set the SEC all-time mark of 236 career catches.

Torry Holt, a future NFL Hall of Famer, also credits Fisher with his development while under his tutelage at N.C. State. During this past season at Miami of Ohio, the Red Hawks’ passing game ranked 14th nationally with junior quarterback Zac Dysert averaging nearly 300 yards per game.

Fisher should really help a Penn State offense that was ranked 96th in the country this past season. Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden must be loving the fact that they will be coached by O’Brien and Fisher.

When was the last time that Penn State had a nationally ranked passing attack or a top rated quarterback? You might have to go all the way back to Kerry Collins to find a quarterback that flourished at Penn State. Hopefully that is all going to change now.

This is an interesting hire by Bill O’Brien as Tim Bream, who has been an athletic trainer with the Chicago Bears for 19 years, is leaving the team to join his alma mater, Penn State. Bream, a native of Gettysburg, Pa., is scheduled to start today according to the Bears.

“I know him through NFL circles and through some people here at Penn State,” Penn State football coach Bill O’Brien, former the offensive coordinator of the Patriots, told pennstate.247sports.com. “He comes highly recommended and we’re really excited about having him on board.”

Bream has been head athletic trainer with the Bears for 15 years. He initially joined the training staff as an assistant to Fred Caito. He previously was a trainer at Syracuse, Vanderbilt and Richmond.