It’s not even two weeks into spring football practice and some Eastern fans may already be scratching their heads about the 2005 team.

After Florida quarterback Justin Midgett transferred to Eastern in the winter, most fans thought Eastern immediately solved the problem of replacing last year’s surprise quarterback Matt Schabert. Schabert is also the only starter not returning from last year’s offense and left big shoes to fill for whoever gets the job.

And most expected Midgett, a sophomore, to be the first man to try and put those shoes on but Eastern head coach Bob Spoo has decided to go with sophomore Mike Donato as No. 1 on his depth chart in spring ball. Spoo also said that senior Mickeal Keeling, a junior college transfer, is also in the mix for the top of the chart. Midgett has sat out for early spring practices because of academic concerns but is expected to rejoin the team before the spring is finished.

But anyone who thinks it’s absurd that Spoo doesn’t have Midgett, a highly touted pro-style quarterback, needs to think again. Not because of anything that Midgett has or hasn’t done, but because it’s so early in the season.

None of the five quarterbacks on Eastern’s roster has significant experience in the system. Donato, who redshirted his freshman season, has been in the program for the longest and have been the only quarterback to even take a snap in a game for Eastern – one series with no pass attempts.

So basically every one of these quarterbacks is on the same playing field when it comes to real time experience.

Also as last year was evidence of, things can change in a hurry. Andrew Harris was the No. 1 quarterback going into the season opener and only a week later, when Schabert nearly led Eastern to an upset over Illinois State, Harris had already lost his job.

So no matter who is taking snaps with the first team they’ll have to be sure not to let up for a second because there is bound to be a boatload of changes before the season opener.

Dan Renick is a junior journalism major. If you want to e-mail him [email protected], he’ll be … surprised.