Mike Donato and Tim Brasic have more in common than being the starting quarterback on Saturday.

The road they’ve traveled is incredibly similar as they enter the 2006 season opener.

The two grew up five miles from each other in the Chicagoland area, and in an ironic twist, Donato’s Nazareth Academy will host Brasic’s Riverside-Brookfield squad this Saturday as well.

Both signal callers have similar career statistics, almost identical size and had to wait their turn as underclassmen before earning the starting job last year.

“The offense and personnel they use is very similar to what we do,” said Illinois head coach Ron Zoo.

In 2006, the two now have newcomers ready to put them back on the bench.

“I think the only way for young kids at any position, but especially quarterback, need is experience and there’s only one way to do that,” Zook said.

It was announced Tuesday that Donato and Brasic will get the start on Saturday, but both coaching staffs also stated that they’d like to play the backups as well.

At Eastern, Donato has been competing with Ball State transfer Cole Stinson for the starting quarterback position and Brasic is looking over his shoulder at incoming freshmen Isiah Williams and Eric McGee.

Donato is coming off a season where he completed 57 percent of his passes, led the Panthers to a 9-3 record and took 97 percent of the snaps for an Ohio Valley Conference championship team.

“Mike has great leadership and has gained the respect of his teammates,” said Eastern quarterbacks coach Jorge Munoz. “He possesses the knowledge of what we want to do with the offense.”

However, after averaging only 145 yards passing per game in 2006 and having an equal touchdown to interception ratio (9 TDs/9 INTs), Stinson was brought in and given the opportunity to win the job heading into the fall.

“Cole is a great quarterback and that’s why they brought him into this team so we can push each other and the best guy can lead this team,” Donato said.

Stinson transferred during the spring semester and started four games his freshman season at Ball State. Stinson, a Florida recruit, was one of the many names Zook recognized from the Panthers roster when he was recruiting for Florida. Stinson passed for 1101 yards with five touchdown passes in 2004.

“(Competition) is good for the team,” Stinson said. “It’s good for the individual. I think I have what it takes to keep competing for the starting job every day.”

The quarterback controversy discussion began almost immediately after Donato went 18-36 for 144 yards in the first round playoff loss last November and failed to get the Panthers into the end zone in a 21-6 loss to Southern Illinois at O’Brien Stadium.

“He’s mentally and physical tough and has become more consistent in several areas including the understanding of defenses he will face,” Munoz said.

Brasic had only attempted one pass in a game in his previous two seasons with the Illini, but made the best of his first ever start in the opener of the 2005 season.

The senior who holds the Illinois High School record for passing yards (589 against Joliet Catholic in a 2001 state quarterfinal game) was 24-of-34 for 233 yards and three touchdowns in a 33-30 come-from-behind win in overtime against Rutgers. However, he ended last season’s campaign with 11 touchdowns and 11 interceptions, along with two games where he had less than 50 yards passing.

“We need to be more balanced this year and not make it all fall on the quarterback and from that standpoint Tim Brasic will be better,” Zook said.

Eastern interim head coach Mark Hutson said the Panthers would like to play both quarterbacks this Saturday if given the opportunity, but wouldn’t comment on the exact time the switch will be made.

“We would like to play Cole Stinson at some point but we don’t want to designate that it will be the second quarter or third series or what have you,” Hutson said.

Zook also comes into his team’s first game with Brasic as the starter and said his senior signal caller made drastic improvements in the preseason camp workouts in Rantoul.

“There is no comparison between last year’s version of Tim Brasic and this year’s,” Zook said. “I believe a quarterback must spend more time working than we have to spend with him and he’s done that.”

Zook hinted Tuesday the Illini may play as many as three quarterbacks with freshman Eddie McGee also in the running for playing time but may rely on a system that worked out during his two-year tenure at Florida.

Zook says all three quarterbacks will know exactly when they will be inserted into the game before the 6 p.m. kickoff Saturday because that eliminates the possibility of complicating the situation any further.

“I guess it’s kind of like the NFL preseason where Isiah will play this series and so on,” Zook said. “For freshman especially, these kids have enough pressure on them, they don’t need to wonder ‘if coach is going to yank me.'”

In order to bring competition to every position after a disappointing 2-9 season; the Illini signed a pair of quarterback prospects to its nationally ranked class in Williams and McGee.

Williams, who goes by his nickname “Juice,” was rated the second best prospect in the state, third best pro-style quarterback in the nation according to Rivals.com and could be ready to step in Division I-A college competition immediately. The 6-foot-2 Chicago product threw for 1,841 yards and rushed for 1,441 yards in his final season of high school and chose the Illini over North Carolina, Penn State, Tennessee and Ohio State.

McGee is much more of a raw potential player from Washington D.C. as the 6-foot-4, 189-pound product comes from the same high school as Jacksonville Jaguars quarterback Byron Leftwich.

“The basic fact is that with Isiah and Eddie, they are only one play away from being in full time so one of them must be ready to go,” Zook said.