Not one to tip his hand on many - if any - personnel decisions, University of Tennessee at Chattanooga football coach Tom Arth wasn't taking the bait Thursday.
Asked about his timetable for picking a starting quarterback for next Thursday's season opener against Tennessee Tech at Finley Stadium, he grinned and answered, "What if I said 7 o'clock on Thursday?"
The competition for the starting nod has been between juniors Chris James and Nick Tiano. The latter has a year of experience in the system and has been solid so far in preseason practices, while James - despite struggling with accuracy at times - has had his moments, too.
Tiano played in five games last season, starting the first four. He passed for 873 yards with six touchdowns and six interceptions while rushing for 121 yards. The 6-foot-5, 240-pounder ran for 226 yards on 38 rushing attempts, but he was sacked 15 times and lost 105 yards.
James had been in the program since January after transferring to UTC from Hutchison (Kansas) Community College, but his spring practice session was cut short due to a hand injury.
"I think we have a great room," offensive coordinator Justin Rascati said. "Those guys are competing at a high level, and they come to work with the right mindset. They've both worked really hard this offseason and had a really good offseason, and I'm excited about where the team is now, where we are offensively and excited to get to Thursday night."
The Mocs' pro-style offense has a number of complexities in terms of shifts and motions, but what Arth and Rascati - former quarterbacks who spent time in the professional ranks - each expect their quarterbacks to do is fairly simple in theory. In the age of dual threats, the Mocs employ a sort of old-school approach in that the player behind center is expected to manage the offense, get everybody in the right play and take care of the football - much like a throwback point guard in basketball.
They have to be able to process information quickly, take shots when they're available and otherwise throw the ball away and live to fight another down.
Rascati raved about Tiano's growth as a quarterback in the offseason while also calling James "very talented." Whoever gets the nod against the Golden Eagles will have a revamped offensive line and some talented weapons in both the backfield and in the receiving corps, so they'll have opportunities to make plays when available.
"It's a really special gift," Arth said, "because at the end of the day, that person has to walk in the huddle, and 10 other sets of eyes are looking at him knowing the ball is going to be in his hands, and we have to have the confidence and belief and trust in him that he's going to make it happen. It's been great to see how these guys have competed through camp, the way we continue to continue to compete, and I'm happy with where the position is at.
"Nick is a better player because Chris James came to Chattanooga, and there's absolutely no doubt about that. I think that Chris coming here, he gets here and sees (suspended sophomore quarterback) Cole Copeland, he sees Nick and realizes he has to raise his game and offense. The system and the demands on the quarterback forces you to get better and get better quickly, so I think both of those guys have really pushed each other and challenged each other in a positive way, and I think the team has responded well to both of them, which has been really good to see."
Contact Gene Henley at ghenley@timesfreepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @genehenley3.