One of the major questions over the offseason has been at the quarterback position. Washburn enters the 2009 season with four eligible quarterbacks, and each of them seems capable of being productive in the backfield.

Jake Iverson, who began the 2008 season as starter, underwent shoulder surgery in the offseason. Dane Simoneau, who filled the void when Iverson was hurt, put up 788 passing yards and 5 touchdowns in seven games (five of which he started). Cameron Kasel, despite playing in only one game in ’08, showed he is efficient enough in that one outing to manage the offense. Jared Brill, who redshirted in ’08, received a lot of looks at quarterback in the spring because he was the only Washburn quarterback not involved in baseball.

With this four way quarterback controversy, it’s understandable to wonder who will be the number one guy when the season kicks off Aug. 29. Head coach Craig Schurig has an answer.

“We feel like we have four guys who can play, and Dane Simoneau will be the starter,” said Schurig.

Schurig said Cameron Kasel is currently the backup quarterback, with Jake Iverson working his way back to a full recovery, which leaves Jared Brill at the number three spot.

So it is official: Simoneau is the starter. But the question now is whether he will retain that spot throughout the season or whether there will be a merry-go-round of quarterbacks this fall. Again, Schurig has an answer.

“Our system is such that we’d like to have a quarterback who plays a majority of the snaps,” said Schurig. “If we’re fortunate and we have a nice lead, then the other quarterbacks will get in. We’re not planning on having any type of rotation of quarterbacks, so Dane would get the majority of snaps.”

Problem solved. However, Simoneau will need to improve on his efficiency this season for Washburn to have hopes of winning it all. Simoneau had the better completion percentage between the two starters, with Iverson completing 41.1 percent of his throws and Simoneau completing 47.7 percent. However, Iverson had the better touchdown to interception ratio, with eight TD’s and five interceptions. Simoneau, in comparison, threw only five touchdowns to six interceptions.