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Penn State quarterback coach Jay Paterno likens learning the position to comprehending a second language - things come easier once a student becomes fluent with the basics.
If that's the case, Matt McGloin and Rob Bolden have impressed coaches this spring since they're at the head of a four-member class of quarterbacks vying for the starting job.
After switching from freshman Bolden to sophomore McGloin last season, Penn State needs to settle on a starter - again.
''When you have competition, everyone's on their toes,'' Paterno, son of head coach Joe Paterno, said Wednesday night.
The other two candidates in the quarterback derby are rising junior Kevin Newsome and redshirt freshman Paul Jones, another touted prospect.
When asked if the competition was open, the younger Paterno responded ''Absolutely,'' though Bolden and McGloin were getting more reps than the other two and were further ahead given their playing time last year.
The hope is the built-in familiarity leads to the ability to pick up more intricacies with the offense and offer more leadership.
''We've got them to the point where they're fluent in the language of our offense now,'' Paterno said. ''Now that's when you start to lead.''
In 2010, Bolden was the first freshman to open the season at quarterback in Paterno's 45-year head-coaching tenure. He started eight games, but suffered a concussion against Minnesota.
Bolden lost the job two weeks later to McGloin after getting pulled vs. Northwestern in Paterno's milestone 400th career victory. The rags-to-riches season for McGloin, a former walk-on, ended with the player teammates call a ''gunslinger'' throwing five interceptions in a 37-24 loss to Florida at the Outback Bowl.
Joe Paterno sounded noncommittal after the bowl when asked about the future of the position. Jay Paterno said this week it's unknown whether the boss would want to decide on a starter after spring ball ends in two-plus weeks or to keep the competition going through preseason camp in August.
And by then, the crowded field may be narrowed anyway if Bolden and Newsome follow through on earlier dalliances this winter with leaving school. They both returned, though in Bolden's case it was only after the head coach denied his request to transfer.
One rumored possibility for Newsome was to try him at other skill positions, similar to Michael Robinson in the mid-2000 before Robinson settled in as the starter in 2005. But Newsome has practiced exclusively at quarterback, Jay Paterno said.
The younger Paterno expected all four quarterbacks to return this fall, and pronounced Bolden and Newsome as fully committed.
''If you watch practice, their body language, even going into winter conditioning, you never sense from any of those guys that they're half in and half out,'' he said.
Receiver could be a strength with the return of a two-year starter in Derek Moye opposite junior Justin Brown. Speedster Devon Smith also returns, and the team hopes to get Curtis Drake back from a left leg injury in time for preseason camp.
A second season with main targets Moye and Brown to go with whoever is picked to start at quarterback could help the offense's learning curve. Paterno said the team has been to do more this spring compared to a year ago.
Penn State loses career leading rusher Evan Royster at tailback, but should be fine at the position with promising Silas Redd, the backup as a freshman, returning, along with veteran Stephfon Green.
Most of the attention from fans, though, will be on the quarterback derby.
''I have heard from enough people that they want it over at the end of spring,'' Paterno joked.
