DaytonDailyNews.com

OXFORD — The process to choose Miami University's starting quarterback is underway, and head coach Mike Haywood said he doesn't think it will be resolved anytime in the near future.

"There is no timetable whatsoever," Haywood said.

Right now three players are taking turns at the extremely crowded position — senior-to-be Daniel Raudabaugh, junior Mike Scherpenberg and red-shirt freshman Zac Dysert.

Haywood is being extremely careful to give everyone an equal chance.

"They rotate every day," Haywood said following practice Wednesday, March 25. "I want to give them equal reps. No one has the advantage over the other. We want to level the playing field."

The number of contenders will increase to four when sophomore Clay Belton is cleared to play, and might well jump to five when Austin Boucher is done at Alter High School.

By that time, few (if any) football programs across the nation will have more depth and potential at quarterback than the RedHawks. Certainly, no Miami football team has been this stacked, at least in terms of sheer numbers and possibilities.

The veteran of the group is Raudabaugh (6-foot-4, 217 pounds) ranks fifth on Miami's career passing chart with 4,681 yards, though he takes no pleasure from his performance last year when Miami went 2-10. But the hard lessons from 2008 are not lost on Raudabaugh.

"Every year, every day, every play you find out something about yourself," Raudabaugh said. "Being a leader on a team that didn't achieve ... makes you look inside yourself. It proves that it doesn't matter what they say about you, you have to go out on the field and prove yourself. Actions speak louder than words."

Belton (6-5, 236 pounds) came to Miami following a sensational career at Northmont, where he was named to the all-state first team as a junior. Former Miami coach Shane Montgomery compared his arm strength to that of Ben Roethlisberger.

But Belton has been plagued by injuries, in high school as a senior and during the last third of last season. On Wednesday he was one of 14 RedHawks wearing a yellow jersey signifying that he was unable to play.

"We expect him to come back at some point in the spring," Haywood said, declining to be specific about what was keeping Belton out of action. "He's just not able to practice right now."

Dysert (6-4, 195 pounds) was named Ohio's all-division player of the year in 2007 at Ada High School and ranks second on the state's all-time passing yards list. He was red-shirted last season.

Boucher (6-1, 205 pounds) turned down a chance to play at Ohio State after being named Ohio's Division IV Player of the Year.

Scherpenberg (6-3, 203 pounds), an Indian Hill graduate and transfer from Grand Valley State in Grand Rapids, Mich., was impressive in last year's Spring Game but has yet to throw his first official college pass.

Contact this reporter at (513) 820-2197 or pconrad@coxohio.com.