Many have the perception that practice for a June Jones-coached offense resembles a shooting gallery, with receivers scurrying around all over the field and an army of quarterbacks flinging passes to every corner of the field.

The scenario is not entirely inaccurate. Position drills are not a matter of a quarterback dropping back and delivering a downfield strike to a receiver. Instead, the Mustangs usually have four quarterbacks tracking a quartet of receivers, launching enough passes every day that Jones and assistant head coach-offense Dan Morrison insist that the sheer volume of passes thrown is the top reason the quarterbacksΓÇÖ arms grow stronger.

Quarterbacks Stephen Kaiser (left) and Conner Preston (right) will be two of five passers battling for a starting role in August (photo by PonyFans.com).

This spring, however, is a little different. The PoniesΓÇÖ top two quarterbacks from last season are gone ΓÇö J.J. McDermott was a senior in 2011 and Kyle Padron is transferring. That leaves the team with two scholarship passers, Stephen Kaiser and Conner Preston, and walk-on Garrett Krstich. Wide receivers coach Jason Phillips has stepped in as an extra quarterback, just so there are enough passes being thrown to the legions of wideouts.

For all intents and purposes, the Ponies will have a brand new quarterback on the field when they open the 2012 season at Baylor. Yes, Kaiser threw one pass in SMUΓÇÖs 28-6 win over Pittsburgh in the BBVA Compass Bowl in January, but thatΓÇÖs it. Preston and Krstich redshirted.

Former Texas quarterback Garrett Gilbert has said he is transferring to SMU, and there are many who assume he will walk in and start immediately. If he doesnΓÇÖt, it is assumed Kaiser and Preston will battle for the job, while Krstich and incoming true freshman Neal Burcham wait their turns.

So the spring is less about settling spots in the quarterback hierarchy and more about further growth and understanding of the offense, and neither offered any speculation about who is where on the depth chart. Kaiser has taken the first snaps with the first-team offense in seven-on-seven drills and team (11-on-11) drills, but that means nothing other than the fact that heΓÇÖs a year older, as he, Preston and Krstich all rotate, two plays at a time.

Kaiser and Preston each said they are not focused on any kind of passer pecking order right now, and each offered a fairly positive review of his own performance this spring.

ΓÇ£I think I have done pretty good,ΓÇ¥ Kaiser said. ΓÇ£ItΓÇÖs a little different, getting this many snaps, because when J.J. and Kyle were here, I spent a lot of time sitting back and watching, doing mental reps. ItΓÇÖs better to see and do what youΓÇÖre supposed to do, rather than just watching.ΓÇ¥

“For me, it has been a lot more fun, because I’m getting more reps,” Preston said. “We would watch film with Coach Morrison and go to meetings, but then when you take the field … it’s hard to be out there watching most of the time.

ΓÇ£You know the offense, but only so much until you take the field. We go in to meetings with Coach Morrison and we have questions all the time. WeΓÇÖll be seniors and still have questions, though. Now, after practicing more, every time I get the ball IΓÇÖm confident IΓÇÖm going to throw a touchdown. It doesnΓÇÖt always happen, but thatΓÇÖs the attitude.ΓÇ¥

In a sense, this year marks the first full offseason for both quarterbacks. Yes, Kaiser is a year ahead of Preston, having just finished his redshirt freshman season while Preston was a true freshman in 2011, but Kaiser lost just about all of the 2010 season because of illness and was admittedly weaker during last yearΓÇÖs spring workouts.

ΓÇ£IΓÇÖm not going to lie,ΓÇ¥ Kaiser said. ΓÇ£With the mono, I lost a lot of weight and a lot of strength. The doctors said it could be a long time before I felt the same as I did before I got sick. Plus, I developed some bad habits when I didnΓÇÖt practice, so when I started to feel my strength coming back, my body felt a little sore, but I corrected those.

ΓÇ£When I first came back, my arm motion was wrong, and I felt like I couldnΓÇÖt get the ball 30 yards. I thought, ΓÇÿCan I not do this anymore?ΓÇÖ I was discouraged, but the arm came back.ΓÇ¥

For Preston, spring workouts have meant his first opportunity to really run the offense.

ΓÇ£For this position, comfort level is huge,ΓÇ¥ Preston said. ΓÇ£Last year, a lot of the time, I was one rep and out. Now I get in the huddle, I look the guys in their eyes. I helped run the scout (offense) last year, and when you do that, you go over your own offense, but youΓÇÖre also learning another teamΓÇÖs offense each week. So weΓÇÖd throw routes in skeleton drills, but didnΓÇÖt learn as much as we do now. Now weΓÇÖre in meetings, weΓÇÖre watching film, and weΓÇÖre getting more reps on the field.ΓÇ¥

The wild card in the quarterback equation is Gilbert, the former Longhorn passer who was among the nationΓÇÖs most highly touted recruits when he came out of high school. HeΓÇÖs bigger than Kaiser and Preston, but will he be better than players who already have a grasp of the offense? That remains to be settled in August.

ΓÇ£It doesnΓÇÖt bug me at all,ΓÇ¥ Kaiser said when asked if the assumption by some that Gilbert would assume a starting role immediately bothers him. ΓÇ£He has a lot of hype around him, and he should ΓÇö he was one of the top recruits in the country and he played at a high-profile program. When you get a chance to add a player like that, itΓÇÖs going to make your team better. You welcome him in and compete, and if he doesnΓÇÖt earn the job, someone else will earn it by playing well. Having him here will make all of us better players.ΓÇ¥

Equally diplomatic, Preston said the competition with Kaiser, Krstich, Gilbert or Burcham is not going to do anything to affect the way he works and competes for the quarterback job.

ΓÇ£Honestly, IΓÇÖm just trying to enjoy all of it,ΓÇ¥ Preston said. ΓÇ£When it starts to feel really serious, you have to step back and remember, ΓÇÿIΓÇÖm playing in a college program, a Div. I program.ΓÇÖ As (SMU strength coach) Mel (de Laura) always says, I want to enjoy the experience. These are supposed to be the best years of your life, right? You have to make sure you have no regrets after four years.ΓÇ¥