Widely varying personalities were on display yesterday as the Ohio State quarterbacks discussed a duel that likely will stretch into September.

Veteran Todd Boeckman, stoic and steady, chose carefully guarded words at 20 paces.

"We're all just going to go out there and compete and do what we do, and I guess the coach is going to take it from there," he said.

Rob Schoenhoft, impulsive on the field and off, shot from the hip.

"Todd is the older guy, so of course he's going to be construed as (the favorite), and I don't know if that's truth or not," he said. "It's really no big deal."

Freshman Antonio Henton is part of the competition, too. He was the most simplistic and idealistic.

"Whoever gets out there and gets the ball moving is going to be the guy," he said.

It hardly is high noon in this showdown -- more like 6 a.m. In fact, fall camp might not amount to much.

Coach Jim Tressel said all three quarterbacks will play in the Buckeyes' first few games. He is focused mostly on having a starter entrenched by the Big Ten opener, Sept. 22 against Northwestern.

The depth chart has not changed since the first day of spring practice: Boeckman, Schoenhoft and Henton -- not coincidentally, arranged in order of seniority.

It would take a lot for that to change between now and the opener against Youngstown State.

"We're untested, and we need to be tested," Tressel said. "You can do a little bit of testing at camp, but the real test will occur when you line up on Saturday out here in front of a hundred-some-thousand."

There is no question that in addition to his experience in the system, part of the reason for Boeckman being No. 1 at the moment is his consistency and relative lack of negative plays.

Schoenhoft struggled with throwing interceptions in some spring scrimmages, but he also rallied and led some impressive drives in the spring game.

"I've always been a guy that just lets it loose; I've been portrayed as a gunslinger," he said. "Where I get myself in trouble sometimes is I try to show off a little bit too much with my arm."

Henton has impressive scrambling ability but suffered from self-admitted nervousness in the spring, when he was wildly inconsistent.

Still, he said the trio's practice repetitions have been about equal so far in fall camp, so he's encouraged at his ability to make up ground.

"Nobody is separating each other yet," he said. "I have to be more smart with the ball and be calm."

The lack of a set starter is not ideal for any team. Before last season, receiver Anthony Gonzalez talked about how nice it was to know Troy Smith was the guy, in contrast to the 2004 and 2005 preseasons.

"There's no uncertainty at that position, and that helps a lot, it really does," Gonzalez said.

Senior fullback Dionte Johnson also said knowing the starter is beneficial.

"If you can get it out of the way, it's always great so you know who your quarterback is," he said. "But if they're competing, they're growing and they're getting better, so you can't force it."

The opener Sept. 1 against Division I-AA Youngstown State probably won't be a serious test, and a game Sept. 8 against Akron should be only slightly more challenging.

So the real decision might come after a trip Sept. 15 to Washington, Ohio State's first Bowl Championship Series opponent.

"I wish we had like 50 practices and four exhibition games like the NFL," Tressel said. "But we have what we have, and we'll make the best use of it."

kgordon@dispatch.com