Along with the opening of fall camp at the University of Tulsa comes key positional battles. With James Kilian moving on to the NFL after starting at quarterback for the Hurricane the last two years, the spotlight will be on sophomore Paul Smith and redshirt freshman David Johnson, as they compete to become the next starting signal-caller. TU Head Coach Steve Kragthorpe appears confident in both players.

"I think we have capable candidates at the quarterback position," Kragthorpe explained. "Paul Smith had an excellent spring. Physically, he has certainly developed, and the redshirt year benefited him. David Johnson did some great things over the course of spring practice and really played well the last four or five days."

"People ask me, is there a nervousness or an anxiety about having a new quarterback. We have two very capable candidates, and that comforts me more than anything."

With as much attention as the quarterback spot is getting from the media, Kragthorpe points out that it is only a piece to the offensive puzzle for Tulsa.

"I think the biggest thing you do in coaching is that you always look and see where the talent lies," he said. "Whether it be at the quarterback position, running back position, offensive line, tight ends or whatever it might be, you utilize those resources to be at an optimum level of performance."

"Certainly, we are going to ascertain all of the talent offensively as quickly as we can and put our players in positions where they can be very effective and be great contributors to our success as a football team."

"Quarterback is one of those positions, and it just so happens that it is usually the marquee position," Kragthorpe added. "It becomes even more of a marquee position now, because we will have a new starting quarterback. James Kilian will not start at quarterback for us this year – that's about the only guarantee I can give you."

Don't expect any other guarantees too soon, as Kragthorpe isn't expected to name a starter until approximately 10 days before their season opener at home on September 1st against Minnesota.

Smith redshirted last season after a solid freshman campaign as Kilian's backup. He played in eight games, completing 62-percent of his passes for 297 yards and one touchdown. Smith led TU on four scoring drives against San Jose State as a freshman, hitting on 10-of-17 passes for 166 yards. He is the state of Oklahoma's all-time high school passing leader and had a good spring.

In his first season at Tulsa last year, Johnson sat out as a redshirt. His high school offense was run-oriented, but he possesses decent arm strength, very good accuracy and throws well on the run. He had a solid showing this spring but is still getting comfortable with the offense.

Westling appears to be an absolute steal for the Golden Hurricane, as he was grossly under-recruited due to breaking his fibia in his junior season. Schools didn't have the chance to evaluate his talent, and he fell under the radar until the end of his senior year, in which he completed 216-of-350 passes for 2,988 yards and 28 touchdowns. Barring injuries to Smith or Johnson, Westling will likely get the chance to redshirt and learn the offense.