"It is going to be a wide-open battle and it's a battle between three good ones and that's a good thing for the Lions," Lucas said.

Babin (6-4, 225) started all 11 games and was strong at protecting the football, with only six interceptions. But he was not as adept at unloading the ball and avoiding sacks; Lion QBs were bagged 27 times last year, second-most in the league to SFA's 29. Babin was 191-for-315 passing (60.6 percent) for 1,996 yards and 12 TDs.

Neville (6-0, 200) was a situational reliever who was not often called upon to throw, appearing in eight games and completing 2-for-7 for 38 yards with no touchdowns and one interception. He doesn't have prototypical size, but his mobility (23 carries, 110 yards, 4.8 ypc.) is a major asset - and could be key on a team rebuilding its offensive line - and so are his leadership skills.

"They both bring something a little different to the table," Lucas said. "They both got some very valuable snaps last year, and I think they both realize what it takes to win in this conference. And they both have a year of spending time with (offensive coordinator) Tommy Condell and picking his brain and learning all those things."

The Lions lost last year's freshman QB recruit, Eric St. Amand, to academics, but they also have freshman B.J. Young (6-2, 205) from Hahnville coming into camp. Then there's Beatty (6-3, 230), who has possibly the best physical skills and arm strength of any of them but no experience in the system.

"How soon can he learn the offense and get comfortable with our receivers?" wonders Lucas, who said teammates will play a key role in determining the starter.

"When Josh McCown came to Sam Houston, he started with the third string," Lucas said, recalling his previous SLC coaching stop and the arrival of a transfer quarterback who went on to play in the NFL.

"The first time he stepped in the huddle with the ones, you saw everybody in the huddle stood up a little taller and got fired up. They believed that that guy was going to win," Lucas said. "Sometimes it's not what that quarterback does, but how everybody responds to him.

"We need a guy, whichever one it is, where if we're down 10 with seven minutes to go, we can say, ‘Go win it for us'. Other people in this league have that. That was proven right out here last year with (Central Arkansas All-SLC QB) Nathan Brown.

"That's what we need - a guy that everybody will rally around and say, ‘We believe he can get it done'," Lucas said. "And we need our guys to step up and do it."