when a QB is penciled in as the starter in spring without contest, it's not because the QB coach is lazy nor is it necessarily an invitation for complacency though that does happen sometimes. QBs are just different and they have to be managed differently because of their role on the team. For an offense, every practice rep with the same QB is critical to their preparedness for the season. Tanner was named the starter because he was simply our best option at QB at the time and none of the other QBs on the roster showed enough in practice to disprove that. If may be a different story this year, but if whoever wins the starting job goes on to have a great season then they should automatically be penciled in as the starter next season. That's just how it works. It would be a huge waste of time in my opinion to have an open battle for the starting QB position ever year when everyone on the team already knows who their QB is and have already rallied around him. Just tell the QB, "Hey we're naming you the starter but it's gonna your job to lose. Good luck"