A month from today it will all be settled as Vanderbilt takes the field against Virginia Tech, but head coach Clark Lea wants to take his time evaluating his quarterbacks until then.

As Lea looked on at Vanderbilt's first day of fall camp he did so without making any declarations about his quarterback battle that consists of Diego Pavia, Nate Johnson, Blaze Berlowitz and Drew Dickey.

"Right now it's anyone's ball," Lea said of the competition on Wednesday. "They've gotta come out and show the ability to protect the football, make good decisions and empower the other 10 guys on the field to make plays. We want to give them time and space to do that."

Lea acknowledges that at some point that space has to be prioritized, though.

There has to be room for emergence, but also adequate time for preparation as August wears on and the list of starting candidates dwindles.

"I think the challenge is gonna be for us as we go that we can't get four guys ready to play so we're gonna have to be strategic about how we distribute those reps and ultimately take a competition of four to a competition of two and then have a starter by the time we're playing Virginia Tech."

The fourth-year head coach is entrusting that responsibility to offensive coordinator Tim Beck and consultant Jerry Kill.

"With coach Beck and coach Kill you've got a ton of experience on that side of the ball," Lea said. "I trust their eyes on it. I'm excited about what they're doing offensively, it's challenged me as a defensive coach. They'll do a great job ultimately narrowing those reps down and picking a starter."

Under Beck and Kill the quarterback position will look different than it has for Vanderbilt whether that's solidified through Pavia, Johnson, Berlowitz or Dickey.

Vanderbilt's competition will be open up until its opener against Virginia Tech.