You know, we can pretend that the biggest concern is replacing two starting cornerbacks, the depth at safety, the change at MLB, who the hell is going to be the center.

No. We all know the big question as far as position question is the QB spot. Specifically Tino Sunseri or Pat Bostick. Let’s get it done now. So the fact that ESPN.com’s Big East writer Brian Bennett teased his interview with Coach Dave Wannstedt to end last week has been awaited.

Wannstedt said it will be a competition this spring between Pat Bostick and Tino Sunseri. Bostick redshirted a year ago, and Wannstedt said he really learned a lot and showed great improvement in practice. Wannstedt also had high praise for Sunseri, the redshirt sophomore who was Bill Stull’s backup a year ago.

“He’s ready to play now,” Wannstedt said. “It’s his time. He understands the offense, and we’ve got a good feel for his abilities and what he can do.”

This spring, Wannstedt said, Bostick and Sunseri will split the reps evenly early on in practice, with Andrew Janocko serving as the third-stringer.

Barring multiple, horrific injuries there will be no way incoming freshmen QBs Anthony Gonzalez or Mark Myers are even going to sniff the field this fall. So, by all means, pine for their tantalizing untapped potential. Drool over grainy and choppy YouTube snippets of their performances in high school. Dream of what they might one day do in the Blue and Gold. Just please, do me this small favor. Don’t even suggest that either will have a shot at starting come August. We all know it won’t happen.

So let’s go directly to the questions and quoted answers on the matter:

Let’s talk about the quarterback situation, which is always a big deal. Where does that stand going into the spring?

DW: We’re better off than we’ve been in the past for a couple reasons. From a depth standpoint, we have Pat Bostick coming back, and I think the redshirt year has done wonders for him knowledge-wise, from a physical and mental standpoint. And the interesting thing with Tino Sunseri is, if you go back to last spring we opened up the competition between Billy Stull, Pat Bostick and Tino. So all three quarterbacks got equal reps throughout the spring. Then we got to training camp and made the decision to redshirt Pat. And Tino was alternating between first group/second group all through camp with Billy.

So, really we came out of camp where Billy was a little bit ahead of him, but Tino had gotten so much work with the first group on offense, as I look back on it, it was one of the better things we did to help his development. So he’s ready to play now. He’s a redshirt sophomore. He understands the offense and we’ve got a good feel for his abilities and what he can do. So we’ll see what he can do. It’s going to be a competition.

Then we have two really good freshmen coming in, and obviously you’re not counting on them. But we like Anthony Gonzalez from Liberty (Penn.) and Mark Myers from (Cleveland) St. Ignatius. Here’s kind of an interesting tidbit: They were both picked to play in the Big 33 game; one will be playing for Ohio and one for Pennsylvania. So at some point in the game, both quarterbacks in the Big 33 game could both be going to Pitt. That’s probably never happened before.

Will you keep Gonzalez at quarterback? He’s a versatile all-around athlete.

DW: We’ll see. That’s the plan right now and we’ll just have to see how it unfolds.

So going into spring, is Sunseri No. 1 on the depth chart, or is it officially even between him and Bostick?

DW: We have a walk-on kid, Andrew Janocko, who’s been here three years. All three of them will get work. We’ll split the work early with Tino and Bostick, but I think they’ll both have to go and show what they can do, and we’ll give them each a chance to go out and prove themselves.

Do you anticipate the competition going into fall camp like last year?

DW: I don’t think so. I think it will be cleared up pretty good this spring. But you never know. I’m anticipating that it will.

How do you want to read it? Bennett seems to think that Sunseri goes in designated as the guy at least technically the #1 or 1A on the depth chart. If for no other reason being Sunseri was the #2 last year behind Stull.

I have no clue. Nothing in the answer seems to make it clear to me who is favored. Clearly Wannstedt thinks Sunseri has the opportunity. Does that mean it is his to lose? Does it just mean that he will gets to go out with the first team on the first day of practice?

There is the reality that Bostick had a redshirt available while Sunseri didn’t so there was a logic in that for last year.

We just haven’t seen Bostick in almost a year throw the ball in even a scrimmage situation. Wannstedt was careful to praise both.

Coach Wannstedt wants this settled by the end of spring practices. I’m guessing that fans won’t see it settled until late-August — at the earliest