STATE COLLEGE - A couple weeks ago at the Big Ten Football Media Days, Bill O'Brien said he'd likely name a starting quarterback by the time training camp reached the end of its second week.
Thursday morning, the second-year head coach told those in attendance at Penn State Football Media Day he hoped they didn't mark that date on their calendar.
He was only half joking.
O'Brien has a tough decision.
The Lions have five quarterbacks in camp.
All five are first-year players at Penn State. Only two of the five - highly touted freshman Christian Hackenberg and junior college transfer Tyler Ferguson - are on scholarship.
Hackenberg has deep Schuylkill County roots. His dad, Erick, was a standout quarterback, and his mom, Nikki, excelled as a volleyball player and coach. Both parents are Marian alumni and members of the Marian High School Hall of Fame.
The other quarterbacks in camp are freshman run-ons Austin Whipple, Jack Seymour and D.J. Crook.
It's a unique situation and O'Brien and his staff are taking their time. They teach, identify mistakes, make corrections and evaluate.
Both O'Brien and quarterbacks coach Charlie Fisher say they are in no rush to make a final decision, although the scholarship players, Ferguson and Hackenberg, are receiving the bulk of the work in practice.
"We've been really pleased with both guys," O'Brien said Thursday. "They can both throw the football.
"We're only three days in, but we're certainly pleased with where they are now."
Ferguson, who has been enrolled at Penn State since January, is a bit ahead with the knowledge of the offense he picked up during spring practice. But Hackenberg, O'Brien said, is a quick study.
"Just keep practicing," O'Brien said. "Improve.
"They're young, and they're going to make mistakes. When they do, they have to play the next play. Matty McGloin. ... He made mistakes. But he was tough. He played the next play."
For Fisher, the quarterbacks coach who came on board last year shortly after O'Brien was hired, it's a new experience. Never in any of his previous stops has he had only first-year players to work with.
"It certainly is unique," said Fisher, a Warrior Run High School graduate. "But it's really been fun.
"They're younger kids who all want to learn. They're eager to work. They're talented kids, they learn quickly, and if they make a mistake, they correct it."
Both Fisher and O'Brien said the key to the process is patience.
"Our approach is one day at a time," Fisher said. "I know it sounds like a simplistic approach, but that's the approach we're always taking.
"These are our guys, the guys we wanted. They're here for a reason, and we'll just take our time and teach."
In the end, the decision will be dictated by one thing.
"We'll do what's best for the team," O'Brien said.