The players and coaches of the Michigan football team have been extremely tight-lipped lately about the quarterback situation going into Saturday's home opener against Connecticut.

All anyone has been told is that each quarterback has a chance to play and that all three have been competing very well.

But despite all the ors dotting the newly released depth chart at the position, some light was shed on the quarterback competition during a press conference on Monday.

Head coach Rich Rodriguez said he "doesn't know yet" whether he'll play all three quarterbacks on Saturday against Connecticut, but he could see a scenario where all three quarterbacks would play throughout the season.

If all three do play during the season, that would put the speculation of freshman quarterback Devin Gardner redshirting to rest.

"Everybody's asking, 'Is Devin going to be redshirted?' " Rodriguez said. "Probably not. Devin's probably going to play. His progress has been pleasing."

Especially pleasing is the speed of Gardner's passes, at least according to sophomore wide receiver Darryl Stonum.

"All of them are coming in fast, but I would probably have to say Devin has the fastest ball," Stonum said.

After watching all three compete in camp and with the opener against the Huskies fast approaching, Rodriguez said he has an idea of which quarterback will take the first snap.

"I don't know if the coaches know yet, but I've got an idea," Rodriguez said.

Whoever does get the call, Rodriguez said he isn't sure when he'll be told.

"I don't need a 'Dr. Phil' moment with the guy," Rodriguez said. "This is the deal, go out and play. That's how we approach practice: 'Here's the play, execute the play.' "

Carvin Johnson to start at spur: When senior cornerback Troy Woolfolk went down with a season-ending injury two weeks ago, everyone around the program knew some of the younger players in the defensive backfield would need to step up.

Freshman Carvin Johnson, who wasn't highly touted coming out of high school, impressed during camp. He was rewarded with a starting spot at the spur position, a hybrid safety/linebacker.

"We probably could've put an 'or' on there because it hasn't really been solidified yet," Rodriguez said. "He's a young, athletic guy who's a very quick learner and gives us some athleticism at that spot."

"Carvin's like a ballhawk," Stonum said. "He's always around the ball. That's what impressed me is his motor. He never quits on a play and he always gives his all on the field."

Redshirt freshman Thomas Gordon will be backing up Johnson.

Junior Mike Martin also had good things to say about Johnson. He said Johnson was quiet, but comes to practice every day ready to work.

"He's been doing a good job," Martin said. "Getting interceptions, laying the wood on tackles and he's just a hard player. I'm excited to see what he's going to do this year."

Finally game week: When asked whether the team views this week differently from the past few weeks of camp, redshirt sophomore wideout Roy Roundtree had one thing to say:

"It's finally here," he said. "It's game week. Just more focused. We've got practice today, just getting ready to see how fun practice is going to be and getting ready to finally hit somebody new."

After an offseason full of talks about NCAA violations and wingless helmets, many players are ready for the season to start and for the focus to be on football.

And getting ready to play the first game in what is being billed as the "New Big House" is certainly cause for excitement.

"It's going to be wonderful," Roundtree said. "When I was getting recruited, Coach Rod was like, 'In 2010, the Big House is going to be new.' When Saturday comes, we're going to have goosebumps just doing the Victor's Walk because we already know when we come in there it's going to be packed and its going to be loud."

But while players are excited to open up the season in the newly-renovated stadium, Stonum said it won't have an effect on how the team plays.

"It's still 100 yards of grass," Stonum said. "We just line up and play."

NOTES: Stonum said the new contacts he got allow him to see much more clearly ... former fullback and current redshirt senior linebacker Mark Moundros is listed next to fellow redshirt senior Obi Ezeh on the depth chart at middle linebacker.