On Sept. 5, Michigan football fans can fully expect to see three different maize-and-blue-clad players take snaps at quarterback. Rich Rodriguez promised it, position coach Rod Smith confirmed it, and the three guys — two of them true freshmen — don’t seem fazed by the news.

Although Wolverine Nation has seemingly crowned newcomer Tate Forcier as the guy, both redshirt junior Nick Sheridan and freshman Denard Robinson will get to show their skills against Western Michigan.

From that point, it’s anyone’s guess who might take the reins. A three-way quarterback battle this close to the season is a rare sight at Michigan, but the coaching staff knows a thing or two about the situation.

At West Virginia in 2006, Rodriguez and Smith had three talented field generals, two of which had started games as Mountaineers. In retrospect, then-sophomore Pat White seemed to be the clear choice for the starting job. But both Adam Bednarik, who went 5-1 as a starter in 2005 before getting injured, and Jarrett Brown, this season’s starter, were in the running for playing time.

Obviously, the coaches stuck with White, who became one of the most storied players in Mountaineer history. But for the Wolverines, there still isn't a clear-cut frontrunner -- and that means the real question is if a three-quarterback scenario is a legitimate possibility this season.

“Could be,” Smith said. “That’s something we’re going to have to decide as a staff. I don’t know who’s going to start ... or how many will play, but we’re going to have three ready to go. We know that. We’re going to have three ready to play — not ready to play, ready to win with.”

All three clearly have their strengths and weaknesses. Robinson, who has only been in Ann Arbor since June 23, has impressed with his speed. Although he was very much an afterthought for the starting nod at the spring game, which he visited from high school, Robinson has forced his way into consideration with sheer athleticism.

“I promise you this, there’s nobody in the country who is ever going to catch him (from behind)," Michigan running backs coach Fred Jackson said. “In my 18 years here, I’ve never seen a kid that fast. Nowhere. And I've seen some fast kids on other teams. ... It’s scary.”

Added Forcier: “He gets away with a lot of stuff, but that’s how lucky he is, being so fast and athletic. I think once he gets the mental aspect down, he’s going to be unreal.”

Forcier’s on-field exploits have already been well-documented, as has his poise. The most common word tossed around when talking about him is undoubtedly “swagger.”

And that swagger definitely showed when Forcier talked about Robinson. He admitted that he took practice too lightly after Sheridan broke his leg in spring ball, which eliminated Forcier’s competition. But now with Robinson and a healthy Sheridan, Forcier is being pushed to excel more than ever.

“One guy is not ahead of the other,” Smith said. “We’re trying to keep it open so guys stay as sharp as can be. The deal is, if Denard is playing like he is, it’s going to raise (Tate’s) game. So, closing the gap — they can only control what they can control.”

And of course, Smith is quick to point out that Sheridan is the most mentally ready for the job. He has a year of experience on the other two, and it has paid off.

But that’s not to say that Forcier and Robinson aren’t picking up on the offensive packages. Working against new defensive coordinator Greg Robinson multi-scheme package — Smith joked that the new defensive playbook “must be 700 pages” — the freshmen quarterbacks have seen “more looks from him than we saw all last year,” according to Smith.

But the speed and the hidden packages in the college game ensure that Forcier and Robinson will have growing pains when they get their turn under center.

“They’re going to make some great plays, and they’re going to make some bad plays,” Smith said. “That’s the inexperience part of it, and that’s why we’ve got low expectations, because they are freshmen and that’s inevitably going to happen. We don’t want it to. We’re going to try our damndest to keep it from happening, but of course it’s going to happen.”