Zach Collaros is the Hamilton Tiger-Cats' starting quarterback, unless he's not ready to be. In which case, it could be Jeremiah Masoli who led the team to one playoff win last season, then played spectacularly in almost orchestrating another.

Or perhaps it's Jeff Mathews, who was the No. 2, then the starter until he suffered a season-ending concussion.

"It's a weird situation, we have all kinds of different things going on," agreed Masoli. "It's going to be fun, either way."

Masoli appeared to take what passed for first teams reps on Tuesday, the first day of a Ticats mini-camp filled with mostly first-year players, many of whom are absorbing information via firehose. On Wednesday, it was Mathews who got the first crack at most drills and the extremely limited team sessions.

Head coach Kent Austin wasn't willing to offer a sneak peek at the depth chart.

"I won't rank them right now. When we get into camp, we'll do some things differently that meet the skill sets of one guy better than the other guy and do some other things that meet the skill set of the other guy," Austin said. "We just have to see which direction that goes based on how we want to enter the season with our philosophy offensively."

Let's parse those words a little.

Masoli is a dual-threat guy, and the Ticats essentially rebuilt the offensive scheme around him in the post-season, producing the thrilling win over Toronto and a 30-for-42, 349-yard passing performance in the East Final loss. Mathews, meanwhile, is the prototypical pocket passer who showed flashes of potential in his five starts in relief after Collaros' torn ACL, including two wins.

A concussion suffered in Week 17 against the Redblacks ended Mathews' season and left him struggling with the after-effects. He's fully recovered and has to come to terms with insidious nature of the game's scariest injury.

"As long as I'm able to make an informed decision and I have the power to make that decision, I'm fine with it," Mathews said. "Maybe my perspective changes in 10 years. But at this point, with all the research that's come out, I think all players know the risks."