The question comes from all sorts of people in all sorts of places.

Near the produce section and in the church pew. On talk radio and in idle chit-chat.

From relatives and friends, boosters and reporters, the next-door neighbor and the boss.

Georgia football coach Mark Richt wishes he could say with certainty who his starting quarterback will be because it would significantly reduce the stress level that accompanies August.

"I think people think I know what the deal is right now and I don't," said Richt, one of 12 state college coaches who attended Wednesday's Peach State Pigskin Preview at the Georgia Sports Hall of Fame. "Even (athletic director) Damon Evans. He's like, 'Coach, you know. Just tell me.' I don't know."

When people aren't reading tea leaves or asking Richt who the Bulldogs plan to have under center for the Sept. 2 season opener against Western Kentucky, they're trying to choose a starter for him.

It could be redshirt freshman Joe Cox, who went 31-0 as a high school starter. It should be true freshman Matthew Stafford, the prize recruit who enrolled last winter, if you put trust in recruiting hype and blogosphere hope. It can't possibly be senior Joe Tereshinski III, if form matters as much as function.

Heading into the start of summer drills, however, Tereshinski holds the edge over his higher profile competitors. Tereshinski knows what everyone is thinking, that his ownership of the starting job will be shorter lived than Hanson's stint as musical chart-toppers.

"It's one of those positions and one of those times at Georgia that there are always going to be questions," said Tereshinski, the son of a Georgia letterman. "I definitely left spring feeling like I was in front, but it's going to be a day by day thing."

The detractors cite Stafford's superior arm strength and athletic ability as well as Cox's edge in accuracy. They point to a mediocre fill-in performance against Arkansas and a losing start against Florida as reasons why J.T. Triple-Sticks should be holding a clipboard, but it's unfair to appraise him based on such a limited body of work.

Just last season, D.J. Shockley was considered a wild card because of his lack of starting experience and a shaky performance against Georgia Tech two years ago. The Bulldogs were supposed to fall back because of uncertainty at quarterback, but Shockley led the Bulldogs to the Southeastern Conference championship and earned all-league honors.

Tereshinski watched Shockley closely the past few seasons and learned how to ignore the skepticism that accompanies former backups and manage the expectations that go with such a high-profile role.

"He went through the same thing," Tereshinski said. "It's almost like (the movie) 'Groundhog Day' so to speak. The only thing that changes is who's there."

If the position were awarded based on style points, Stafford or Cox would own it today. But flashy and shiny don't necessarily trump dependability. Tereshinski could be there for the duration because he has the benefit of experience (13 games, one start), because he's in possession of a sharp mind and strong body.

Coaches are always looking for quarterbacks who get up after getting knocked down, who make their teammates want to follow them.

Tereshinski has already won respect in both departments, having served as a protector on the punt team and having given up his body for an acrobatic touchdown catch on a halfback pass in the Florida game.

"He's a throwback," Richt said. "He's a tough, hard-nosed football player who just happens to play quarterback."

Some quarterbacks hook-slide or curl up in the fetal position to avoid contact. Tereshinski, a 6-foot-3, 217-pounder, is more prone to lowering his shoulder and bulling through whoever happens to be in the way.

"I enjoy the hitting and the physical aspect of the game," Tereshinski said. "But being back there with the responsibility (of quarterback) is the fun part. That's the reason I came to Georgia."

There are reasonable doubts as to whether Tereshinski will be the starter when Georgia's season ends, let alone begins. With so much conjecture swirling around one person and one position, however, there is at least one element of an open job that doesn't remain open-ended.

Tereshinski might or might not be Georgia's starting quarterback, but there's nobody who wants the job more than he does.