Those two categories -- let's label them "ready to play" and "still in development" -- would help narrow Cody Kater, Alex Niznak and Cooper Rush down to two, or maybe even one. But at Mid-American Conference media day last week in Detroit, Central Michigan coach Dan Enos chose not to.

"Would you say Kater and Niznak have a slight advantage, just based on experience?," I asked Enos, trying to press him on who might be ahead of the others -- or who even might be behind.

Keep in mind, Kater has been around the CMU program for a while now. Recruited by Butch Jones, he enrolled for classes during the spring 2010 semester. Then Jones left for Cincinnati -- and Kater willingly followed, much to his detriment (he later admitted he went to Cincy "for all the wrong reasons"). Since then, he's started at Grand Rapids Community College and served as backup to Ryan Radcliff.

Niznak, meanwhile, was Enos' golden recruit when he arrived on campus in 2010. A dual-threat quarterback, some naively referring to him as the "next Dan LeFevour," his foot speed was there, but his arm strength needed to improve -- so he redshirted in 2011. Then he sat on the sidelines all of last season, waiting his turn. Radcliff would graduate, leaving him and Kater to duke it out for the starting job.

“No," Enos said with surety, responding to my question. "I would have normally told you that, but the way Cooper played in the spring, he closed the gap. And he did."

Take a second to let that sink in. A quarterback with zero Division 1 experience coming off his redshirt freshman season, and Enos considers him on the same level as Kater and Niznak heading into preseason camp. Sure, Niznak hasn't played a snap either, but just two years ago, he was Enos' guy. Run, throw ... Niznak would eventually do it all, many thought.

Flash forward two years, and CMU is a different team. Its running game is expected to be near the top of the league, led by senior running back Zurlon Tipton after he put up numbers (1,492 yards) not seen from a running back since Ontario Sneed (1,065 yards) in 2005.

They won't need a quarterback who can run.

And Enos considers his receiving corps just as deep, with junior Titus Davis -- arguably one of the best playmakers in the conference -- returning alongside Courtney Williams and sophomore Andrew Flory.

They're going to need a quarterback who can throw.

Given all of that, the two best options are Kater, who threw for more than 2,200 yards and 19 touchdowns in 10 games for Grand Rapids Community College two seasons ago, and Rush, a gunslinger who threw for more than 4,000 yards and 48 touchdowns his senior season at Lansing Catholic High School.

And last week, when asked to evaluate each of his three guys, he chose to praise Rush's arm. Kater, he said, "has really developed as a passer."

"Cooper Rush is just a tremendous passer," Enos said. "He’s got a tremendous arm, he’s got a quick release, off the charts intelligence level and he’s very accurate. He puts the ball in tight windows, and he is one of the best passers I’ve been around in a long time."

Don't forget: Rush also played the entire spring game in April, leading the Maroon team to a 16-13 win, while Niznak and Kater shared duties for the Gold. And Enos really, really likes his arm -- going as far as to compare Rush to former Michigan State quarterback Jim Miller.

"He’s very similar in stature, and Jimmy had great upper-body mechanics and a quick release and didn’t run extremely well, but had good movement in the pocket and could get rid of the football," Enos said. "And they’re both highly intelligent. Jimmy was very accurate and a pure passer, and Cooper has those type of abilities.”

Will Rush win the job? That remains to be seen, and is ultimately up to him and his performance in preseason camp. And maybe I'm just reading too much into it.

But signs are certainly looking good for him.

Contact Aaron McMann: aaron.mcmann@gmail.com. Follow him on Twitter: @AaronMcMann. Follow @CMLIFE_football, too.

Clarification: Junior quarterback Cody Kater did not redshirt after being recruited by Butch Jones and CMU. He enrolled early and transferred before the start of the 2010 season.