After playing quarterback roulette for most of the 2014 season, Vanderbilt freshman Johnny McCrary settled into the starting job for the final five games.

Though McCrary’s play couldn’t be classified as tremendous, it was at least sturdy, providing a stability the Commodores needed badly on offense.

The 6-foot-4, 230-pound McCrary tied a school record with five touchdown passes against Old Dominion. Despite languishing against good SEC defenses, he appeared to have as much or more upside as the other quarterback options.

The question entering spring practice in 2015 was whether Vanderbilt would stage a legitimate competition at the position or whether the word “competition” deserved quotation marks around it, with McCrary owning the job unless he tripped over himself.

All indications are that head coach Derek Mason will give new offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig full autonomy to evaluate the quarterbacks from scratch and choose a starter.

“Whatever Coach Ludwig wants at that position (quarterback), he understands what he wants,” Mason said, according to the Tennessean. “… I have found out in this business, as a head coach you’ll make every final decision about what happens. But at the end of the day, let guys do their job. If he can’t do his job, then why is he here?”

Vanderbilt was one of two FBS schools along with Duke to start practice in mid-February, wanting to erase the pain of a 3-9 season and look forward as soon as possible.

McCrary and Patton Robinette seem like the two most obvious candidates to become the team’s starting quarterback, but all four players — including Wade Freebeck and redshirt freshman Shawn Stankavage — got pretty equal time during Saturday’s scrimmage.

So far Ludwig hasn’t been impressed by the group as a whole.

“We’ve got a lot of work to do,” Ludwig said, according to the Tennesseean. “… There is a lot that needs to go on at that position — from A to Z. It’s a good hard-working group, and I appreciate their efforts. But we’ve just got to get a lot better.”

The Tennessean described Ludwig’s practice demeanor as very active and hands-on, with the new coordinator flying through formations and sprinting more than 40 yards to give a high-five.

Though Ludwig’s offenses have leaned toward the run or the pass depending on personnel, expect the Commodores to lean on two tight-end sets and a power running game. Ludwig plans to spend the first half of spring practice installing his base offense and evaluating the personnel before determining what to emphasize, but expect a lot of TE Steven Scheu and RBs Ralph Webb, Dallas Rivers and Darrius Sims. (Sims spent most of his time last year as a kick returner and defensive back.)

As far as the quarterbacks are concerned, Ludwig’s primary early objective seems to be improving the team’s 2014 completion percentage of 50.4. Robinette led the team by completing 64.2 percent of his passes last season, though he couldn’t seem to stay healthy. McCrary completed 51.3 percent of his attempts.

“Be specific about where you are throwing it. Don’t throw it at them. Throw it to them,” joked Ludwig about his passing drills. “That’s a real sophisticated coaching point there.”