ISU football coach Gene Chizik’s strategy is simple – every position on the field is open.

No one – not even three-year starting quarterback Bret Meyer – is safe from the competition.

“It’s every man’s game; every man for himself,” Chizik said. “Bret will have to win that position over again.” Meyer wouldn’t have it any other way.

“That’s competition,” Meyer said. “If you’re going to play at this level and you’re going to shy away from competition, then you’re not going to be any good.”

Meyer’s competition comes from redshirt freshman Austen Arnaud, an Ames native who was recruited and tabbed by Dan McCarney to be Meyer’s replacement when the quarterback graduates.

“[Arnaud’s] throwing the ball well at times; at times he’s not,” Chizik said. “He’s catching on to things. You can throw him in the same boat as everyone else – his head may be swimming a little bit, but he’s understanding things. When the game slows down for him, he’ll get better and better.”

True to his word, the starting job is his if Arnaud is the best quarterback when Iowa State opens the 2007 season on Aug. 30 against Kent State.

“If he’s better than Bret in our opinion when we start game one, then he plays,” Chizik said. “It’s that simple.”

The Cyclones will have one more quarterback in the fold when Philip Bates arrives on campus.

It took Bates just two seasons to become Omaha North High School’s all-time leading passer, and he will add one more arm to the Cyclone offense. Meyer though, has a decided edge on his competition. He is a three-year starter for the Cyclones, and was an All-Big 12 performer his sophomore season.

“Bret’s got a great head on his shoulders; he understands the game of football and there’s no substitute for experience,” Chizik said. “He’s been in the big games, played a lot of football and done a lot of good things here at Iowa State, and we expect him to keep doing those things.”

Meyer had a bit of a down year in 2006, throwing for just more than 2,500 yards and 12 touchdowns. In his three-year career, Meyer is Iowa State’s all-time leader in passing yards, passes completed and touchdowns.

Meyer admitted last season that the ISU coaching staff gave him a limited amount of the field to work with, breaking down the field into thirds and clearing him to throw just to certain areas. “He’s getting a chance to make more throws all over the field,” receiver Todd Blythe said. “They’re not going to cut the field in half or in thirds for him; they’re going to say make the play where you can make the play.

“That’s something he definitely has the ability to do. He’s been able to do that since he got here. They’re going to give him the offense and turn him loose. He’s a hell of an athlete so he’ll be able to do that.”

Even with the more open offense, things are still simple in Meyer’s eyes.

“I’m going to throw the ball to the guy who’s open, same as I did before,” Meyer said.