Second-year head football coach Jim Harbaugh has chosen a starting quarterback — for now.

Harbaugh tabbed rising senior Tavita Pritchard to lead the offense, with rising junior Alex Loukas and rising senior Jason Forcier backing him up as the second- and third-string quarterbacks, respectively. Harbaugh had previously decided on that same order following spring practices.

In anticipation of Tuesday’s intra-squad scrimmage, the first of the summer, Harbaugh established a depth chart for one of the Cardinal’s most unsettled positions, but also made clear that it was only for the time being and that Pritchard would not necessarily be the starter come opening day against Oregon State, Aug. 28.

According to Pritchard, the three QBs exhibit similar physical characteristics. What distinguished him from the rest of the field, he said, was his experience running the Stanford offense under the pressure of game situations.

“All three of us aren’t that different; we’re all mobile and like to move around,” Pritchard said. “It’s the experience, being able to play at the speed of the game. It helps me get my mind on it quickly, and really lets me run the offense.”

Pritchard saw action in nine contests last season and made the first start of his career against then-No. 2 USC at the L.A. Coliseum. There he led the Cardinal to a monumental, come-from-behind 24-23 victory. He started every game thereafter, with one notable exception — Big Game against Cal — but largely split time with T.C. Ostrander ‘08 over that span. Pritchard finished the season with 1,114 passing yards.

In contrast, Loukas has yet to see any action in two years on the Farm. Forcier, who transferred from Michigan after the 2006 season and (because of NCAA rules) sat out for the entirety of 2007, threw three passes during his career in Ann Arbor.

Still, Harbaugh emphasized that despite the notable gulf in game-day experience, there wasn’t a lot separating the three quarterbacks.

“There’s not a huge difference between the three of them,” Harbaugh said. “We feel we have three guys who we can win with. We treat all of them as starters.”

Pritchard concurred, saying that the competition has brought out the best in each of the QBs vying for the job.

“Everyone has been making plays and running the offense,” he said. “[It’s] made our whole team confident in all three of us.”

With the vast majority of defensive starters returning to the Farm, many of the Cardinal’s questions centered around the offense and in particular, the quarterback competition. Pritchard was never able to completely wrest the top spot on the depth chart from Ostrander last year, and as a result, he did not come into camp as the starting QB.

In addition to the quarterback battle, there were numerous holes in the receiving corps following the graduation of Mark Bradford ‘08, Stanford’s leading receiver last season and now a member of the Dallas Cowboys, as well as Evan Moore ‘08, now with the Green Bay Packers.

But instead of falling into disarray, rising junior Richard Sherman, a star in the making, and numerous other receivers — such as rising sophomores Doug Baldwin and Ryan Whalen, and incoming freshmen Chris Owusu and Warren Reuland — have stepped up to help stabilize the unit. Pritchard said that the offense has already gelled and will continue to come together over the rest of camp.

In hopes of continuing that process, the Tacoma, Wash.-native expects the remaining practices to be as intense as always.

“Coach wants us to continue to practice as we have been and not be content,” Pritchard said. “He wants us to keep improving our skills.”

In particular, Pritchard has focused on the accuracy, release and timing of his throws. He completed 50 percent of his passes last season, a solid but not outstanding percentage, but threw nearly twice as many interceptions (nine) as he did touchdowns (five).

On the whole, Pritchard said that the offense has to take the “next step” this year.

“We had flashes last year,” he said. “This year, it’s about consistency. We have to score in the red zone, for example. We have to continue to progress.”

After Tuesday’s scrimmage, Harbaugh said that the team is already exhibiting promising signs of attaining that goal.

“We’ve had very little fluctuation in our practices,” he said. “I’m very happy with the consistency we are showing.”

With only two weeks left until the beginning of the season, Pritchard still has plenty of work left in order to lock down the starting job. But with many passers and receivers displaying their talent, the offense appears to be in good hands — whosever hands those wind up being.