On his weekly radio show tonight, MSU coach Dan Mullen named junior Chris Relf the starting quarterback for Saturday's season opener against Memphis (6 p.m., ESPNU).

Earlier today, Mullen tweeted that he would probably name the starter there. About halfway through the program, he said, "Chris Relf is gonna start at quarterback for us, but we will play more than one quarterback in the first game."

Relf and Tyler Russell have been battling all offseason for the job, and both will play. And it sounds like Mullen will stick with the two-QB system throughout the season.

"We need to get both of them in the flow for the rest of the season, for the big picture of the season," Mullen said.

The second-year coach noted that both quarterbacks are much more ready this year. Relf has never drawn a start, and Russell, a redshirt freshman, hasn't played a college game.

"He's a quarterback now," Mullen said of Relf. "He was kind of an athlete last year that could make things happen."

Of Russell, he said, "He might have thought he was ready last year, but now he understands he was nowhere close to ready to step on that football field."

Mullen also named Robert Elliott, a junior from Okolona, the starting tailback. On this week's depth chart, he was listed as co-No. 1 with junior college transfer Vick Ballard. Mullen said those two and redshirt freshman LaDarius Perkins will all play.

"I'd love to see at the end of day all our tailbacks with equal reps and playing fresh and fast the rest of the season," Mullen said.