The most scrutinized positional battle in fall practices went unchanged after Eastern finished preseason practice Saturday morning.

The team went through situational drills Saturday morning that allowed the coaches to give the players a brief break until Monday afternoon.

Head coach Bob Spoo said Mike Donato held off junior transfer Cole Stinson entering the fall.

Donato started at quarterback in every game in 2005 and threw for 1,747 yards and nine touchdowns.

But that was the second-lowest yardage total for a starting Eastern quarterback since the 1995 season and Stinson was brought in to battle for the top spot.

“(Donato) manages the team a little bit better,” Spoo said. “He’s more confident in what he is doing out there.”

The rest of the starting positions have been determined on offense, he said.

“After two weeks of preseason camp you have a pretty good idea of who your players are,” Spoo said.

The Panthers passing game received a boost when Micah Rucker transferred to Eastern from the University of Minnesota. The 6-foot-6-inch wide receiver is an offensive weapon that Spoo says he hasn’t had since coming to Eastern in 1987.

“He has caught just about everything we’ve thrown his way,” he said.

Because regular-season practice schedules require at least one day off a week, the coaches scheduled Sunday as an off day to give the players a two-day break from contact.

Spoo said the break lets the players recover from any minor injuries or soreness that might have popped up in the two weeks of the camp.

“That was the purpose of actually changing the scrimmage [that was scheduled for Saturday night] to what we did today,” he said.

The Panthers were undefeated in the Ohio Valley Conference last year and begin their season Sept. 2 in Champaign against the University of Illinois.

“We capped off the camp in good fashion and the kids are in good spirits right now,” Spoo said.

The defense returns seven starters from the 2005 season and defensive coordinator Roc Bellantoni said there are still some backup positions at linebacker he has to determine.

But he said they held off on contact because “it wasn’t worth getting one of my guys more hurt than he already is.”

Bellantoni said that four defensive players, including preseason OVC defensive player of the year Clint Sellers, are nursing minor shoulder injuries and the break should help them heal.