COLUMBUS – Buckeye head coach Urban Meyer may know on Wednesday who will start at quarterback in the season opening game at Virginia Tech Monday night, but he says his choice won’t be public until Ohio State’s first offensive play of the game.
“We’ll announce the starter when the first guy takes a snap,” Meyer told reporters at his regular weekly news conference.
Since the game in Blacksburg is on a Monday night (8:000 p.m./ESPN), the team’s practice routine is off by two days, so Wednesday on the calendar is Monday on the game-preparation schedule for Meyer and the players.
“In the coach’s mind, it’s Monday and I’ll have a good idea” who the starter will be, he said.
Sophomore J.T. Barrett and Jones, a junior, have been battling it out for the position since fall practices began last month with no clear front-runner emerging so far, Meyer said.
“If one of them was way ahead, I’d probably announce it, but they’re not,” he said.
Barrett was named the Big Ten’s Quarterback and Freshman of the Year after taking over for Braxton Miller after Miller reinjured a shoulder days before the 2014 season opener. He set 19 Ohio State records, amassing 3,772 total yards, including 2,834 passing yards with 34 touchdowns before breaking his ankle in the regular season finale against Michigan.
Jones stepped into the breach with a week to prepare for the Big Ten Championship Game against Wisconsin, where he was named MVP, passing for 257 yards and 3 touchdowns. He also guided the Buckeyes to victories over Alabama in the Sugar Bowl and Oregon in the College Football Playoff Championship Game.
Miller, who was also expected to compete for the starting quarterback’s job, switched positions just as fall practices were beginning and will line up at the “hybrid back” position, a combination running back and receiver.
Barrett and Miller were among six players chosen as team captains for the 2015 season. The others were senior center Jacoby Boren, senior left tackle Taylor Decker, senior linebacker Joshua Perry and fourth-year graduate defensive back Tyvis Powell.
The Buckeyes are opening up the defense of their national championship on the road, the first season opener away from Columbus since 1998. The Buckeyes have the longest active road winning streak in the nation, 13 games dating back to Nov. 26, 2011, at Michigan.