COLUMBUS — Ohio State head coach Ryan Day is as eager as anyone to see which of the three freshmen competing to start at quarterback will emerge to run the offense.
C.J. Stroud, Jack Miller and Kyle McCord are the candidates, even though none of them has thrown a pass in a college football game and Day said on Monday that Stroud is beginning to edge ahead of the field.
“I think that C.J.’s separated a little bit here over the last couple of weeks. We’ll see what this week brings, not making any decisions right now
Stroud was a highly-touted recruit out of Rancho Cucamonga, Calif., where he threw for over 6,000 yards in his junior and senior seasons.
“Every day, he’s been competing, taking care of the football, making good decisions, he’s been a leader, those are all some of the traits we’re looking for,” Day told reporters.
Whoever wins the job will have an outstanding supporting cast.
Tops among them are receivers Chris Olave and Garrett Wilson, possibly the best wideout tandem in the nation.
Buckeyes No. 4 in AP preseason poll
The Buckeyes open Sept. 2 at Minnesota ranked No. 4 by the Associated Press, as well as in the USA Today coaches’ poll.
Ohio State has appeared in the AP preseason poll for 33 consecutive years, the longest active streak of any program in the country.
Alabama is No. 1 in the AP media poll, Oklahoma is No. 2 and Clemson is No. 3, followed by OSU and Georgia.
The Big Ten, SEC and Pac-12 conferences each have five teams in the Top 25. The ACC and Big 12 each have three.
AP College Football Writer Ralph Russo writes that No. 7 Iowa State and No. 8 Cincinnati are among the more interesting teams to watch in the top 10.