COLUMBUS – Top-ranked Ohio State’s home opener will be a first for Buckeye quarterback Cardale Jones: Despite having won his only four games as a starter, none of those have been at Ohio Stadium.
He will likely get the chance to start for the first time when Hawaii (1-0) visits Columbus Saturday (3:30 p.m./BTN) though head coach Urban Meyer continues to approach his quarterback question as if it were multiple choice:
a) Cardale Jones
b) J.T Barrett
c) all of the above
“They both have to be on call and ready to go,” Meyer told reporters Wednesday afternoon.
Jones won the starting job prior to the season opening win at Virginia Tech, though Barrett came off the bench to rush for 40 yards and throw a touchdown pass. The 2014 Big Ten Quarterback and Freshman of the Year, he is the first sophomore player in Ohio State history to be voted a captain by his teammates.
Jones, who guided the Buckeyes to consecutive wins in three post-season games, including the national championship win over Oregon, completed 9 of 18 passing attempts against the Hokies for 186 yards and two touchdowns and rushed for 99 yards and another score in the 42-24 victory.
Almost no one expects Meyer to choose Barrett to start against the Rainbow Warriors over Jones, but the two-deep chart lists “Cardale Jones OR J.T. Barrett” at quarterback.
The competition for the starting job, is there still is a competition, has never risen to the level of a “quarterback controversy” and apparently hasn’t caused any friction between the junior from Cleveland and the sophomore from Texas.
“I’ve never been in a situation like that, that they’re both pulling for each other,” Meyer said. “It’s the damnedest thing. It’s really cool to see that.”