Urban Meyer Reveals Plan for Ohio State's Unprecedented Quarterback Battle

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Ohio State took the field for its first practice as the reigning national champion on Tuesday, a mere eight weeks removed from the victory over Oregon that clinched college football's crown.

But as the Buckeyes warmed up inside the walls of the Woody Hayes Athletic Center for the start of spring practice, all eyes gravitated toward a player who never even took the field during Ohio State's championship season.

It had been nearly seven months since Braxton Miller last donned a scarlet and gray helmet, as a torn labrum in his throwing shoulder brought a premature end to his senior season two weeks prior to the start of the 2014 campaign.

Rumors swirled of a potential transfer despite constant insistence Miller would return to OSU for a fifth year in 2015, and there he was, stretching with his teammates in his No. 5 jersey.

For Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer, it was a sight for sore eyes.

"I love Braxton Miller...I always have," Meyer said. "It's great to see him out there warming up."

Today seemed to be a pretty good day for Miller, although his activity was limited to stretching, running and some light tossing off to the side of the field while the rest of the team practiced.

There's still time for him to consider his options—Russell Wilson didn't transfer from North Carolina State to Wisconsin until the summer of 2011—but his presence and scheduled meeting with the media on Thursday seem to indicate he'll be staying in Columbus for the foreseeable future.

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press/Associated Press

And thus, the most talked-about quarterback competition in college football begins.

While Miller was off to the side for the majority of the portion of practice that was open to the media, Cardale Jones took reps as the first-string quarterback, two months removed from leading the Buckeyes to three consecutive postseason wins.

Behind him was J.T. Barrett, the reigning Big Ten Quarterback of the Year who rewrote the Ohio State quarterback record book in Miller's absence before fracturing his ankle in the regular-season finale. Barrett was dropping back and throwing timed patterns but unable to participate in running drills.

Three quarterbacks. Three compelling resumes. Three different levels of health. One starting spot.

Predictably, Meyer was asked relentlessly about his quarterback situation after practice, despite only Jones—and redshirt freshman Stephen Collier—being able to fully participate at quarterback. The three-time national champion coach acknowledged the rareness of his predicament but stated that for now, his attention is on each player's individual path.

"It's unique. At that position, I've never had it like that. I've had it at other positions. I've had three or four really good wide receivers, but you play more than one at a time," Meyer said. "I've never been in this situation."

Regarding Miller, Meyer said that the priority is getting him back to full strength. Originally given a recovery timetable of eight to 12 months, the two-time Big Ten MVP appears to be ahead of schedule but is being careful not to re-injure his shoulder as he did last summer.

“Today was all about Braxton continuing on his journey to get healthy,” Meyer said. “He's been to Birmingham to get checked two or three times to work with them to make sure the rehab is on point."

Asked about the possibility of Miller playing a position other than quarterback for the Buckeyes, Meyer said he believes that with Miller's athleticism, he's capable of anything, though he is still of the opinion that his future is at quarterback.

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

As for Barrett, Meyer was pleased with the third-year sophomore's progress but admitted he's not at full strength quite yet. The CFPA National Freshman of the Year is expected to be ready by the start of fall camp, but he seems to be getting a head start on his recovery thanks to his ability to participate in seven-on-seven drills.

"He is doing a little more than I thought he could," Meyer said of Barrett. "We want to keep pushing him and get him healthy.”

And then there's Jones, the national champion quarterback and 2014 Big Ten Championship Game MVP. Despite his impressive resume, Jones still only has three starts to his credit in his college career, which adds to the importance of his increased reps this spring.

"Cardale is getting more reps than he's ever gotten,” Meyer said. "He became a very functional player with repetition...he's still almost a rookie—an older rookie that hasn't had a lot of reps."

Gerald Herbert/Associated Press

Meyer said he hasn't felt any stress stemming from the impending quarterback controversy but anticipates there's some around the corner. Not due to the ability of his quarterbacks—any coach would be happy to have any of the three—but because he's going to have to settle on one, leaving two on the bench.

For now, Meyer's not worried about that, allowing all three quarterbacks to continue on their respective paths through the spring. Eventually, that decision will have to come, but for now, it's too early for the Buckeyes head coach to know what it will be.

"We want to see [Miller] get healthy, J.T. get healthy and for Cardale to improve,” he said. "How's it going to play out? I don't know."

Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.