Ohio State Football: Top Takeaways from 2015 Fall Camp

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Anytime you're the defending national champion, you can expect an extra amount of attention to be paid to anything you do—especially in today's day and age of 24/7 coverage.

For Ohio State, however, the past three weeks have truly been unlike anything else in college football.

From an unprecedented quarterback competition to the most talked-about position change in college football to unexpected question marks arising throughout, the Buckeyes' fall camp has contained no shortage of storylines in Columbus.

But with only seven days standing between Ohio State and its highly anticipated season opener with Virginia Tech, game week is finally here for the Buckeyes as they set out to defend the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship.

With that in mind, let's take a look at the top takeaways from Ohio State's 2015 fall camp.

Oh Captain, My Captain?

With the Buckeyes entrenched in a rare quarterback competition between two candidates overqualified to be in such a situation, Urban Meyer has insisted that he won't name a starter between J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones in advance of his team's matchup with the Hokies.

But a clue as to who Ohio State's starting signal-caller will be may have come on Friday with the announcement of the Buckeyes' captains, which included Barrett as one of the team's six selections:

Barrett—and not Jones—being named a captain is not necessarily a dead giveaway that the reigning Big Ten Quarterback and National Freshman of the Year will be starting in favor of his national championship-winning counterpart.

It's worth noting that backup quarterback Kenny Guiton served as one of OSU's captains in 2013, although he was a fifth-year senior and not a third-year player like Barrett currently is.

But in such a heated competition, it's hard to imagine Barrett's teammates voting him as a captain not meaning something to Meyer, who ultimately had the final say over the captain selection process.

While the fourth-year Buckeyes head coach has played it coy when it's come to discussing his quarterback competition, he has been quick to praise Barrett's leadership as one of his strongest traits. "Right now, he’s off the charts," Meyer said of Barrett's leadership at Big Ten media days in late July. "I have some leadership meetings throughout the summer and he’s off the charts."

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

Leadership won't be the only attribute that's evaluated by Meyer when it comes to making his final decision, but if on-field play is equal, it might be the defining one.

Following the team's second major scrimmage of the offseason, Meyer indicated that neither Barrett nor Jones had separated themselves when it came to their on-field performance. "I try to be as honest as I can," Meyer said. "They're neck and neck."

How much that changed—and in whose favor—throughout the final week of camp remains to be seen. We'll know soon enough who will be behind center for the Buckeyes during their defense of the national title.

Cause For Concern?

Entering a season in which it returns so much talent—including a combined 15 starters on both sides of the ball—there haven't been many question marks surrounding Ohio State's lineup for the upcoming campaign.

But even before fall camp started, Meyer knew what his biggest question mark for the coming season would be, as he attempts to find a replacement for the nation's best deep-ball threat in 2014 in wide receiver Devin Smith.

"That’s a problem," Meyer said of Smith's departure (second-round pick of the New York Jets). "If you walk into our offensive staff room, that’s what we have to find out right now."

With a deep corps at a position Meyer has recruited well since arriving in Columbus in 2012, there appeared to be plenty of options early on for the Buckeyes when it came to replacing Smith at the start of fall camp.

However, the unit took a hit when Jalin Marshall, Dontre Wilson and Corey Smith were each suspended for the Buckeyes' upcoming season opener due to violations of program rules.

A more significant blow, though, would come in the final week of camp when sophomore Noah Brown broke his leg—an injury that will cause him to miss the entirety of the 2015 campaign. The 6'2", 222-pounder isn't quite a speedster like Smith, but he was enjoying a breakout offseason this summer, according to his teammates.

"There was a point early in camp where nobody could cover him for a little bit," cornerback Eli Apple said just a day before Brown suffered his season-ending injury. "He was just so physical and really good with his hands. He just catches everything."

Meyer agreed, calling Brown one of the most improved players on the Ohio State roster.

But while the Buckeyes will now enter their matchup against Virginia Tech without four of their top pass-catchers, the OSU wideouts have enjoyed some unexpected additions this summer as well. One of which comes in the form of true freshman Torrance Gibson, who arrived in Columbus as a quarterback but will now find himself catching balls for the Buckeyes this fall.

"I approached Coach Meyer and I told him I wanted to get on the field," Gibson said of his position switch. "I didn’t want to sit the bench. I didn’t want to be a selfish guy and just sit on the bench for a whole year and just waste a year. I just wanted to come in right away and play."

Steve Dykes-USA TODAY Sports

At 6'4", 205 pounds and with a reported sub-4.4-second 40-yard dash time, per 247Sports' JC Shurburtt, Gibson has the potential to be the answer to Meyer's lingering question of who will replace Smith as the deep threat in the Buckeyes' lineup.

The Fort Lauderdale, Florida, native says that it's his intention to move back to quarterback once his sophomore season begins, but if he excels at wideout as a freshman, plans could change.

"It's going to be up to him," OSU wide receivers coach Zach Smith said. "I think he could be one of the best quarterbacks in the country. That's a pretty important position. So if that's true, I don't know how you don't [play quarterback].

"But I do know this: From what I've seen, he can be a ridiculous receiver. It's a great problem to have."

It's also not the only position switch currently occurring in Smith's meeting room.

Miller's Move

After originally intending to make the Buckeyes' quarterback competition a three-man battle, Miller opted to make the move to wide receiver this summer after the torn labrum in his throwing shoulder prevented him from fully regaining the arm strength that helped him become a two-time Big Ten MVP as a signal-caller.

And while Miller's potential at his new position is apparent, as evidenced by his career rushing numbers (3,054 yards and 32 touchdowns) and highlight-reel plays, the transition hasn't been as seamless as originally thought.

Hamstring issues have caused him to miss portions of practice and scrimmages throughout fall camp.

"It's going good, other than my legs being so sore," Miller said. "That's the biggest difference from playing quarterback to receiver."

It's not an uncommon issue, one which former Buckeye Terrelle Pryor is also dealing with as he transitions to wide receiver with the Cleveland Browns. When Miller has been able to make it on the field, the versatility he gives the OSU offense has been clear, as he possesses the ability to line up at wide receiver, H-back, running back and, of course, quarterback.

"It's like playing a video game," Miller said. "You can put anybody anywhere."

Despite no longer being snapped the ball on every play, the 6'2", 215-pounder has still managed to put his joystick-like ability on display this summer, burning preseason All-American safety Vonn Bell on a deep ball early in camp.

He was also seen lining up behind Jones in the backfield during one Ohio State practice, creating visions of a seemingly unstoppable speed-option play.

But in order to continue to be a part of the Buckeyes' "video game" offense, Miller will have to continue to ensure that he'll be healthy enough to take the field as a wide receiver on a weekly basis this fall. And with the shortage of depth at the position for the opener against the Hokies, the importance of Miller doing just that has only increased.

According to Meyer, it's his intention to make Miller a starter, despite the Huber Heights, Ohio, native having only spent a few weeks of practice lining up at his new position.

But while he may no longer be a signal-caller, the two-time Buckeyes captain insists he'll remain a part of the Buckeyes' passing attack in one way or another.

"There's always gonna be two quarterbacks on the field at the same time," Miller said with a smile.

What exactly Miller meant by that still remains unclear.

But in just one week, we should have a much better idea—as should Virginia Tech.

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.