Ohio State Football: Best Quotes and Key Takeaways from Big Ten Media Days

CHICAGO — For the defending national champions, Ohio State was supposed to have a relatively quiet Big Ten media days.

Key words: supposed to.

Sure the Buckeyes are currently sitting atop the college football world, but with Michigan's Jim Harbaugh making his return, Urban Meyer and his team were prepared to take a backseat from an attention standpoint. That game plan, however, went out the window with Thursday's news that suspensions will cause the Buckeyes to be without four of their key players—including star defensive end Joey Bosa—for their season opener against Virginia Tech, as Tim May of the Columbus Dispatch initially reported.

And with the new breaking mere minutes before Meyer took the podium at Chicago's McCormick Place Hyatt Regency, an unexpected storyline found itself front and center for Ohio State's media-day representatives.

Sudden Suspensions 

Paul Beaty/Associated Press

Unsurprisingly, the suspensions of Bosa, wide receiver Corey Smith and H-backs Jalin Marshall and Dontre Wilson were a hot topic of conversation for Meyer and the three Buckeyes players who were in attendance in the Windy City. The fourth-year Ohio State coach said that he's known about the suspensions for a while and admitted he is concerned with how they will affect the Buckeyes' battle with the Hokies.

"I kind of knew about this for a little bit," Meyer said. "We are playing an extremely talented team, very well-coached team on the road in a tough environment. However, we have recruited very well. So get going, move forward."

Meyer went on to state he is hopeful the culture he has helped create in Columbus will aid Ohio State in overcoming the loss of four of its contributors for at least one game. Buckeyes linebacker Joshua Perry agreed that his team has the tools to defeat Virginia Tech—who was the only team to beat Ohio State in 2014—but said that he wasn't going to ignore the Buckeyes' new situation either.

"We have to deal with it," Perry said. "You can be disappointed in friends. We're going to be disappointed a little bit, but you've got to move on from it, learn from it definitely. This is one of those experiences where we correct what happened."

As pointed out by left tackle Taylor Decker, Ohio State has a track record when it comes to dealing with less-than-ideal situations.

"Obviously you never want to lose guys," Decker said, referencing Ohio State's injury-plagued 2014 campaign. "We have a 'next man up' culture and believe that the next guy is going to get the job done."

Suspensions, however, won't be the only the distraction the Buckeyes find themselves dealing with in 2015.

 

Watch the Throne

At a program as prestigious as Ohio State, there always seems to be a target on your back.

But this year, the bull's-eye on the Buckeyes is even bigger than usual.

As the defending national champions, Ohio State knows that it will have to deal with the standard that was set by last year's team, which was the unlikely winner of the first-ever College Football Playoff. That hasn't been lost on Meyer, who has twice before dealt with what the Buckeyes are about to face.

"All we can do is watch the indicators, watch it closely and then dive into it with a sledgehammer if we start to see something that's disrupting the team. And we've dealt with one," Meyer said, referencing the suspensions. "At some point, we're going to have to address it, and we did."

To their credit, Ohio State's players—at least the ones who were in attendance in Chicago—don't appear to be buying the hype.

"There's an expectation when you come to Ohio State that you're supposed to win every game you play in, but also I think that can be dangerous," Decker said. "Being the preseason No. 1 team can kind of spark some complacency, and that can be dangerous because obviously you don't want to forget what got you to where you're at...the leaders of the team are going to establish the culture, and that culture's going to drive all of the behavior."

Of course, who at least one of those leaders will be still remains to be seen.

 

QB Conundrum 

With all of the attention that was being placed on Ohio State's recently announced suspensions, it took a full 10 questions before Meyer was asked about the most talked-about quarterback competition in all of college football.

Nevertheless, the question came, and Meyer had a response when asked how he would choose between Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett to start in the upcoming season.

"I like the culture of our team right now, and we're going to play the guy that helps us win. We've already started the process. And that's leadership. I have created the leadership throughout the summer," Meyer said. "We're keeping score of everything."

While the three-time national champion head coach went on to reveal that he won't be naming a starter in advance of Ohio State's matchup with Virginia Tech, we now at the very least know that the Buckeyes' starting quarterback won't be Braxton Miller. On Thursday, Meyer confirmed the two-time Big Ten MVP's move to wide receiver, which was originally reported by SI.com's Pete Thamel last week.

"I think Braxton will play receiver. I've worked with him, and [wide receivers coach] Zach Smith has worked with him," Meyer said. "I see a great athlete. But what actually he can do, we'll start, I think, a week from Sunday [at fall camp]."

And although Meyer's right in admitting that Miller's potential as a wideout remains unclear, he agrees that his ceiling is certainly a high one. While refusing to draw a direct comparison, he compared Miller's athletic ability to that of former Florida star Percy Harvin.

"Percy—I don't think I've ever been around a more dynamic athlete. I have not been around a more dynamic athlete," Meyer said. "Braxton Miller is in the same tonnage of that kind of athleticism. Obviously, Braxton has got a long way to go at that position."

As for Miller's teammates, they too appear excited about Miller's position switch.

"I think it'll be great for him, I think it'll be a great opportunity for him," Decker said of Miller. "Everybody knows he has that 'wow' ability. I think it'll complement his ability well."

And with three Ohio State wideouts suddenly missing for the season opener, the team might need that ability sooner rather than later. 

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.