Don't Let Him Fool You, Urban Meyer Will Know His QB Decision Sooner Than Later

COLUMBUS, Ohio — As Urban Meyer took the podium following his team's first practice of fall camp, the Ohio State head coach didn't waste time playing coy.

With an unprecedented quarterback competition officially underway, Meyer knew what was on everybody's mind and didn't even wait for a question to broach the subject of the now-ongoing battle between Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett.

"J.T. and Cardale—they're fine. There's no update other than they're fine, I guess," Meyer said while delivering rare opening remarks in his post-practice press conference.

"It's even. Straight even."

The three-time national champion head coach expects his quarterback conundrum to remain that way throughout the first half of fall camp as he gives equal reps to both Jones and Barrett. In fact, Meyer entered the preseason so set on giving an equal shot to each of his signal-callers to reclaim their starting status that he determined who would take the first rep of Monday's practice by flipping a coin.

Meyer claimed he wasn't even sure at the time who won the toss—it was Jones calling "heads"—only furthering the illusion that Jones and Barrett are currently deadlocked.

"It's a little bit of a work in progress. Our objective is [in] the first dozen practices, 50-50 right down the middle," Meyer said. "Have we ever done it like this? I can't think we have."

Greg Bartram-USA TODAY Sports

But while Meyer aims to give both Jones, the national championship winner and potential first-round pick, and Barrett, the reigning National Freshman and Big Ten Quarterback of the Year, equal opportunities, a front-runner between the two will eventually emerge.

And that may happen sooner than Meyer would lead you to believe.

Especially when considering that while Jones and Barrett are similar in some ways, they're much different in others. At 6'5", 250 pounds, Jones is known for his cannon of an arm and bulldozer-like style of running, while Barrett—listed at a generous 6'2", 225 pounds—is a bit shiftier while carrying the ball and more accurate with his intermediate passing game.

With no shortage of playmakers surrounding the quarterback, the Buckeyes have the ability to adapt to either skill set.

"You have to base it on, 'what can your signal-caller do best?'" Buckeyes offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said. "Our offense has the flexibility within the system and all the talent at all the different positions that we can kind of move it in the direction we want."

But the sooner the Ohio State offense figures out how it's going to attack opponents—especially the defensively stout Virginia Tech in the opener—this season, the better. While Meyer may want to give both Jones and Barrett until the midway point of fall camp before determining a pecking order, it simply may not be a realistic goal.

Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports

Meyer, of course, begs to differ, pointing to the experience of the two quarterbacks as the primary reason why neither needs full "starter reps" at this very moment. Jones is a fourth-year junior who spent a year out of high school at a prep academy, while Barrett already has 12 starts under his belt, leading Ohio State to an 11-1 record a season ago.

"They're both established guys. Cardale, not necessarily, but Cardale's been here a long time now. It's his eighth year here," Meyer said jokingly. "J.T. has played a lot of football.

"We won't announce anything until the first guy who takes the field against Virginia Tech. That won't happen."

That last part is key.

Although Meyer stated he has an idea of when he'll determine a starter, if all goes according to plan, no one will know who that will be until the Buckeyes' first offensive series of the season. That means even once one quarterback sets himself apart from the other, we likely won't know about it, and should it happen ahead of schedule, Meyer won't have any incentive to share.

Because if this is all about keeping a secret from the Hokies in order to alter their preparation for the opener, why would Meyer want to proclaim his quarterback competition as anything but "dead even?"

Jamie Sabau/Getty Images

With Ohio State's first practice session in pads having just wrapped up, Jones and Barrett appear to remain on equal footing. But in the four practice periods that were open to the media on Friday, it was Jones running the first-team offense, although he may have just won the coin toss for the day.

If it were up to Jones, however, he would prefer that it be his play and not good fortune that lands him in the starting lineup.

"The pressure's on because you've got a guy who wants to play as bad as you," Jones said. "I'd prefer not to flip a coin for who goes first."

Sooner rather than later, Meyer may not need to. But if the head coach has his way, he'll keep everybody guessing for the rest of the summer—including, most importantly, 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.