Ohio State's Problem with Too Many Stars on One Team

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Earlier this week, Ohio State head coach Urban Meyer felt the need to hold a state of the union of sorts with his team, the type of tactic he's typically resorted to as seasons have drawn closer to November, where, in Meyer's words, "championships are won."

But what was discussed at Meyer's team meeting this week wasn't Ohio State's upcoming path to defending its national title, but rather the pitfalls that could prevent it from ever taking form in the coming weeks.

"I did talk to the team about the circle and the foundation of our team is solid," Meyer said on Wednesday. "If there are cracks in that, then you have a problem."

Those "cracks" Meyer is referring to come in the form of distractions from outside of that circle, brought on by social media, looking ahead to the NFL or, in other words, the realities of having a roster full of 18-to-22-year-old celebrities.

"I've watched for that like a hawk because I've seen that infiltrate a team before," Meyer said.

Thus far, the fourth-year Buckeyes head coach hasn't seen anything that's served as a red flag, and in interview settings, his players have all been sticking to their politically correct scripts. But that doesn't mean those issues Meyer so desperately fears aren't out there, as they could very well be unavoidable on a team that possesses the makeup that Ohio State does.

Between a national championship quarterback, the reigning Big Ten Quarterback and National Freshman of the Year, a two-time Big Ten MVP, the preseason Heisman Trophy front-runner and a plethora of potential NFL prospects, there was never going to be an issue with star power on this year's Buckeyes squad—and that's just on the offensive side of the ball.

To say that the lack of touches available to each deserving player on the OSU offense couldn't lead to eventual concerns would be a bit naive, especially given the unprecedented nature of the Buckeyes' quarterback conundrum.

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In fact, one could argue that there have already been distractions that have stemmed from Ohio State's signal-caller situation.

After all, it wasn't a coincidence that Cardale Jones opted to change his Twitter bio to read "3rd string QB @ The Ohio State University. Oh wait, 2nd string," after he was benched in the first half of the Buckeyes' Week 3 win over Northern Illinois in favor of accomplished backup J.T. Barrett. Jones owned up to the Twitter edit that quickly went viral, admitting that it was a mistake on his end.

"It was immature and I shouldn't have done it," Jones said when asked by Bleacher Report about the subject following his bounce-back performance in Ohio State's win over Western Michigan the following week. "Flat out."

But it'd be tough to place too much blame on Jones—the starter in each of the Buckeyes' first five games of the season—for feeling insecure in what's mostly been a back-and-forth quarterback battle, and the same could be said of Barrett.

While he hasn't been made available to the media since the preseason, the reigning Big Ten Quarterback of the Year has seemed noticeably less engaged during games while standing on the OSU sideline this season than he was during the Buckeyes' run through the postseason, which he sat out due to injury.

Perhaps reading too much into that would be overvaluing body language, and Barrett wouldn't be the first or only Ohio State player to seem frustrated with his role on this year's Buckeyes team.

Just days before his breakout game against Indiana last Saturday, running back Ezekiel Elliott shut down an interview with reporters less than three minutes into it after being asked consecutive questions about new Heisman front-runner Leonard Fournette, Georgia's Nick Chubb and Hoosiers running back Jordan Howard.

"Man, I'm done," Elliott said, visibly annoyed by the inquiries about the three running backs who had each posted higher rushing totals than the preseason Heisman front-runner had at that point.

Darron Cummings/Associated Press

Of course, Elliott's 274-yard, three-touchdown performance in the Buckeyes' 34-27 win over Indiana likely cured any concern he may have had about a lessened role in the OSU offense following last season's national title run. Those type of numbers won't be as easy to come by for quarterback-turned-wideout Braxton Miller, who still finds himself adjusting to his new role at the midway point of the regular season.

After gaining 140 yards of total offense and two touchdowns during his wide receiver debut in the Buckeyes' season-opening victory against Virginia Tech, Miller has totaled just 123 combined yards in Ohio State's previous four games and is yet to get back into the end zone. Against the Hoosiers, Miller touched the ball just twice on a reception that resulted in a loss of nine yards and a 14-yard rush.

On Monday, Meyer said that he'd like get the former two-time Big Ten MVP more involved in the offensive game plan, but admitted that it's tougher to do at his new position than it was when he was playing quarterback.

"You can't say throw it to him, you just can't do that. What if he's covered?," Meyer said. "It's frustrating."

Asked on Wednesday about Miller's recent struggles, Elliott said that his issues aren't necessarily a unique one in such a star-studded offense.

"I'm sure there's some frustration," Elliott said. "I think we all come in with the same mindset. We're just trying to get wins and we're not really too worried about the individual stats or individual accolades. We're just trying to get better as a team. We have so many great players on the team, one week it might be one guy, some week it might be someone else. I think we're all just ready for our time and when our number's called, we're going to perform."

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

Elliott's attitude is ideal, but Meyer knows that such a selfless approach is easier stated than achieved. That's why he's already doing an inventory check of his roster, in order to proactively seek out any issues than may be brewing.

"We see it across the country all the time," Meyer said. "When you start getting effort and attitude [issues] and the things you just mentioned, that's where red flags start showing up and I don't feel that at all."

At least not yet.

Thus far, Ohio State's talent has been enough to overcome its shortcomings in what's been a sluggish first five weeks of the 2015 season. Whether that talent will ultimately prove to be the No. 1-ranked Buckeyes' greatest enemy remains to be seen.

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.