Urban Meyer Prepping Ohio State for an Under-the-Radar Spring

COLUMBUS, Ohio — Fourteen minutes and 32 seconds.

That's how long it took for Urban Meyer to be asked about his quarterback and arguably the most important player on his roster, J.T. Barrett, following Ohio State's first practice of the spring on Tuesday.

The inquiry didn't come from a member of the national media, nor was the answer broadcast to millions of homes or even tweeted to tens of thousands of followers from the relatively small gathering of reporters inside the Woody Hayes Athletic Center team meeting room.

In fact, the fifth-year Buckeyes head coach's opening spring practice press conference was pretty—for a lack of a better term—boring, in comparison to the three-ring circus that emanated from Columbus just a year ago.

"I was expecting high energy, and that's what we got. Our whole focus is on four-to-six [seconds], [point] A to B," Meyer said, repeating one of his signature mantras. "We've got a lot of work to do."

Such is life at Ohio State in 2016, where the TMZ-like atmosphere that surrounded the program 12 months ago and throughout the 2015 season has been replaced by a back-to-basics mentality necessary for a team with 16 open starting spots on its depth chart.

The Buckeyes might be the current national championship favorites according to oddsmakers, but don't tell that to Meyer, who's more concerned with a roster already bitten by injuries after just one day of spring practice.

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

"We have 11 right now—guys that we're counting on that can't go full-speed," Meyer said. "This is uncharted waters for me."

Ohio State's injury issue, however, underscores the larger theme in Columbus this spring, where intrigue and uncertainty has replaced a senior class responsible for 50 wins in four years and nine early departures-turned-NFL hopefuls from last year's team.

Even with a fully healthy roster, Meyer wouldn't yet know what he'll be able to count on, with 83.1 percent of his team's receiving yards, 73.1 percent of its rushing yards and seven of its top 10 tacklers from 2015 having walked out the door.

Indeed, it is "the year of development," as Meyer has called it on multiple occasions already—a clear departure from the known commodities last year's squad possessed after 2014's similarly young roster made its unexpected to the inaugural College Football Playoff championship.

The national media that flocked to Columbus to cover the eventual undisputed preseason No. 1 team was noticeably absent on Tuesday, instead delaying their travel plans to attend the Buckeyes' pro day on Friday.

Only this year, it will be the players actually participating in drills and not the ones standing on the sideline that scouts will be most interested in, as opposed to 12 months ago, when Ohio State's highly touted underclassmen overshadowed its outgoing seniors.

On this year's Buckeyes roster, surefire NFL prospects are few and far between, which isn't all that surprising given the lack of playing time available on last year's team.

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

"I do," Meyer answered when asked if he found himself missing the pro-ready talent that littered last year's team during Tuesday's practice session. "But it's part of growing up, I guess. When your daughter gets married and leaves home and when you see 14, 15, 16, 17 players who you really care about leave."

The difference, however, is you can replace those players—as difficult as it may be, given the gaping holes they left and the injuries that currently plague the Buckeyes roster.

That rings especially true with the wide receiver unit, where Ohio State was without Noah Brown, Curtis Samuel, Corey Smith and K.J. Hill on Tuesday. Brown, Samuel and Smith had previously been penciled in to be the Buckeyes' new starters, replacing the outgoing Michael Thomas, Jalin Marshall and Braxton Miller.

Defensively, depth has suddenly become an issue as well, with Ohio State practicing with just two healthy scholarship safeties on Tuesday. Malik Hooker and cornerback-turned-safety Eric Glover-Williams worked with the Buckeyes' first team, while Erick Smith and Cam Burrows each found themselves sidelined with injury issues.

"With 11 guys out, that's the thing that kicks you in the teeth. If everybody's ready to go, I think you could do that," Meyer answered when asked if he thought he could make out a new depth chart from this spring. "But we're not."

Jay LaPrete/Associated Press

That's not to say Ohio State doesn't have some certainty to fall back on, particularly in the form of Barrett, who at this time last year was dealing with an unprecedented quarterback competition involving himself, Miller and Cardale Jones. That makes for one less distraction this season for the Buckeyes, who will no longer have to answer questions pertaining to who their starting signal-caller will be.

And perhaps that's what will be most important for Ohio State this spring as Meyer attempts to eliminate what he terms "noise," in favor of a more football-focused approach to practice.

The uncertainty is there, but so is plenty the Buckeyes can count on. Just like the question about Barrett, it might just take a little longer to get to the destination than it did a year ago.

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.