The Curious Case of Ohio State's QB Competition

As this offseason continues, a gigantic decision looms over coach Urban Meyer's head as he prepares for the Ohio State Buckeyes' encore season following their National Championship victory over the Oregon Ducks in January.  He faces the decision of the starting QB between 3 Heisman-caliber quarterbacks in Braxton Miller, JT Barrett, and Cardale Jones.  All 3 QB's have made compelling cases for their starting jobs over their college careers.  Braxton has been the Big Ten offensive player of the year twice and has been 2-time 1st team All-Big Ten.  He has thrown for over 5,200 yards and rushed for over 3,000 yards in his career and accounted for 84 touchdowns.  He has the flashy stats and the experience over the other two candidates, but has been injury prone for the past 2-3 years.

JT Barrett surged onto the scene last year as Miller's replacement as a redshirt freshman.  He set an Ohio State and Big Ten record for most total TD in a season with an astounding 44 TDs.  He earned 1st team All Big Ten and 3rd team All American honors during the year, but had a broken ankle keep him out of postseason play.

Enter the third candidate: Cardale "12 gauge" Jones.  He may be the most interesting of the 3 candidates.  He has only started 3 games in his career: the Big Ten Championship game against Wisconsin, the first round of the College Football Playoff against Alabama, and the National Championship Game against Oregon.  He led the Buckeyes to victory in all 3 games in convincing fashion.  He has shown outstanding potential with a cannon for an arm, great size and toughness in the pocket, and the presence of mind to know when the rush is coming off the edge and an escape is necessary.  Not to mention he is definitely a character off the field as he is a great follow on Twitter: https://twitter.com/CJ12_.

So this brings us to the bittersweet choice facing Urban Meyer.  If I was in his position here is how I would compromise.  I would move Braxton around to different positions throughout the season; sometimes he would play WR, sometimes RB, and a little bit of QB.  This allows him to raise his draft stock, be another great playmaker on the field, and be involved in a plethora of trick plays that Urban Meyer could store in his arsenal.  I would start Cardale Jones at QB to start the season because, at the end of the day, he has incredible potential as a QB.  I would keep JT chomping at the bit to get his playing time, and get him a few snaps every now and then.  He would be ready to take the reigns at any point if Cardale isn't performing to expectations.  If he doesn't get many snaps in next year, it won't be the end of the world for him, though, as Braxton will graduate and Cardale will likely be off to the NFL if the season is successful.  Then the team will be JT's for the next two years of his career.  This is just what seems most logical to me, and obviously there are many other options that could happen as this offseason progresses.  Let me know what you think the champion Buckeyes should do with their great problem that they have in the comments!