What Still Remains To Be Seen From Ohio State Before The 2015 Season

By Eric Seger on July 6, 2015 at 8:35 am
Meyer in B1G Title Game
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Well, congratulations everyone. You've made it.

Made it where you ask? What's so exciting about a Monday in early July? Exactly nine weeks from this evening — or 64 days — Ohio State and Virginia Tech will rekindle the year-old rivalry and redemption case left stagnant by the Hokies' 35-21 victory in September 2014 at Ohio Stadium. It wasn't until four months later we'd know that would be the lone blemish on an improbable Buckeye run to the first-ever College Football Playoff National Championship.

That's right peeps: we're *basically* two months away from having college football back in our lives again (*basically* in the sense that it's the first Monday in July, and Ohio State's season opener is the first Monday in September).

Two months from touchdowns. Two months from hard hits in primetime. Two months from pay dirt.

Two months from Urban Meyer finally having to name a starting quarterback (though he's said he'll name one in the middle of training camp). Two months from seeing how Zach Smith plans to rotate the talent he has at wide receiver in order to replace Evan Spencer and Devin Smith. Two months from getting a firsthand look at how Ed Warinner calls plays on the sideline while simultaneously coaching the offensive line. Two months.

It might seem like a lot of time, but it's really not; Big Ten Media Days surface at the end of the July, piggybacking off a trip to Friday Night Lights at Ohio Stadium. Fall camp is then right in your face and shoved down your throat.

Next thing you know, football's back.

Though two months is two months, Ohio State's got plenty to do before the foot hits the ball at 8 p.m. Sept. 7 in Blacksburg, Va. What follows is a snippet of what remains.


Braxton Miller's 'Announcement' That Probably Won't be an Announcement

The two-time Big Ten Player of the Year's name will always be used as a clickbait drum as long as he's in some way associated with Ohio State (hint: that'll be forever). Miller's a huge name and a supremely talented player, so people will always want to know what is going on with him.

Miller

Last week, the astute Tim May of the Columbus Dispatch reported Miller "intends to announce his immediate plans" after sending this tweet regarding a successful appointment with his doctor. Instantly, chaos ensued, because Miller's transfer potential is a beautiful talking point for any and all national media heads.

Shortly after, ESPN's Joe Schad entered the fray and said the quarterback will reaffirm his commitment to the Buckeyes. Miller's dad, his athletic director and head coach said this all along, so this shouldn't come as a surprise. The fact Miller hasn't said anything publicly for nearly 11 months, however, shows he did some critical thinking of his own while watching J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones thrive. How could he not?

Since Miller is supposedly going to say something publicly is worthy of headlines, but he's always been the type of guy that keeps it simple with what he says. Ohio State's sports information department isn't planning a press conference of any kind for this week, at least as of Thursday. Expect a brief press release from the school in the near future — similar to the one confirming his injury — likely stating he's back to 100 percent and ready to compete for the job.

(The only way the news blows up even further is if he says he's switching to H-back or wide receiver, but those chances seem slim).

That Ruddy Quarterback Battle

Everyone's got a take on the situation Meyer has in his lap for the most important position on the field. Honestly, it's exhausting.

Each player — Barrett, Jones and Miller — has shown they can get the job done if their number's called. It's a huge reason the Buckeyes won it all last season.

It's not necessarily weird for a defending national champion to be unsettled at quarterback. It is odd, however, for the team to have three worthy candidates, all who played a significant role in getting the team back to the top of the college football mountain.

"Braxton, he had double labrum surgery. At the end of spring practice, we got J.T. Barrett a million reps. Probably more than I thought we would get him. Cardale's had a good spring and we're getting him as many reps as we can," Meyer said this spring. "Braxton's getting healthy and he's getting a lot of mental reps, but how will you manage a game and manage the sideline? Those are Aug. 15-type questions."

Miller, Barrett

Fair, but don't put it past the head coach to hold off on the decision until game day.

Meyer's State-Wide Speaking Tour

You win a championship, you get publicity regardless where you decide to spend your time.

Meyer's been to Cleveland Cavaliers games, Cleveland Indians games, threw the first pitch at a Cincinnati Reds game (he's also headed back to the Queen City for the All-Star game) and offered his time for speaking appearances both in Perrysburg, Ohio, and Ashtabula, Ohio.

Don't expect that to stop, either. Meyer heads the college football program everyone wants a piece of right now and he'll likely continue to strike while the iron's hot to show his face anywhere he can.

New Uniforms? Makes You Think

The Buckeyes donned their sexy all-white uniforms last season against Penn State. They also wore them in the 2013 Michigan game. There have been other new threads since Meyer's arrival for rivalry games, so why stop now?

Meyer loves to shake up the bag in regards to his team's swagger, and the kiddos thinking about committing to Ohio State love them too. Recruiting never stops, and Meyer loves recruiting, so expect some craziness on this end in 2015 even if it isn't announced until a game week this fall.

After all, the threat was there last year to see some interesting changes in apparel at Ohio State.

Impact of Young Skill Players

Ohio State's enjoying crazy depth at skill positions like wide receiver, running back and H-back. Ezekiel Elliott, Jalin Marshall, Michael Thomas and plenty more have already shown what they can do with the ball in their hands.

But what about Johnnie Dixon? Or James Clark? Even Noah Brown, a player his comrades spoke highly of throughout spring? The list of unseen talent is lengthy.

Contributions on special teams is the first step to playing time on offense. Wide receivers coach Zach Smith provided updates on the guys in his room in April, but a lot can change between now and the fall.

Will those guys get their shot?


Ohio State's depth across the board is a huge reason the Buckeyes are favored to do some special things in 2015.

Adjustments need to be made for any program during the offseason regardless the success it experienced the season before. Ohio State is no exception, but the holes appear on paper to be fewer and far between than other schools.

How they get filled is certainly something to keep an eye on until the lights turn on in Blacksburg, Va.

Two more months until we find out.

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