Ohio voters are giving a big thumbs up to Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer and have a favorite in the team's three-man quarterback competition.
In a recent poll conducted by Public Policy Polling, 859 registered Ohio voters were asked whom they would like to see start at quarterback for the Buckeyes this season if given the choice of the three contenders for the job, J.T. Barrett, Cardale Jones and Braxton Miller.
Jones received the most support of the trio, with 33 percent choosing him. Twenty-three percent supported Miller, while Barrett received 14 percent of the votes. Twenty-seven percent of the respondents said they were unsure of who should start, which is a wise answer considering each has impressive credentials. Jones helped the team win the first ever College Football Playoff last season, Barrett set a school record for total offense during the 2014 regular season and Miller is a two-time Big Ten Player of the Year. Jones might have the most support from fans, but he clearly doesn't see himself as a front-runner in the competition.
You can read the full survey here.
As for Meyer, Ohioans gave him an 85 percent approval rating. Two percent said they disapproved of the job the coach is doing, while 13 percent responded "not sure" -- a pair of somewhat puzzling numbers considering Meyer is fresh off winning a national title and recently assumed the top spot in CFB 24/7's countdown of the best head coaches in college football.
While Meyer's approval rating is much higher than House Speaker John Boehner's (26 percent), Meyer was not able to beat out legendary Ohio State coach Woody Hayes when pollsters asked voters to pick the best Buckeyes coach since 1950. Hayes drew 35 percent of the vote, followed by Meyer at 30 percent and Jim Tressel at 18 percent. Tressel was announced this week as a new member of the Ohio State Athletics Hall of Fame.
No worries, Urban. You can't win them all over. Picking the right QB to lead another national title run in 2015 might be a good place to start, though.
You can follow Bryan Fischer on Twitter at @BryanDFischer.
