The question of who will start at quarterback for Ohio State lingers as college football's biggest storyline heading into the 2015 season, and it appears Urban Meyer is pretty confident he'll have healthy signal-callers to choose from when that three-man competition kicks into high gear when the program opens fall camp on Aug. 9.
Meyer said Wednesday that J.T. Barrett and Braxton Miller are both close to full health.
"Braxton is pretty close to full speed," Meyer said Wednesday during a press conference at his Northeast Ohio youth instructional camp.
As for Barrett?
"Close to 95 percent," Meyer said.
Cardale Jones, the other contender for the starting job, is the only one of the three that escaped the 2014 season unscathed. Miller re-injured his throwing shoulder in fall camp last year and missed the entire season. Barrett suffered a broken ankle in Ohio State's regular-season finale, a win over Michigan.
Barrett's injury opened up an opportunity for Jones, and he made the most of it, helping the Buckeyes to wins in the Big Ten title game, a national semifinal game and national championship game.
Later on Wednesday, Miller wrote in a tweet that he had a "successful check up/visit" with orthopedic surgeon Dr. James Andrews and physical therapist Kevin Wilk in Birmingham, Ala. Miller wrote in response to a question from The Columbus Dispatch that he expects to announce his immediate plans next week. Miller is a graduate and has the option to transfer to a different school, where he would be immediately eligible. Meyer has said he expects Miller to be playing for Ohio State in 2015, but Miller hasn't spoken to the media since last August.
So, if all three are healthy and ready to go come the start of camp, Meyer will have to choose a starter from a field that includes a player coming off a dazzling postseason run (Jones), a player who accounted for a Big Ten record 45 touchdowns last season (Barrett) and a two-time Big Ten player of the year (Miller).
If he has a favorite in the competition, Meyer is keeping it to himself. When someone yelled out "Who is going to be Ohio State's starting quarterback?" to Meyer at the camp on Wednesday, Meyer's response was "So, how's the weather?"
Meyer should enjoy being able to punt on the big question while he still can. Decision time will be here sooner rather than later, and Meyer is facing a whopper.
*Follow Dan Parr on Twitter **@TheDanParr*.
