When Ezekiel Elliott was asked about how two of his star offensive teammates had handled the battle to be Ohio State's starting quarterback Wednesday, he was pretty brief in his response.
"Um ... next question," Elliott said, still dripping wet from his post-practice ice bath at the Woody Hayes Athletic Center.
It's a fair stance to have if you're a non-quarterback Buckeye, considering you have your own responsibilities to help your team be successful on Saturday afternoons other than worry about if Cardale Jones or J.T. Barrett is lining up under center. It's Urban Meyer's job to worry about it, however, which he's doing each and every day.
"Both of them get reps. Both of them will continue to get reps. The approach I've taken is Cardale started. He's the starting quarterback," Meyer said Monday. "I met with him (Sunday). J.T. has not beat him out yet. He's going to continue to have opportunities to do that because J.T. is a very good player and Cardale's got to perform."
Both players are listed as co-starters on Ohio State's depth chart, and as we saw Saturday during the team's 38-0 victory against Hawai'i, Meyer's not afraid to pull the leash on Jones in hope of Barrett stepping in and providing a spark.
“It just goes back to your practice habits, really. If one guy's getting reps, the other guys there getting his reps, too, or trying. Because you never know who's going to be in, who's going to play well and if one guy doesn't play well the next guy's in.”– Pat Elflein on the QB situation
"They're both really, really good," starting right guard Pat Elflein said. "So I guess whoever's playing the best at the time is going to get it."
Barrett led the Buckeyes to a touchdown on his first drive of the game Saturday, but then didn't see the field again after halftime. Neither he nor Jones put up amazing numbers against the Rainbow Warriors, completing a combined 20-of-34 passes for 181 yards, no touchdowns and no interceptions. Jones was also sacked twice.
"Neither played that well Saturday, but a lot of it was extenuating circumstances about protection," Meyer said. We just weren't — we didn't play very well. So it's not that difficult."
It's a little odd for a defending national champion to still be unsettled at the most important position on the field entering Week 3 of the season, but according to their peers, each is handling it how they should be handling it.
"It just goes back to your practice habits, really. If one guy's getting reps, the other guys there getting his reps, too, or trying," Elflein said. "Because you never know who's going to be in, who's going to play well and if one guy doesn't play well the next guy's in."
The Buckeyes are moving forward with Jones for Saturday's clash with Northern Illinois at Ohio Stadium, but in the end it doesn't matter who is back there calling the shots: Their teammates have their own jobs to do.
"I just go out there and do what Coach Meyer says," Elliott said. "So whatever he calls for, whatever he orders, that's what I do."
Added Elflein: "They're both really good. You're here to play and you gotta block the play no matter who's quarterback."
