Cardale Jones or J.T. Barrett?
That was Ohio State's biggest question mark entering the 2015 season. The Buckeyes had to decide between two of the best quarterbacks in all of college football — a top-five finisher in the Heisman Trophy voting the previous season or a national-championship winning signal-caller.
Talk about first-world problems.
Now, as Ohio State officially closed the book on the 2015 season and the crazed fanbase in Columbus turns all of its focus toward 2016, quarterback is one of the few spots where the Buckeyes have a definitive answer.
How quickly things have changed.
Ohio State's mass exodus of talent ended late Tuesday night when All-American junior safety Vonn Bell became the ninth underclassman to declare for the 2016 NFL Draft. None of these decisions came as much of a surprise to those close to the program — the talent on this 2015 team was clear for quite some time now — but that doesn't mean replacing these players becomes any easier.
Oh yeah, the Buckeyes also lose a senior class that just won 50 games over the last four seasons — a group that includes several three-year starters like offensive tackle Taylor Decker and linebacker Joshua Perry.
Barrett returning at quarterback gives Ohio State some stability at the sport's most important position, but as things stand right now the 2016 Buckeyes have a significantly greater number of questions than they do answers.
There's no denying Ohio State's talent level. Urban Meyer has recruited at an incredibly high level since his arrival in Columbus and the number of quality players backing up many of this past season's starters is quite high. But most of that talent hasn't yet seen any bit of significant playing time at this level just yet and that's where the concern lies.
On offense, the Buckeyes return two offensive linemen — Billy Price and Pat Elflein — in addition to Barrett. That's it. There will be eight new starters on offense — seven if you want to consider Curtis Samuel a starter this past season.
Who is going to replace Ezekiel Elliott? Who is going to catch passes from Barrett? Who is going to win the three vacant spots along the offensive line? Those are all questions that are currently unknown at this point in time. There are frontrunners for those spots, sure, but nothing is set in stone.
There are a similar number of uncertainties on the other side of the ball, as well. Ohio State returns just three guys on defense — defensive end Tyquan Lewis, middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan and cornerback Gareon Conley — four if you want to include defensive end Sam Hubbard in that group.
The "next man up" mentality is good in theory, but when you're dealing with this many losses, it's important to keep a little bit of perspective. These aren't average players the Buckeyes are looking to replace; these are legitimate NFL-caliber players. Expecting some guys to step in and perform at that level right away may not necessarily be realistic.
Can they get there? Absolutely. But it may take a little bit of time.
That's why this spring in Columbus is going to be one of the more interesting ones in recent memory. There's plenty of playing time available and the competition level should be at an all-time high. One bad day and that guy behind you could nab your starting spot.
Like any team with this much inexperience, expect growing pains for Ohio State in 2016. What does that mean in terms of wins and losses? It's way too early to tell; there are a lot of factors still out there that will determine that type of thing.
Answers to all of these questions will become clearer as the season approaches, but right now that's still an extremely long way away. Right now, the Buckeyes will enjoy the offseason before winter conditioning and then spring ball.
Ohio State's 2016 season could be as interesting as any.
