OSU Buckeyes

With national signing day in the books, the next big date on the Ohio State calendar as it continues working toward an encore for an undefeated season in 2013 is spring practice. Before those workouts begin, BuckeyeNation will take a look at each position to see where the roster is at -- and where it's going.

QUARTERBACKS

• Who's back: The Buckeyes didn't lose either of the guys on the two-deep from the end of last season, and while Braxton Miller's job is carved in stone and Kenny Guiton's veteran experience makes him a handy backup, the situation behind center could be even more stable if Cardale Jones is able to keep making progress after one brief, extremely public bout of immaturity last fall.
• New face: Early enrollee J.T. Barrett will be limited physically during camp after undergoing surgery to repair a knee ligament torn last October, but he's quickly impressed with his knowledge of the game and leadership skills and should only provide a boost in the meeting room. The best-case scenario for Barrett is a redshirt season that would help separate him from Miller in terms of eligibility. The Buckeyes have the bodies and talent on hand to likely keep him on the sideline for a valuable year of development.
• Projected depth chart: Miller starting ahead of Guiton with Jones getting third-team work ahead of the recovering Barrett
• Numbers game: There was hardly any doubt that coach Urban Meyer's spread offense and Miller's multipurpose ability were going to be a perfect match, and the two quickly produced huge numbers on the scoreboard and have yet to lose a game together. But there is still room to grow as a passer for the rising junior, and Meyer and offensive coordinator Tom Herman will be working hard to boost two numbers in particular -- 181.5 yards per game through the air and a completion percentage of 58.3 percent.
• One to watch: The Buckeyes know what kind of rare athlete they're working with as Miller readies for his third season as the starter, and Guiton's value off the bench was well documented a year ago as a junior. But this spring could wind up revealing plenty about Jones and how he fits in the picture down the road. It depends on how he develops physically, competes on the practice field and absorbs the playbook in meetings. Ohio State's situation at quarterback already would make most programs envious, but if it can get a third guy ready to potentially produced, or at least primed to be a backup when Miller is a senior, there might be more reason for jealousy.
• He said it: "I think we’ve got the best backup quarterback in college football, and potentially the best starting quarterback in college football. So, yeah, I guess that is kind of a luxury. ... Having Kenny and having Cardale now coming off a redshirt year and really understanding and buying into the program and what we expect out of him and out of that position certainly puts us in a position that probably a lot of schools would like to be in." -- Herman on signing day

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- The defense is down to two healthy starters at linebacker.

That might be all Ohio State needs this week.

The loss of Etienne Sabino for at least three games due to a broken bone in his right leg will test the depth at a position that was already perhaps the most inexperienced on the roster. But as the Buckeyes prepare for a trip to Indiana on Saturday, they might be in position to survive for a week without the senior captain given the amount of Nickel they're likely to be playing against a pass-happy offense.

"Tremendous blow," Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer said. "Very good player ... and we’re going to miss him.

"We’re also dealing with [this offense], and this week will probably be a lot of Nickel. You’ve got Storm [Klein] and [Ryan] Shazier -- a couple older linebackers and the rest of them are freshmen."

The Buckeyes are going to need at least one of those young guys to contribute in the base personnel package, and Joshua Perry is in line for the start in place of Sabino.

They're also looking for more contributions from guys like David Perkins, Jamal Marcus and Camren Williams, who are much more likely to see action on defense now that the team's third-leading tackler is on the shelf for an extended period of time. But when Ohio State puts an extra defensive back on the field to match up with a passing attack that is throwing for more than 300 yards per game, it will be sticking with its veterans -- even if Shazier just barely counts as one as a sophomore.

"Any time one of your captains goes down, especially a big leader on the team, you need a lot of guys to step up," defensive end John Simon said. "[Sabino] gave a pretty good speech there in the locker room, and he just kind of laid it out for us.

"We’ve got a lot of guys who need to step up this week, and I think we’re starting to prepare for that task and looking forward to it."

Awards talk: Meyer still isn't ready to anoint Braxton Miller as a Heisman Trophy candidate. But the time appears to be getting closer.

The sophomore was named the Davey O'Brien National Quarterback of the Week after another wildly productive outing in a win over Nebraska on Saturday, and his work on the ground over the last two games to open Big Ten action has only strengthened his case as a potential option for Heisman voters at the end of the season.

But Meyer isn't ready to do any campaigning for his guy just yet.

"I don’t think Braxton is a Heisman candidate right now," Meyer said. "I think he’s certainly one to watch, he’s got the ability, but I don’t know who is [a candidate now]. We’re only halfway through the season, in two or three games I think you can start talking about it.

"I’m not talking to Braxton about it. We’re trying to win some games. I think at the right time, he will be a candidate if he continues to play very well."

Bumps and bruises: C.J. Barnett appeared to have a chance to get back on the field since he was in uniform for the win over the Huskers, though his high-ankle sprain again kept him on the sideline.

The Buckeyes might finally be able to turn the safety loose again this week at Indiana.

"Good sign yesterday, he was out there running around," Meyer said. "We need to have him back for obvious reasons."

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Cardale Jones had seemingly already learned a hard lesson about how to handle social networks on Friday.

The freshman third-string Ohio State quarterback apparently received one extra reminder a day later about how to handle himself publicly following his post about "pointless" classes on Twitter.

Jones deleted his account after his comment made national headlines, but the program seemingly went one step further to make the expectations for its players clear by not dressing the freshman for Saturday's 63-38 win over Nebraska at Ohio Stadium. A school spokesman stopped short of calling the absence of Jones from the active roster against the Huskers a suspension, but he did confirm that it wasn't due to injury.

"Why should we have to go to class if we came here to play FOOTBALL," Jones posted on Twitter on Friday. "We ain’t come to play SCHOOL, classes are POINTLESS.”

Jones hasn't appeared in a game yet for the Buckeyes.

Ohio State third-string quarterback Cardale Jones tweets that classes are pointless.