COLUMBUS, Ohio — The main event of the most talked-about quarterback competition in college football history won't start until the summer.
But if Ohio State's Thursday practice was any indication, spring practice should make for a heck of an undercard.
Ever since the injuries to Braxton Miller and J.T. Barrett paved the way for Cardale Jones to lead the Buckeyes to the national championship in January, the general thinking in Columbus was that their unprecedented quarterback battle wouldn't take place until fall camp.
That's when all three signal-callers would presumably be healthy, as opposed to the spring, when only Jones would be at full strength.
That thinking, however, underestimated Barrett.
While Miller stood off on the sideline, still recovering from the torn labrum in his throwing shoulder that ended his 2014 season before it started in August, the battle between Jones and Barrett already appeared to be underway.
The two routinely topped each other by the throw, alternating pass attempts in the seven-on-seven drills that filled the better part of the first hour of Ohio State's fourth spring practice of 2015.
Watching Barrett in those drills, you wouldn't have even been able to tell he's still recovering from the fractured ankle that brought an end to his Big Ten Quarterback of the Year and College Football Performance Awards National Freshman of the Year-winning season in the Buckeyes' regular-season finale last November.
"That's J.T.," Ohio State left tackle Taylor Decker said after practice. "He's going to do everything he has to as far as rehab and stuff like that to get where he needs to be. That's not surprising at all to me."
Barrett's still not at full strength yet—he's only four months removed from an injury that typically takes around six months to fully recover from—but there he was, dropping back and moving side to side before pinpointing throws with the same accuracy that helped him break the Big Ten's single-season touchdown record in 2014.
Earlier this week, head coach Urban Meyer revealed the Wichita Falls, Texas native was ahead of schedule, jumpstarting a competition that wasn't supposed to start until August.
“He’s doing more than I thought,” Meyer admitted.
Barrett may have surprised Meyer, but the Ohio State head coach may be alone in that regard inside the Buckeyes' locker room.
After leading Ohio State to an 11-1 record in Miller's absence—including a gutsy double-overtime win over Penn State with a sprained MCL—Barrett earned a reputation as one of the toughest players on the Ohio State roster, an undisputed leader despite his status as an underclassman.
Barrett's leadership was again on full display on Thursday as he routinely interacted with not only the Buckeyes' wide receivers, but the other quarterbacks.
The respect for Barrett within the Ohio State program is apparent, and his speedy recovery only helping his cause.
"Nothing surprises me with J.T.," Buckeyes offensive coordinator Ed Warinner said. "He's a hard worker, does everything you could possibly do mentally and physically. He's come along pretty good and it's fun to have him out there."
But as good as the reigning Big Ten Freshman of the Year has looked since returning to the practice field, he's far from re-cemented himself as Ohio State's starter from the fall.
In fact, Barrett still likely trails Jones as the front-runner to do just that considering Jones is fully healthy and taking the majority of the reps with the Buckeyes' first team in 11-on-11 drills. He also appears to have maintained the momentum he had previously built while winning three consecutive postseason games to end Ohio State's season.
"He's always been a confident guy himself, he's got a ton of personality," Decker said. "But you can see that he knows that he's got that ability. He knows that he can make those plays. Even though he's always had the ability, he's just got a lot of confidence right now. Even the other day when we were having a not as good practice, I think he was 9-for-10 [throwing the ball] on third downs."
For as good as Barrett looked during the hour of practice that was open to the media, Jones looked just as good, showing off both increased accuracy and his NFL-caliber arm.
After witnessing just an hour of practice, it's easy to see why Meyer said earlier this week that the thought of benching at least one of his qualified quarterbacks is already "eating" at him.
And what about Miller?
While Jones and Barrett shined on the field, the two-time Big Ten MVP stood off to the side after briefly running and stretching at the start of practice.
Earlier this week, Meyer revealed that he and his staff had pulled Miller back from activity in order to ensure he fully recovers from an injury that can take as long as a year to get back to full strength from.
According to ESPN.com's Austin Ward, Miller may have committed an NCAA violation earlier this week when he publicly endorsed supplement company AdvoCare in an Instagram photo. That could only complicate his situation, although most around the program believe it will ultimately be a non-issue.
Still, Barrett's sudden reemergence doesn't bode well for Miller's chances of reclaiming his starting spot, as he'll now have not only one, but two quarterbacks to catch up to should his shoulder recover in time for fall camp.
While it wasn't supposed to start until the summer, the Buckeyes' highly anticipated quarterback competition is already underway. It may not take its full form until the fall, but if Thursday was any indication, it will certainly live up to the hype.
"It's going to be a crazy battle at that position," Decker said. "Who knows who's going to end up winning that spot?"
Having watched Thursday's practice, it's impossible to tell at this point.
Ben Axelrod is Bleacher Report's Big Ten Lead Writer. You can follow him on Twitter @BenAxelrod. Unless noted otherwise, all quotes were obtained firsthand. All statistics courtesy of cfbstats.com. Recruiting rankings courtesy of 247Sports.
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