Two of the top jobs in college football are head coach at Ohio State and Michigan. Frankly, though, you shouldn't envy Urban Meyer or Jim Harbaugh.
For completely opposite reasons, both coaches have a quarterback quandary on their hands.
Godspeed, gentlemen.
Not every quarterback battle is fought the same way, but Meyer and Harbaugh have compelling storylines in front of them.
Ohio State is fortunate enough to have three quarterbacks who can win it all. Michigan is trying to find one right now. It's been several years since the Wolverines have had a top-flight signal-caller. Is there one on the roster or will Michigan go another year struggling under center?
Both are tough decisions in their own right, but which coach—Meyer or Harbaugh—has the tougher challenge?
The case for each is made below.
The Case for Urban Meyer/Ohio State
Meyer might have the best problem of any coach in college football: He has too many good quarterbacks. How many other programs can say that right now?
Braxton Miller is a two-time Big Ten MVP and one of the most decorated players in conference history. JT Barrett went 11-1 as a redshirt freshman last season and actually surpassed Miller's numbers from 2013. Cardale Jones won a national championship as part of an unforgettable three-game stretch into the postseason.
Miller and Barrett are still nursing shoulder and foot injuries, respectively, so Jones has been getting a majority of the reps.
However, as Bleacher Report's Ben Axelrodnoted in last week's practice report, Barrett is further along in the recovery process.
"He’s doing more than I thought," Meyer told Axelrod.
Assuming all three quarterbacks stay at Ohio State past the spring, the competition will really heat up in preseason practice. While it's always possible more than one quarterback will see the field, Meyer is going to have to choose a starter eventually.
That decision may not come for several months, but even thinking about it is starting to weigh on him.
"That's the only thing that's starting to eat away at me a little bit," Meyer told Axelrod. "It didn't for a while because you're just so busy. But now that I'm seeing what I'm seeing, I have such great respect for all three guys."
Jones may have the momentum now, but it's possible that will change in a matter of months. What would Meyer do then? Trust the healthiest quarterback? Trust his most experienced player?
Sometimes, how a quarterback practices and how he plays when the lights are brightest are two different things.
Barrett, Jones and Miller all bring something different to the table. Barrett is a natural locker room leader, which is remarkable for someone as young as he is. Jones has a cannon for an arm and brings a bruising running style to the offense. Miller can beat anyone with his legs.
If you're Meyer, you don't want to wait too long before making a choice. Each quarterback demands the respect of his teammates. Coaches have to allow that chemistry to materialize.
The Case for Jim Harbaugh/Michigan
Unlike Meyer, Harbaugh is still getting to know his players and what they're capable of doing. He's been on the job for three months and has spent even less time with the quarterbacks in person.
Beyond that, Harbaugh has been filling in the gaps with tape study—and that's limited at best. Only junior-to-be Shane Morris has any sort of game experience (14-of-40 passing with three interceptions in 2014).
However, Harbaugh is starting anew. What happened last season matters little, if at all. What can each quarterback prove now?
"We're still trying to figure out who the best players are right now," Harbaugh told The Associated Press (h/t USA Today) in February. "And their best position. We don't know what everyone's best position is, or who the best players are at those positions. That'll be a process."
Morris has a great arm and all the talent in the world, but his development is still a work in progress. For what it's worth, MGoBlog's Bryan Fuller noted that early enrollee Alex Malzone—not Morris—was the first quarterback taken in Michigan's spring game draft last week:
Does that mean Malzone is the front-runner to start? Not necessarily, but it is an interesting development and something to keep an eye on.
Michigan's quarterback battle will hardly be solved by next month, however. As Nick Baumgardner of MLive.com writes, possibly two more quarterbacks will be joining the team this summer. One of them could be Iowa transfer Jake Rudock:
The team's working with three scholarship quarterbacks in spring, but those players know full well that another player (Zach Gentry) will join their room in the fall to begin competing, and if the coaching staff gets its way, a fifth eligible scholarship quarterback (Jake Rudock) will be there, too.
There are already plenty of new faces for Harbaugh. If he gets his way, he's going to add a couple more. This competition feels like it could go all the way down to a game-time, Week 1 decision.
The Verdict
Ohio State's quarterback competition will dominate the offseason headlines. It already has, in fact. But here's a guarantee regarding any position battle: Someone is going to be disappointed.
Yes, Meyer has a tough job ahead. Telling possibly as many as two players they won't be the No. 1 guy even though they've already proven themselves isn't something to be envied.
However, he knows what he has in each player. As last season proved, Meyer can legitimately be confident in any quarterback if there's an injury. Even if one of the three transfers, Meyer has a legitimate Plan B.
Harbaugh isn't so fortunate right now. For that reason, Harbaugh has the tougher task ahead of him.
It's true that Harbaugh is building up the Wolverines program to a level on which it once stood. For that, he's given some leeway. For all anyone knows, Michigan's quarterback of the future may not be on the roster yet.
But he has to choose someone, and with that decision comes expectations. The Wolverines are in bad enough shape that no one is realistically expecting them to compete for a divisional title—let alone anything else—in 2015.
With that said, fans should want to see some improvement at quarterback. This is, after all, Harbaugh's wheelhouse.
Choosing a starter isn't always easy, but Ohio State has virtually taken the guesswork out of it. There's far more of an unknown factor with the choices in front of Harbaugh.
Ben Kercheval is a lead writer for college football. All quotes cited unless obtained firsthand.
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