2015 Virginia Tech Opponent Q&A Preview: Ohio State

Between now and fall practice, we're going to take a walk through the 2015 Hokies schedule and preview each opponent with the people that follow them every day. We will be taking a look back at last season and spring practice, as well as attempting to forecast the year ahead.

After defeating the Buckeyes in Columbus a year ago, the Hokies are looking for a repeat performance under the lights in Lane Stadium against the defending national champions. In an effort to better understand how the Buckeyes offseason has gone and who we might see under center on September 7th, we asked our friends over at Eleven Warriors. to provide some insight. I had the pleasure of exchanging questions and answers with Michael Citro, Senior Columnist at Eleven Warriors. Michael's answers to my questions are below, and you can find my answers at Eleven Warriors.

There's no better place to start than the most polarizing position battle in the country between Braxton Miller, J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones.

Leading into summer workouts, can you give us a rundown of the current state of the quarterback battle and handicap the contenders?

Cardale Jones is the frontrunner by default because he was the only one healthy in spring practice. That's changing, though, with J.T. Barrett just about at 100%. Braxton Miller may not get to throw at full velocity until midway through fall camp, so he's probably lagging behind the other two. If all three were healthy, it would be Miller's job to lose, but a torn labrum is a tricky injury to return from. We've heard things went well with his surgery but until we see him throwing darts, it's hard to believe he'll be ready by opening day. The prevailing thought is that Barrett will reclaim his starting spot when healthy because he can run more of the offense than Jones, who is not a read option type of guy.

Has there been any indication from Urban Meyer whether or not he would implement a multiple-quarterback system, depending on the situation or opponent?

There has been talk about a dual-quarterback system, using the strengths of both Jones and Barrett/Miller. Urban Meyer has had success before with using such a system with Chris Leak and Tim Tebow at Florida. We're not sure exactly how that would look—would it be situational, series-by-series, or some combination thereof? Complicating the matter is the loss of offensive coordinator Tom Herman, who left to become Houston's head coach. There is continuity with Ed Warinner taking over the play calling duties but we have yet to see what impact new quarterbacks coach Tim Beck will have, and whether that will affect any kind of a multi-quarterback system.

Would you say that the fan base is behind one quarterback more than the others, or is it generally divided over who should/will be under center on September 7th?

I think the fan base is divided. There's a segment of the population that will go with the person who most recently impressed them. The fact that Cardale Jones put together three solid performances to win a national championship has a lot of fans on his side. Many are still behind Barrett, who was essentially rewriting the Ohio State and Big Ten record books before his injury on the first play of the fourth quarter against Michigan. But from what I've seen, most fans say Miller's the man, if healthy. If I had to divide the fan base by percentage, I'd estimate 50% would ride with Team Miller, 30% with Barrett and 20% with Jones. But that's just from my observations online. I could be way off.

Man-child Joey Bosa, who many have pegged as a potential number one pick in the 2016 NFL Draft, anchors one of the top defensive lines in the nation. Bleacher Report recently named Bosa and Darron Lee as the fourth-best pass rushing tandem in the country behind *cough cough* Virginia Tech's own Ken Ekanem and Dadi Lhomme Nicolas. Assuming the Hokies' o-line keeps a close eye on Bosa, who else should Stacey Searles' bunch be ready for?

Lee is a good start. He's a playmaker all over the field and seems to have a special knack for making blockers forget he's there. It's like you're trying to double-team Bosa and all of a sudden Lee is eating your quarterback for lunch and you're not really sure where he came from. Adolphus Washington is moving into the departed [defensive tackle] Michael Bennett's old role. As a former defensive end, Washington explodes off the line and gets into space quickly. Whoever wins the defensive end spot opposite Bosa will also likely be a better pass rusher than Steve Miller was last year. Jalyn Holmes and Sam Hubbard are going to battle for that in the fall, with Holmes maybe holding a slight edge. As a true freshman, Holmes saw a fair number of snaps last year. Meyer has lamented redshirting Hubbard, a converted linebacker. They may not set the edge against the run as well as Miller until they get more seasoning, but they should be able to get after the quarterback.

What is the outlook for the Buckeyes' offensive line and what is the coaching staff doing to prepare for Bud Foster's attacking defense after the whipping they took last year in C-bus?

The Buckeyes return four starters (all but right tackle Darryl Baldwin) from last year's group that started as a collection of newbies and finished the season by mauling Wisconsin, Alabama and Oregon. The "whipping" last year galvanized them and whenever teams came with the Bear look Virginia Tech used, it did not go well for the opposition. Warinner coaches the offensive line and he's one of the best in the business but his group was not yet ready for Foster and kind of gelled over the next four games or so, turning into a real strength of the team. Phil Steele has left tackle Taylor Decker and right guard Pat Elflein on his preseason All-American teams. Jacoby Boren is the field general at center and, although undersized, somehow doesn't ever seem to get pushed around. Billy Price at left guard, a converted defensive lineman, is a hammer. The right tackle will likely be Chase Farris, another converted D-lineman. They will know what to do against that stacked front when they see it and their chemistry is light years from what it was in the last meeting. That said, opening games typically favor the defense.

For a team that won the National Championship last season, the Buckeyes return an awful lot of impact players in 2015. Who are some of the fresh faces that you expect to make an impact this upcoming season?

Sophomore middle linebacker Raekwon McMillan looks like the real deal. He got on the field quite a bit as a true freshman, stealing snaps from senior Curtis Grant, and he was always around the ball. He made some mistakes, but his athleticism and nose for the football usually won out. The aforementioned Holmes looks like a sack machine in the making. On offense, there aren't many open slots, but you'll probably see more of Curtis Samuel this season both in the backfield and catching passes, as he worked out all spring as a wide receiver.