COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Urban Meyer has a starter at quarterback in mind for this week, but the Ohio State coach isn't ready to reveal it quite yet. At least, not until Wednesday. Maybe.
After defending his handling of his two award-winning passers despite some early struggles for both and challenging both Cardale Jones and J.T. Barrett to play better moving forward, Meyer indicated that he will make an announcement about who will start for the top-ranked Buckeyes after practice Wednesday.
"Yes, I am," Meyer said when asked if he was close to a decision during a teleconference Tuesday. "But I'm going to wait to let you know.
"Probably tomorrow. I think I meet with the media again tomorrow after practice, I'll probably do it then. [Announcing it is] not a high priority, obviously."
The top-ranked Buckeyes host Western Michigan on Saturday.
Making his choice public might not be all that important, but establishing some consistency at the position might be for the Buckeyes after a lackluster outing in a win over Northern Illinois in which both Jones and Barrett posted the lowest QBRs of their careers.
Jones has started all three games for Ohio State, but Barrett came on in relief of the opener at Virginia Tech, replaced the starter for a stretch in Week 2 against Hawaii and played the entire second half in relief against the Huskies after coming off the bench in the second quarter.
According to Meyer, neither Jones nor Barrett have "beaten out the other," but the coach acknowledged after the low-scoring win on Saturday it might be time to commit more to one guy.
"I did have a very clear starter, the guy that starts," Meyer said. "The first three games we have had one. First game worked out very good. Second game was not so good, and I wanted to give the other guy reps. The third game was not good at all.
"We did have a very clear starter, and we're going to have a very clear starter again this week at the right time. I kind of already know who it is."