COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Though Ohio State is two weeks from the start of spring practice and six months from the start of the football season, first-year coach Urban Meyer is ready to declare some winners and losers.

After spring break, the Buckeyes will hold what Meyer calls his Champions Dinner, where those who have done what they needed to do this off-season -- in workouts and in the classroom -- will enjoy fine dining on white tablecloths, and those who haven't will eat like peasants.

That idea will continue when spring practice opens on March 28. Meyer plans to have competition days each Wednesday and Saturday, with the winners, for instance, drinking Gatorade as they leave the field and the losers drinking water from a hose and running extra laps. One day may see a first-down scrimmage, where the offense has to make four yards every play and the defense has to stop them. Or an overtime scrimmage. Or a red zone scrimmage.

"I want to see who the fighters are," Meyer said.

And he wants to treat them how he believes the real world will treat them.

"When you get away from Mommy and Daddy, it's a tough world out there," Meyer said. "People who work in corporations who do a really good job have corner offices and trips to Cancun and bonuses. And if not, you don't. So I think a lot of kids aren't taught that. So everything we try to do is incentive-based."

By the end of spring, which will conclude after 15 practices with April 21 spring game, some Buckeyes will have the greatest reward of all: a spot on the two-deep depth chart.

"This is development time," Meyer said. "Once you get to August, we're all about trying to find ways to win games."

For the freshmen who won't arrive until June and won't practice with the team until the preseason, "go beat someone out," Meyer said. For the others, be ready to show what you have now, with a faster practice tempo and more contact than in the past.

But though he has said several times that he doesn't know a lot about the ability of his players yet, Meyer has a read on their competitiveness, which is what he evaluates first. So he'll be ready to make some decisions. That led Meyer, during a 20-minute news conference Tuesday, to discuss some of his personnel.

• The position groups he is most excited about are tight end -- senior starter Jake Stoneburner and backups Jeff Heuerman and Nick Vannett -- and fullback -- senior starter Zach Boren and senior backup Adam Homan.

"We are not known as a tight end-fullback offense," Meyer said. "But you're going to see some formations of that. We have to get our best 11 on the field. If they're in our best 11, there are creative ways we can get them involved."

• The only two position changes that Meyer mentioned were tight end Reid Fragel to offensive tackle and defensive lineman, and former Plain Dealer Defensive Player of the Year, Darryl Baldwin of Solon, to offensive line.

Meyer said Fragel had been "lazy" in the classroom before, which could lead to football laziness. But he was "proud" of Fragel's response to that criticism, especially in the classroom. He said Baldwin, who was not up for a position switch last year, moved without a problem for a better shot at playing time.

• Meyer mentioned defensive lineman Johnathan Hankins and running back Bri'onte Dunn, an early freshman enrollee, as two standouts in workouts. He said he had an issue with Dunn during recruiting, but changed his mind on him after a visit with his family, which he called one of the best home visits he has ever had. Now he's a fan of what Dunn has shown so far.

• There is momentum at the running back position, Meyer said, saying Carlos Hyde and Rod Smith have changed for the better in the last two months. He said Jordan Hall has had a "decent" career that should be better, and has had a "borderline great" off-season. And, again, he loves Dunn.

• After making it clear on several occasions how much he likes starting quarterback Braxton Miller, Meyer has come around on backup quarterback Kenny Guiton.

"He's had a good off-season," Meyer said. "He was a guy I was not a big fan of when I first got here. I'm used to a quarterback that acts like a quarterback. And he's starting to do that."

• Three more incoming freshmen will enroll for spring quarter and take part in spring practice -- defensive end Se'von Pittman, linebacker Luke Roberts and offensive tackle Taylor Decker. Decker, for sure, has a shot at the two-deep.