COLUMBUS, Ohio -- A final decision in Ohio State's quarterback derby won't be revealed until just before the season kicks off, but Buckeyes coach Urban Meyer isn't ruling out playing both his decorated candidates.

With both J.T. Barrett and Cardale Jones unable to gain a leg up on the starting job during training camp and having similar skill sets, the top-ranked Buckeyes are continuing to weigh their options as to who will take the first snap -- and if the nominal backup will take any at some point after that as well.

The Buckeyes open the season on the road at Virginia Tech in an ESPN-televised game on Monday, Sept. 7.

"We'll announce the starter when the first guy takes the snap," Meyer said during his Monday news conference. "It's still very close, both guys are performing very well.

"If it was different skill sets, we probably would [need to decide], but they're not. If you look at J.T.'s game plan when he was our quarterback and Cardale's, it was very similar. There's a chance they'll both play, as well, so that hasn't really [been a factor] with our mindset with a game plan on offense."

The Buckeyes have thrived with both players leading the spread attack, with Barrett leading the team as the starter throughout the regular season a year ago and Jones coming off the bench to win all three postseason games en route to the national championship.

Both Barrett and Jones have said that they'd prefer not to have any sort of rotation, but with little separation between the two, Meyer appears in no hurry to establish a permanent pecking order.

"If you're not going to [start], get ready," Meyer said. "I'd like to see both guys involved. It could be in-game; it could be weekly."