COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Leaving spring practice, Ohio State's plan was for Cardale Jones to be ready to step in for a Heisman Trophy candidate if need be. The identity of that player may have changed, but coach Urban Meyer's faith in his backup quarterback remains the same now as it was heading into training camp.

It was Jones, not J.T. Barrett, who went into August first in line to step in for Braxton Miller. And while Barrett eventually moved ahead of the redshirt sophomore and developed into one of the nation's most prolific scorers for No. 6 Ohio State before breaking his ankle Saturday against rival Michigan, Jones won't exactly be going into his starting debut in the Big Ten championship game against Wisconsin without any experience running the first-team offense.

"Obviously it's going to be a really good environment against a very tough defense," Meyer said Monday. "But it's not like he's not taking snaps with the one offense or understands the concepts. He has a very good understanding. We expect our quarterbacks here to prepare a certain way.

"He hasn't been in this situation [in a game] yet. But he did it in spring [practice], and he did a good job. Remember, he was our backup."

Ultimately, Jones became the No. 2 behind a different guy, with Barrett emerging late in camp as the best option for the Buckeyes and then going on to break the Big Ten record with 45 total touchdowns while leading the team into contention for the College Football Playoff.

But Barrett's fourth-quarter injury against the Wolverines will force the Buckeyes to turn to Jones the way they always thought they might have to when Miller was recovering during the spring from his first shoulder surgery, leaving the first-string reps to the 6-foot-5, 250-pounder with a rocket launcher for a right arm.

"It was certainly not any deficiency on Cardale's part, because he was doing a pretty admirable job," offensive coordinator Tom Herman said. "It was the fact that with J.T., the offense was moving just a little bit better when he was in there, and there was really not a metric to kind of say, 'He's doing this better, but this isn't as good' or the completion percentage was [worse].

"We chart everything, we grade everything, and their grades were very similar. It was just [that] the offense was moving a little better at the time when J.T. was in."

The Buckeyes won't have Barrett available against the Badgers or for any other game moving forward, which puts the burden squarely on the broad shoulders of Jones. And now that Ohio State is down to its third-string quarterback, and with plans to redshirt the only other scholarship player at the position, Stephen Collier, the Buckeyes are actually entering the week "probably" expecting H-back Jalin Marshall to be the backup to Jones.

Odds are both Jones and Marshall will take snaps against Wisconsin, with the latter a former high school quarterback who has been used as a Wildcat quarterback. But the top option is officially Jones for now, just like it was in April.

"Is he ready to go beat Wisconsin today? No," Herman said. "But he's certainly ready for the moment, and he'll be ready when it comes to the game plan. When it comes to winning the football game on Saturday, he'll be ready for that as well."