COLUMBUS, Ohio — Cardale Jones has a flair for embracing his newfound fame, and anyplace he goes is a stage. His latest performance came at Ohio State’s media day over the weekend, when Jones, the quarterback who went from third-stringer to starter as the Buckeyes won the national championship last season, sat down at a table with his 9-month-old daughter, Chloe, on his lap to conduct his interviews.

Quickly swallowed by a sea of flashing cameras and peppered with questions, Jones lounged in his chair and flashed a wide smile. Once cast as an afterthought in the program, Jones is now one of its most prominent faces, a role he seems to welcome.

But as Ohio State prepares for the season, Jones finds himself in a duel with J. T. Barrett, the sophomore who was a Heisman Trophy contender last season before a season-ending injury handed the quarterback job to Jones, for the right to guide the top-ranked Buckeyes.

This is a season-defining choice that has come slowly into focus over the last seven months. It is also one that is approached with a certain level of hand-wringing by Coach Urban Meyer and his staff, since they face the prospect of having to pick between Barrett and Jones, two preseason Heisman contenders who have proved themselves worthy of a position only one can play.