COLUMBUS, Ohio –– Gunnar Hoak has more experience in the system. C.J. Stroud was the more acclaimed recruit. But it was Jack Miller that entered the game as the second-string quarterback behind Justin Fields on Saturday, which came as something of a surprise to many that have been following the backup quarterback battle at Ohio State.

Ryan Day and company have gone to lengths to keep under wraps who has the edge at the position, as the competition between four-star freshmen Miller and Stroud figures to factor into the next few years of starting quarterback play in Columbus in the post-Fields era.

But even though Miller, who committed to the program nearly 18 months before Stroud, got the nod as the first man off the bench, don’t think that means he has the job won just yet.

“It’s an ongoing deal. At some point, if one of them jumps in front of the other, then we’ll go from there,” Day said. “But as of right now, it’s just lack of reps. They’re still battling, they’re still learning, they’re still trying to figure it out. They’re getting better, they’re showing some flashes here and there, but we’ll just keep that going and take it week to week.”

Miller didn’t actually throw a pass in the game, and saw less than three minutes of game time in the fourth quarter of a blowout, but the Arizona product managed to rip off a 21-yard rush and a rushing touchdown to close out the contest for Ohio State.

With a returning Heisman finalist in Fields operating the offense with the first-team, the backups may not seem all that important. However, look no further than Madison, Wisconsin, for an example of how the pandemic can turn a quarterback room on its head this year.

Last year’s Badger starter Jack Coan was ruled out indefinitely with an injury in the preseason, but talented backup Graham Mertz stepped in with near-perfect coming-out-party in the Big Ten season opener on Friday, completing 20-of-21 passes and tossing five touchdowns.

Now though, Mertz has tested positive twice for COVID-19 and will miss 21 days for the Badgers. Oh, and Wisconsin’s third-string quarterback, Chase Wolf, has reportedly tested positive as well.

Wisconsin may be stuck with fourth-string quarterback Danny Vanden Boom, who has thrown just one career pass, for the next several games.

It’s not a situation that has flown under Day’s radar at Ohio State.

“What a tricky situation,” Day said. “It’s a very, very contagious virus and I feel for all these teams that are going through this.”

Although there’s only so much that can be done to limit contact in a particular position room, Day said there are some provisions that the Buckeyes are making to avoid any potential for a similar spread through the quarterback room.

“We break it up. When they’re in the quarterback meeting room with Corey [Dennis], they obviously are all masked up and distanced, and they do a great job of that. But I’ll grab Justin and take him on my own sometimes –– for a lot of reasons –– but that’s one of them, to kind of keep away from some of the other guys,” Day said.

There may not be any known positive tests in that room or any other for Ohio State following its Week 1 win, but it's not something the program can afford to let up on going forward.

“You just cannot take a deep breath because once it gets one guy, there’s a lot of people at risk,” Day said.

Whether it's Miller, Stroud or Hoak, all will have to be ready at a moment's notice to run the offense for Ohio State this year.