What a difference a year makes. In this very spot a season ago, defending champion Ohio State football was engulfed in a good old fashioned quarterback controversy. It was a three man battle between J.T. Barrett (2014 second team All-American, 5th in Heisman voting), Cardale Jones (the man who led them to three straight upset postseason wins and the national title) and Braxton Miller (two time Big Ten Player of the year).
It was the most over-covered college football story in the entire nation during the 2015 preseason/offseason.
The excessive over-analysis and unneeded scrutiny inevitably had an effect on everyone. Barrett was off in ’15 and saw a drop off in form.
“I was healthy that wasn’t the issue, but I was thinking too much. I don’t play very good when I think a lot,” he said.
“Thinking slowed my play down and I like playing fast reacting to certain things, what the defense is giving me. I wasn’t doing that I was thinking and trying to break down every situation. I hindered myself in that way. I have nobody to blame but myself.”
“Cardale deserved to start because he was playing better than me, and I wasn’t playing the way I know I can play.”
This year brings a completely different scenario. Almost everybody that mattered on the 2014 National Championship team, with the exception of J.T. Barrett, is now gone.
The Buckeyes return just six starters, and their key losses include:
DL Joey Bosa, CB Eli Apple, OL Taylor Decker, RB Ezekiel Eliott, QB/WR Braxton Miller, QB Cardale Jones, S Vonn Bell, WR Michael Thomas, S Tyvis Powell, WR Jalin Marshall, DT Tommy Schutt, LB Darron Lee, LB Joshua Perry, DT Adolphus Washington
J.T. Barrett is the constant, the bedrock, the foundation. It’s his chance now to really perform, given that he can play loose without having to look over his shoulder.
Here is J.T. Barrett holding court at B1G Media Day during the podium sessions, audio file via Sound Cloud below:
https://soundcloud.com/p-m-banks/jt-barrett
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, partnered with FOX Sports Engage Network. and News Now. Banks, a former writer for the Washington Times, currently contributes regularly to the Chicago Tribune’s RedEye publication and Bold Global.
He also consistently appears on numerous radio and television talk shows all across the country. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram and Sound Cloud.