Ohio State fans have heard all spring and summer long about the improvements that Buckeye quarterback J.T. Barrett has made. Many refuse to believe that such a thing can happen and are worried that they will once again be subjected to quarterback play that only results in an All-Big Ten quarterback and a Silver Football trophy.
Others, however, are rightly concerned that it has been a very long time since Barrett lit up one of the nation’s best defenses through the air. The specter of 337 yards passing over Ohio State’s final three games last season will loom until it has been exorcised by Barrett himself.
The OSU coaches and players are adamant that Barrett has improved in every facet. Quarterbacks coach Ryan Day has seen improvement in many different forms.
“Today I’m proud of, first off, the command he’s had of the offense and the quick decision-making he’s making, from practice to practice,” Day said. “The ball is coming out of his hand quickly, he’s confident in what he’s doing, his eyes are right, and so the ball is coming out on time right now and you can tell that he’s got a rhythm about him when he’s playing the position. He’s taken a lot of ownership, that’s a big push for us this year is ownership, so he’s been doing some work with the other skill guys in the film room by himself with those guys. So yeah, I think the communication and the relationship between the skill guys and J.T. has been great.”
This is Barrett’s fifth summer camp, but only the second where he has been the established starter. Still, he’s seen it all, which has allowed him to make the strides that Day has designed for him. His experience makes the teaching easier, which allows more lessons to be given.
“He’s been there before,” Day said. “He knows what’s real and what isn’t. When you put something up on the board he knows, he can visualize it, he’s been there. When you take a rep on the field in practice, I talk to those guys all the time, the higher level you go as a quarterback you have to play with an imagination. Every time you take a snap it’s like being in The Horseshoe playing against Oklahoma on a Saturday night. It’s like being in the opening game against Indiana in the opening game on a Thursday night. It’s not just another rep out on Coffey fields. He can do that because he’s been there.”
J.T. Barrett is arguably the most-experienced player in the Big Ten. Last year he was named the best player in the Big Ten.
It wasn’t good enough, though. The Buckeyes will need him to be better, which everyone inside the program says he is. It will take some convincing to get every Ohio State fan to buy in to what OSU is selling, however.
For those non-believers, another Silver Football just isn’t going to cut it. It will take J.T. Barrett hosting a team trophy to turn the tide. Only then will they admit that maybe he isn’t so bad after all.
It’s funny how folks play it both ways – they want to be highly critical of JT’s play but at the same time they “hope they are wrong” – so you win if he doesn’t play well (I told you so on my post!) and you win if he does (I hoped he would play well!). Bravo! You are officially Fan a tics!
Is that the best you got? Maybe people WANT JT Barrett to be successful regardless of what we’ve seen statistically against teams with a pulse. Players who get told constantly how great they are, and how amazed and dazzled people are by that players exploits rarely ever get any better. Maybe, just maybe there’s a reason why the traditions of Buckeye quarterbacks comes to a halt as soon as their college days are over. They MUST be supreme beings leading one of the most storied programs in the history of college football! Ohio State has one of the worst track records for developing pro quarterbacks in College Football.
People love what JT has done for the Buckeyes. Like I said many times, I wouldn’t select any of the other QB’s on the roster to replace JT. He’s perfect for what Meyer wants. Is that a condemnation of JT Barrett or any of the other quarterbacks? HARDLY. It’s a statement that shows Coach Meyer can’t recruit and develop professional level quarterbacks, and we’d actually like to see that change.
JT Barrett will be the exact same quarterback he’s been since the day he arrived at Ohio State. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. He’ll win a bunch of games. When the last day of his playing at Ohio State is over he can almost be assured to wash out at the next level with the current crap level development at that position. That’s in spite of the same old nonsense spoken to the media by staff and even some players.
Show a single quarterback Meyer has recruited and developed who has panned out at the next level. And no, Meyer didn’t recruit the kid from Utah who has done well as a pro.
It’s also why I think Joe Burrow is the lock to become the next in line over Haskins. Haskins is a decent ball handler with okay options skills, but they aren’t ideal for what Meyer likes to do. He’s a pure passer who currently has prototypical skill sets of pro quarterbacks. Meyer runs a pro style rushing attack where passing skills are marginalized.
Sorry, your whole fanatic nonsense is dismally shortsighted in my opinion. Nobody is against JT Barrett. That’s a spineless copout. I would, and I’m pretty sure every would like JT to suddenly be a good passing quarterback. There’s just nothing concrete or even substantial to support the camp hyperbole annually.
We’ll see what the season tells us soon enough. Until then, I congratulate you on being a good soldier for the message of mass distraction. RAH RAH RAH. SUNSHINE PUMPERS OF THE WORLD UNITE! You ARE afterall the only REAL fans of Ohio State.
I always appreciate the response, but hyperbole is saying that Barrett isn’t a good passing quarterback. Not the opposite.
Until it’s proven otherwise, hyperbole is saying that JT Barrett is a good passing quarterback against any good defensive football team. Great leader, terrific, maybe even second to none ball distributor in the option rushing attack. Lousy passer against good defense. It is what it is. Sorry.
So, THE Ohio State University Buckeyes do not develop NFL quality quarterbacks. All they do is win year in and year out. What a conundrum. Do I get a Matt Ryan and go to the potato chip bowl? How about a Jarred Goff at that football powerhouse at Cal? Or do I get someone to fit my system and compete for natty’s? Hmmm. As for the storied programs (which is debatable) how many of those have starting NFL QB’s – not the current kings of college football (yeah Alabama), not Notre Dame (though Deshon Kizer might change that), how about the team up north (I’ll give you 100 year old Brady), no, seems the only “storied” program that can consistently develop QB’s AND win natty’s is USC (when was the last time they were relevant?) and really nobody else (in the 21st Century). So, give me Alabama and Ohio State with their focus on winning national championships and sending virtually every other position group to the NFL as real stars and you may keep those NFL ready QB’s – send them to Wyoming and North Dakota State.
I couldn’t give a craqp less about what OTHER programs do with the talent they have on their rosters. I care about what the Buckeyes do. You appear to be the one looking at the other rosters, not me. I merely want the Buckeyes to find and develop the talent at EVERY position.
It’s pretty selfish to only want to “use” players for potential National Titles without giving them the serviceable skills to advance their playing careers professionally. I guess that means that you view the recruits the Buckeyes get to play quarterback as disposable.
When was the last time USC was relevant? You mean before or after a toadstool idiot runningback caused them to find probation? Not that it makes a bit of difference to this topic.
Even that outhouse of the north manages to get quarterbacks into the NFL, but their arch rivals can’t.
There is no reason that the Buckeyes can’t find great quarterbacks with good passing skills AND be in the running to win National Titles annually. Every other position for Ohio State sends players on a regular basis into the pros, so why not quarterbacks? At this point the answer follows the reasoning of the simplest answer. THEY CAN’T, because they don’t have the coaching talent to deliver it.
Not everybody goes pro in sports, though. Do you view the NFL as the only reason to come to Ohio State?
What does that have to do with anything? When I enter a course, whatever that course is, I expect the education at Ohio State to be second to none. It doesn’t matter whether that’s some useless Liberal Arts course or the Football field. If we expect anything short of graduating with real potential to utilize those skills competitively in the “real” world beyond the education process, than our collegiate experience was a huge waste of time.
There are VERY few players at ANY school who don’t look for the chance to apply what they love, football, at the professional level. If you think otherwise you’re mistaken. They ALL dream of possible “fame and glory” on the field. A football factory like Ohio State with the level of players coming into the program EXPECT, and SHOULD expect the teaching in the football classroom to prepare them for a legit shot at a pro career. For every other position in the program, that has been ultra successful with the exception of the quarterback position. Even the long snapper position has been a positive in that regard. Why should we expect anything short of that for Buckeye quarterbacks?
He’s definitely passing on knowledge, but his job is to assist coaches. He’s not even technically allowed to coach on the field.
I think it’s time we started a movement to fire Coach Meyer. After all, he clearly doesn’t have the talent to pick the right coaches. Heck, he’s never delivered an NFL quality QB while at Ohio State (not even Florida – Tim Tebow be damned!). He can’t seem to hire the right coaches and if he gets lucky and hires one he can’t keep them due to their own selfish motivations to become head coaches (yeah YOU Tom Herman), and you too Dan Mullen. Anyway – how can we continue to put up with a coach who consistently can’t field a QB who’s NFL ready? What say you, I’m all in to start the movement now!
Nobody wants Meyer fired. That’s silly. I just don’t believe he puts the same emphasis on developing his quarterbacks into passers. Of course he’s a pro style read/trap power rushing scheme expert. The best there is IMO. But we’ve seen what happens when equal talent with other good coaching staffs can shut it down. The Buckeyes fizzle spectacularly. Other than a surprise with Jones in 2014, they have exactly no contingency plan. At least that’s the track record. Now with Burrow lost for awhile, if something were to happen to JT, the Buckeyes are stuck back in the helpless flailing offense again. Haskins isn’t a read option QB, just like Jones wasn’t. He’s a pure passer who is going to have to play in a read option scheme that he’s not suited for. 2015 should be all the proof needed to show that the scheme limits the route tree and handcuffs the passing game with 2 different types of quarterbacks.
They SAY that it’s better now with better players. I just don’t buy that garbage. There has been nothing lacking with the receivers the Buckeyes have had. They all were and are exceptional players. They simply haven’t had the “type” of talent to get them the ball. Whether that talent is a weak passing scheme, or a poor passing quarterback doesn’t matter. The results remain the same, and other than lousy opponents being fodder for a huge talent discrepancy, there’s not a major college opponent who believes the Buckeyes passing game can alter their gameplans in any meaningful way.
Maybe Day makes a difference. Maybe he doesn’t. The rhetoric coming out of camp however is the same as it is every year. I know Tony hates me, but, it’s a fact. The passing game is miserable and the glowing reports are pure hyperbole. The hype has yet to be backed up with results against good opponents.
Then again! Maybe the help of Brian Hartline makes all the difference! Perhaps Brian, who is a great person and was a great player can teach Zach Smith and Day how a passing game should work if a QB isn’t afraid to pull the trigger. Or I should say, the coordinator (that’s Urban regardless of someone else having that title) isn’t afraid to turn his quarterback talent loose.
One week from today we’ll get to see if things are beginning to improve. If we see the same tight formation scheme that limits the passing game route tree we’ve witnessed for the past several years, expecting different results
Brian Hartline isn’t really teaching coaches much of anything. He is learning.
According to the storyline. LOL. Ever see Coach Meyer and Anthony Schlegel interact? Beautiful poetry at times in the past.
It Zach Smith isn’t picking Brians head for knowledge, that’s a problem.
I was expecting toxic comments regarding JT… I wasn’t disappointed.
JT’s responsible for 4 of 6 losses Urban suffered at OSU.
All other starting QBs account for just 2,
JT seems to lack the ‘it’ factor that defines champions.
I miss CJ and BM, even KG.
Actually next year is the year I am looking forward to.
You can’t teach { coach } a chicken to chase mice. You can either AC CURATELY throw a football more then 10 yards & hit a moving player R you can’t. I have always had a lot of respect for James Mills & his posts on this site. After reading his today I have more! Good job James! Mr AA’ I sure hope your right?
FTR. Nobody says that he “isn’t so bad” even without hoisting a team trophy. He simply can’t throw a football beyond 10 yards worth a damn. But he IS dazzling in the read option power rushing scheme of Meyers. The problem is that defenses have it solved. There was a reason why Dabo Sweeny’s comments about what he told his team weren’t out of bounds or wrong. He KNEW he could match the Buckeyes talent and all he would have to do was limit JT’s rushing option game. The only thing that prevented that game from being an even worse laughing stock.was the Buckeye defense. Then again…………..the Buckeye defense is what prevented the team from being a laughing stock for most of 2016.
Here’s a chart of how Barrett did beyond 10 yards. https://twitter.com/CFBFilmRoom/status/804408749053984768
You or I could probably pass the football reasonably well against virtual punching bags like that awful OU secondary from last year. (should be a little bit better this year), Rutgers, Tulsa, Indiana or Bowling Greens of the world. Yeah, I know stats are cumulative for EVERY QB, but Championship level QB’s perform at least reasonably consistent against good competition. They don’t simply vanish from the radar.
What JT did in the Spring is what he’s looked like since his broken ankle in 2014. I believe that he possesses the “tools” in his tool box to deliver, but I personally don’t think he possesses the confidence to make it happen. Against the better opponents I don’t think even Urban Meyer believes JT can get it done either. The plays selected almost suggests that the staff knows he has a major weakness and scheme away from a more wide open game plan.
I hope I’m wrong. It’s just hard to believe the same old glowing reports we’ve listened to for the last 3 years coming out of Camps.
The first 2 paragraphs are a weak attempt to paint Buckeye fans who aren’t buying the annual BS coming out of camp concerning JT’s ability to pass the football. He CAN pass the ball, as long as it doesn’t mean being consistent beyond 10 yards of the LOS, placing the ball in the receivers frame in a place that can result in “in stride” plays.
JT is a magician with the ball in his hand, running and decision making. He’s been that since the first game he played as a Buckeye. Coaching “raving” about that at this point amounts to them getting on the bandwagon late. The entire Buckeye Nation won’t dispute his leadership, toughness, ability to distribute the ball in the running aspects of the offense, or short passes that don’t require half way decent accuracy or placement.
He wins games. I think EVERY single person in Buckeye Nation adores the guy for what he’s brought to the program. I doubt you’ll even find more than a couple haters who want him replaced as the starter. The issue is articles like this that promote something that 4 years simply hasn’t produced. He turns to ultra mediocre passing against ANY team with a defensive pulse and disappears entirely against good defenses.
I really hope to eat crow about his limp fish intermediate and deep passing arm, but, after 4 years of fly fishing articles based on the rinse and repeat silly glowing comments coming out of camps………..I for one will chuckle them off as feinting hyperbole.
I remember last year when he stacked up pretty numbers against OU. JT HAS ARRIVED……………Um no, OU simply had a garbage defense.
I hope he does well because he would be my pick for starter, just like he is for Wilson and Day, and of course Urban Meyer.
JT reminds me of another quarterback, but, without a passing arm. RG III. He is superb running the offense. He’s worked in the same offense (its always been Meyers offense and remains Meyers offense regardless of coordinators) for 5 years now. He SHOULD know it inside and out in his sleep. No idea why that would be a eureka moment for new coaches or anyone in the fanbase.
There was exactly no improvement in JT’s arm throughout spring ball. Unable to hit receivers in stride and whiffs on framing the receiver. I asked last year if he needed glasses. I really believe he DID need glasses, and still does when he’s on the field. He gets to play against mediocre level defenses for the first half of the season. I just suspect it’s going to be a repeat collapse when he faces an opponent worth a damned.
RAH RAH RAH……..silver football and all that.
To respond to the question: Who knows until the first snap. But I can provide an educated guess and say that he is better because he wants to be better and Urban surrounded him with a coaching team to help him in that quest. He’s been named a 3-time Captain for a reason.
I firmly believe that we will all see just how much that prior coaching hurt JTB. The initial mistake, taking his starting job from him due to an injury, was only the first of the miscalculations. Rather than list them all here again, suffice it to say that we will all see the difference immediately.
Coaching is extremely important and that was sorely lacking the past two years. We’ll all see the difference this year as JTB leads the Bucks to the NC game. There. That’s my prediction. 2014 all over again.
I’m with ya, Leeddog. I remember very well what “The Distributor” did when he had time, talent, and coaching with him and like you, I see that returning with a fury with Kevin Wilson calling the plays. I’ll go you one further and predict the Bucks win it all because I think Barrett is that hungry and the talent around him that good.
SPOT ON LEEDDOG couldn’t have said it better myself.
You can win the Big Ten with Barrett { Maybe} But not a National Champ. I hope I’am wrong. I only know what I see.
OSU won a National title with our 3rd string QB. Believe that if JTB returns to his 2014 form and more. Coaching was his issue.
Meyer spends the biggest amount of his “coaching” time with the offense. It’s ENTIRELY his offense and has been since the day he arrived. I personally don’t believe JT Barrett would have executed a defense altering passing attack against Alabama OR a pretty average Oregon secondary. He CERTAINLY wouldn’t have filleted the Badgers like Jones did. His arm wasn’t and isn’t strong enough to get behind equal talent accurately or on time. Until he can do it against good secondaries I’ll go with what has been displayed in his game over the last 3 years. If he returns to “2014” form, he’ll still be 3 years behind where he should be.