Despite leaving last Saturday’s game against Michigan with a knee injury, Ohio State starting quarterback J.T. Barrett was confident after OSU’s win over the Wolverines that he would be ready for Wisconsin and the Big Ten Championship Game in one week.
“Yeah, I’ll play next week,” he said without hesitation.
On Sunday, however, Barrett was not yet practicing.
Players are given Mondays off, so Tuesday’s practice was an opportunity to find out just where Barrett stood.
“He looks great,” said freshman running back J.K. Dobbins, adding that Barrett was running just fine.
“He’s going to be alright,” left tackle Jamarco Jones added. “He’ll be ready when Saturday comes.”
Redshirt freshman Dwayne Haskins got the No. 1 reps on Sunday, and he will continue to get plenty of reps leading up to Saturday’s game against one of the best defenses in the nation.
This plan is two-fold in that it gives Haskins necessary reps, but it also allows Barrett to be brought back carefully so that he is as healthy as he can be when the Buckeyes and Badgers finally kick off.
“He looks good. Good attitude. Working good,” said offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. “We’re being just smart with the volume so we make sure that he’s there by Saturday. He looks good.”