Quarterback J.T. Barrett may have stumbled upon a new quote to sum up the team in 2016 when he said this on Media Day last Sunday: “It’s not always rainbows and ice cream. The game of football is really rough.”
Barrett is one of the most experienced Buckeyes and one of the best interview subjects. Here are seven things to know about the redshirt junior quarterback two weeks before the season opener against Bowling Green on Sept. 3.
1. More relaxed: Barrett inherited the starting job for the first time in 2014 when Braxton Miller got hurt in August. The circumstances made his job that much tougher.
“In 2014, there were periods where my heartbeat would spike,” Barrett said. “I was a young guy. I wanted to do so well. Coach Meyer would be like, ‘Third down,’ and I’d be like, ‘Oh snap, this is where quarterbacks make their money. I’ve got to play well.’ Now playing relaxed, that’s something (quarterbacks) Coach (Tim) Beck and me have conversations about. Not thinking too much. Playing relaxed. Just being myself.”
2. Better situation: Barrett lost the starting job to Cardale Jones in preseason practices in 2015. Then he got it back, but neither quarterback played as well as they did in 2014. Sharing snaps in practice had something to do with that. This season, Barrett is the unquestioned No. 1 quarterback and will get the majority of the snaps.
“I’m a big reps guy,” Barrett said. “(I like) seeing it over and over again, getting the same feel of the ball coming out of my hands, certain routes and certain coverages that need to be seen, placement of receivers. That was something that last year I didn’t have enough of. I just wanted more reps to get that feeling. Now I feel good with the spot I’m at. I can still improve. I’m not saying I’ve made it.”
3. Different expectations: Despite returning only six starters, the Buckeyes ranked No. 5 in the preseason coaches poll. However, plenty of experts think the Buckeyes will stumble because of their inexperience.
“I don’t mind being the underdog,” Barrett said. “I enjoy it. It’s the whole world against you type of feel, which I kind of like. People don’t like Ohio State. I don’t have a problem with that. It’s kind of weird, but I don’t mind not being liked or not being the favorite. I know a lot more than they know because they’re on the outside, the people that are saying that. They don’t know what’s happening in practices or meetings, the good stuff that’s happening here.”
4. Lessons learned: Barrett completed 9 of 16 passes for 46 yards on a rain-soaked night at Ohio Stadium last November when the Buckeyes suffered their only loss, 17-14 to Michigan State. The Spartans won the game playing two backup quarterbacks.
“If we’re nine units strong, every game we play we’re going to win,” Barrett said. “That’s the ultimate goal. And one game we weren’t. When we weren’t, that’s when we lost. That stopped us from our goal of playing for a championship. That game cost us all that.”
5. Leadership style: Barrett is one of three captains, along with center Pat Elflein and linebacker Raekwon McMillan. Barrett said he likes to poke the younger players, to get them agitated when he doesn't think they're working hard enough.
“When workouts are hard,” Barrett said, “I’m like, ‘You’re going to give up on us. Is that what you’re going to do? You’re going to do that to us?’ It’s almost like I try to make it more about the team instead of him hurting because at the end of the day, I don’t really care if you’re hurting. It’s not about you.”
6. Sales pitch: Barrett came to Ohio State from Wichita Falls, Texas, for more than football. He could enter the NFL draft next year or in two years, but he's also working on a degree in communications. Ohio State sold him on the academic side of things as well as the football side when he was being recruited.
“This is not a four-year thing,” Barrett said. “This is a 40-year thing. The alumni base and network at Ohio State is so powerful. It’s not like any other place in the country.”
7. Missing Herman: Barrett lost his quarterbacks coach, Tom Herman, after the 2014 season. Herman left to become the head coach at Houston. Barrett didn't blame him and expected him to get a head coaching job at some point.
“There are people who come into your life for a long time, a lifetime,” Barrett said. “There are people who come into your life for a season. Learn from those people. Coach Herman was definitely good to me. He taught me so much in that time. He’s going to be my guy for the rest of my life.”
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