Ohio State: J.T. Barrett or Cardale Jones?
The Ohio State Buckeyes are 3-0 and looking every bit like the national championship favorite, but not everything is peachy around campus. Despite beating the Virginia Tech Hokies, Hawaii Warriors and Northern Illinois Huskies, there has been talk of whether Cardale Jones or J.T. Barrett should be the starting quarterback.
Originally, Jones got the nod against Virginia Tech in the nationally televised home opener and played well, leading the Buckeyes to a blowout win after trailing at halftime. However, the win over Hawaii at home was a bit sloppy, and the Jones was pulled after a pair of turnovers on Saturday against Northern Illinois.
Jones completed only 4-of-9 passes for 36 yards with no touchdowns and two interceptions. Barrett came in and turned things around, hitting on 11-of-19 for 97 yards and a touchdown and interception.
Now, the question becomes who is the starting quarterback moving forward? Neither Jones or Barrett has looked special, but the rest of the team is playing at an outrageously high level. Head coach Urban Meyer talked about that issue on Monday, but has not come to a decision yet, per ESPN.
“I haven’t decided yet,” Meyer said Monday. “We’re going to have conversations, and [as of] today, not one has beaten out the other and they’re not playing great.
“I hear someone say, ‘How can you play quarterback with someone looking over your shoulder.’ My comment to that person was, ‘How do you not?’ If you think you’re going to play at the next level, there’s going to probably be one better than you standing right next to you, so get used to it. It doesn’t mean you get hooked [permanently], but if you have a bad day, you get replaced. That might not be everyone’s philosophy, and that’s OK.”
Jones won the national championship as a third-string quarterback last year, replacing the injured Braxton Miller and Barrett. However, Jones has struggled to the point that Barrett looks like the best bet. Barrett was terrific throughout the season last year, helping Ohio State reach the college football playoffs.
The good news for Ohio State remains abundant. The Buckeyes have two really good quarterbacks to choose from and in addition, play one of the easiest schedules in the nation for a power conference team. The Buckeyes do not play a ranked team until the penultimate contest of the regular season when Ohio State faces the No. 2 Michigan State Spartans on Nov. 21 at The Horseshoe.
Over the next month, the Buckeyes draw Western Michigan, Indiana, Maryland and Penn State. In other words, Meyer has ample time to find out the situation under center.
