J.T. Barrett has final earned his starting spot back.
After weeks of playing backup quarterback to Cardale Jones, coach Urban Meyer announced Tuesday that Barrett would start Saturday’s game against Rutgers. This isn’t much of a surprise.
Barrett came in during the first half of Saturday’s win against Penn State and led the Buckeyes to their first touchdown. He took over in the third quarter and played the rest of the game, making what was a dual-quarterback system a one-man job.
In the past when Barrett had come in as a spark for Jones, he’d performed OK, but nothing that would have warranted a quarterback switch.
Last Saturday was different.
Barrett used his legs to take advantage of a Penn State defense that was trying to limit throwing lanes. It was like watching the Ohio State team that Barrett made successful a year ago. And quite frankly, it really looked like the first time this year Barrett, who suffered an ankle injury late last season that caused him to miss the postseason, was totally healthy and totally comfortable.
J.T. Barrett will start for Ohio State, Urban Meyer said: "Red zone production and third-down production" were key. pic.twitter.com/0YpheMueCN
— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) October 20, 2015
It’s odd to see a coach make a quarterbacking change when his team’s 7-0 and ranked No. 1 in the nation, but it was clear the offense moved better with Barrett. It’s one thing to suffer through a sludgy offense when a team is playing weaker opponents. But as Ohio State prepares to play what is essentially the meat of its schedule, it needed to go with the player that made the team move in the most cohesive way.
That guy was, no doubt, J.T. Barrett.
For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeGrove.com.
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Graham Watson is the editor of Dr. Saturday on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email her at dr.saturday@ymail.com or follow her on Twitter! Follow @YahooDrSaturday
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