J.T. Barrett will regain his role as Ohio State’s starting quarterback this week following a one-game suspension for an arrest for operating a motor vehicle under the influence, coach Urban Meyer announced Monday.
"If J.T. has a good week of practice, he'll get the start," Meyer said of Saturday's game against Illinois. "It's never an easy call because one guy just had his 11th [consecutive] win, 250 all-purpose yards, made some good plays for us and is invested in our program.
"It's never easy. I think it's the right thing at this time."
Barrett missed Saturday’s 28-14 win against Minnesota and backup Cardale Jones threw for 187 yards and a touchdown and rushed for 65 yards and a score. Still, the offense was sluggish at times, which is something that has plagued with Buckeyes when Jones is under center.
Even though Jones started the season 7-0, Meyer made the switch to Barrett two weeks ago because the offense ran smoother. In Barrett’s first start this season against Minnesota, he completed 77.8 percent of his passes for 223 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 39 yards and two scores.
"We've been kind of getting things rolling with J.T., our offense has been really productive with him especially at Rutgers and the week prior, Penn State, when he was getting thrown in there here and there," senior left tackle Taylor Decker said Monday. "We were really productive."
Barrett is still working through his legal issues. He has an arraignment Tuesday and will forfeit his scholarship for the 2016 summer term.
For more Ohio State news, visit BuckeyeGrove.com.
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