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August 10, 2015With fall camp starting Monday, college football season is right around the corner. The Ohio State Buckeyes, coming off of their inaugural College Football Playoff Championship, are looking to repeat their result from 2014. Whether they are in scarlet, gray, white, or even black, the top-ranked Buckeyes will most likely put on a show every Saturday this fall. We will use the next several weeks to preview the impending season as defending champs.
Considering himself to be the best athlete in college football, when Heisman hopeful Braxton Miller decided to switch to H-back/wide receiver (from quarterback), many did not find the move surprising. Whether it was the fact that he has a better shot in the NFL at a pass-catching position or because he is still nursing an injured shoulder, Miller saw the chance to turn a lot of heads during his fourth and final season in Columbus and was not too proud to pass it up. With his speed, quickness, and ability to shake defenders, Miller will look to bring yet another weapon to the Buckeyes offense in 2015.
Along with playing as a hybrid receiver, Miller will also take a shot at returning punts as well. Whether this has to do with the suspensions of wide receivers Dontre Wilson and Jalin Marshall for the season opener at Virginia Tech (Wilson and Marshall both play the hybrid receiver position as well as returning kicks and punts) or not, Miller will look to make an impact in this season’s maiden voyage. With the Marshall and Wilson suspensions in the season opener, thinking is that Miller could possibly be the starting H-back for Ohio State on Labor Day.
With Miller on the field, along with whomever starts at quarterback, the trick plays that the Buckeyes could go with have the chance to be very entertaining.
“It’s going to be electric,” Miller said earlier this summer. “We had a great season last year, but we didn’t see anyone do off-the-wall type stuff. I’m sure guys miss seeing an explosive, 60-yard shake-and-bake run every once in a while.”
Whether Miller is running, catching, or throwing the ball in a trick play, his new role will bring a whole new dimension to an already explosive Ohio State offense that will aim to light up the Horseshoe and venues across the country every Saturday in the fall.
Now down to two quarterbacks (because of Miller’s switch to H-back), the Buckeyes coaching staff has to decide who — J.T. Barrett or Cardale Jones — will be named the starting quarterback of the Scarlet and Gray on September 7 when the Buckeyes travel to Virginia Tech to take on the Hokies in a nationally televised season opener. Following Miller’s shoulder injury and surgeries, Barrett was named the starting quarterback just a few weeks before the 2014 season. He went onto set a Big Ten record with 45 touchdowns and a school record 3,772 total yards, while being named the Big Ten Freshman of the Year. Unfortunately for him, his season came to an abrupt end in the last regular season game when he broke his ankle against the Michigan Wolverines.
Following Barrett’s injury, the Buckeyes handed the keys to the offense to Jones, a player who had never started a game in his college career, and was listed as the third-string quarterback before the season began. He entered the games against Michigan being more well known for his social media persona than his on-field one. In the three biggest games of his career (the Big Ten Championship game, College Football Playoff semifinals, and College Football Playoff Championship game), Jones flourished, leading the Buckeyes to a blowout win over Wisconsin, and wins over No. 1 Alabama and No. 2 Oregon in the College Football Playoff. It wouldn’t be long before Jones’ use of Twitter would be the sideshow as the kid they call 12 Gauge took the football world by storm, surprising many when he decided to return to Ohio State for another season.
With two similar but different styles, Barrett is an average-sized quarterback with a little speed and solid arm strength. Jones, conversely, is a big quarterback (both height and weight), but has incredibly strong throwing power and decent speed, along with the ability to plow over any defender who decides to get in his way.
With their incredible performances in 2014, Barrett and Jones are now in a competition for the starting quarterback nod in 2015. In a situation that every football coach would dream to have, Meyer and company can almost not go wrong with their decision, whoever is in fact named the starter. By early indications, despite Jones’ success, the reins will be handed to Barrett for Week 1. During Big Ten Media Day, head coach Meyer discussed about how the competition has already begun, with the leadership, weight room work and academic responsibilities of each quarterback being charted this summer. When one wants to talk leadership, it’s synonymous with Barrett as Jones’ personality, though a cult favorite, continues to earn just marginal praise from his head coach.
“Right now [Barrett is] off the charts, because I have some leadership meetings throughout the summer, and he’s off the charts. Cardale is much better. Two years ago I would have said it didn’t exist, but he’s got his own style of leadership.”
The good news is, Meyer has one hell of a safety net. If the better player in camp (who is then presumably named the starter) struggles, then the head coach can give the other quarterback some playing time, and go with the hot hand. It’s a good problem to have.
5 Comments
I like the formula that we stumbled on last year: Barrett at QB for the regular season; Jones off the bench for the playoffs. It made Nick Saban’s head spin, and that’s a mark of good strategy.
[In reality, though, I’m all in on Cardale.]
Will be interesting if we struggle in a game, will Urban make the switch. We probably will not have a chance to go all the way if we lose 1.
And whats up with a Monday night game to start the season, then a game on Sat. 4 days between first two games. Way to go.
Well, we will have fresh legs at DL, WR, and H-Back (strategic suspensions!), and it is the Rainbow Warriors. Can you imagine being on a plane for 10+ hours just to play a football game – against the reigning national champ juggernaut? Awful. It’s not ideal for OSU, but I’m not too worried.
Considering the 1-loss Buckeyes last year won it all, it’d be one heck of an argument to keep them out. Also, last year was a bit of a special case with so many 1-loss teams. I don’t think that will happen this year.