COLUMBUS – Another week, yet another J.T. Barrett debate.
With some improvement in Ohio State’s passing game the last three weeks and its senior quarterback becoming the career passing yards leader in a 56-0 win at Rutgers last week, the calls for more playing time for Barrett’s back-ups have decreased.
But moving up to No. 1 ahead of Art Schlichter on the Buckeyes’ career passing list has led to a discussion of where Barrett ranks on the all-time list of Ohio State quarterbacks.
Is he in the top 10? The top five? Is he in the debate for No. 1?
Barrett’s supporters point to his dual threat abilities, his statistics, his leadership and his team’s success as some of the reasons he is among the best.
Those who don’t consider him among the elite say he doesn’t pass the eye test compared to the best OSU quarterbacks of the recent and not-so-recent past. And they say statistics aren’t the only way to measure a quarterback.
How the rest of Barrett’s senior year plays out will have a significant role in determining the final verdict on his career.
But there is no doubt he will finish his career as the most discussed, most analyzed and most scrutinized OSU quarterback.
The media environment, including social media, is infinitely more intense and immediate than it was five, 10, 20 or 40 years ago.
Consider these numbers about Schlichter, who many still would argue is the best quarterback in Ohio State history:
In his four years at Ohio State, Schlichter threw 50 touchdown passes and 46 interceptions. He completed 52 percent of his passes. As a freshman, he threw for four touchdowns and had 21 passes intercepted.
If an Ohio State quarterback produced numbers like those in 2017, the internet would explode.
.neFileBlock {
margin-bottom: 20px;
}
.neFileBlock p {
margin: 0px 0px 0px 0px;
}
.neFileBlock .neFile {
border-bottom: 1px dotted #aaa;
padding-bottom: 5px;
padding-top: 10px;
}
.neFileBlock .neCaption {
font-size: 85%;
}
