J.T. Barrett Must Grow Fast for Buckeyes to Contend After Braxton Miller Injury

The Ohio State Buckeyes received some devastating news Monday when it was revealed starting quarterback Braxton Miller reportedly re-injured his throwing shoulder.

Tim May of The Columbus Dispatch got wind of Miller’s ailment and proceeded to name Miller’s prospective successor should he miss the 2014 season:

This is extremely discouraging because Miller underwent arthroscopic surgery on the shoulder in February. Now the Buckeyes will likely have to turn to another dual-threat QB in J.T. Barrett, a redshirt freshman who has never thrown a pass at the college level.

Barrett must learn the starting job and do so in swift fashion to rescue Ohio State from this potential disaster scenario.

Although he is an unknown commodity, Barrett may catch opposing defenses and NCAA football fans by surprise as a result. The S.H. Rider High School (Wichita Falls, Texas) product was a 4-star recruit and the third-ranked dual-threat QB in the class of 2013, per 247Sports’ composite rankings.

That’s encouraging enough—unless you’re a Buckeye fan with extremely high expectations and happen to look at the following anecdote from ESPN Stats & Info:

Ohio State offensive coordinator Tom Herman seems to believe Barrett gives the Buckeyes the best chance to win in the event Miller can’t go, per Cleveland.com’s Ari Wasserman:

The offense moves better when he’s in there. You can throw all the completion percentages – he’s probably completing more balls and making more of the…

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