COLUMBUS, Ohio — As members of the Ohio State roster filed out of the University of Phoenix Stadium locker room following the Buckeyes’ 44-28 Fiesta Bowl win over Notre Dame, reality began to set in: Many of these players were doing so for the final time in their college careers.
It started with Cardale Jones, who had already previously declared his intentions of entering the 2016 NFL draft and seemed to be doing his best to duck postgame interviews.
Star defensive end Joey Bosa soon followed, his attention also turned toward his pro career.
There went Ezekiel Elliott and Michael Thomas, Darron Lee and Vonn Bell. By the time Ohio State’s seniors had hit the showers with a career 50-4 record in tow, the only player left on the floor of the Buckeyes locker room was quarterback J.T. Barrett, his MVP trophy by his side and a growing throng of reporters surrounding the sophomore signal-caller.
It was a fitting scene, with Barrett serving as the center of attention at the official beginning of an offseason in which he’ll be the undisputed face of the Ohio State program. Perhaps more symbolically, Barrett was all alone, which might become a feeling all too familiar for the Wichita Falls, Texas, native in 2016.
“I’ll carry the weight on my shoulders to make plays, which I’m comfortable with,” Barrett said, looking ahead to 2016. “I have confidence in myself to do that.”
Still, the talent leaving Barrett’s side—in some cases, literally—was…
Continue Reading: 2016 Will Be a Reload, Not a Rebuild for Ohio State and Urban Meyer
