COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — It didn’t take long for J.T. Barrett to realize that things would never be the same for him.”Life has definitely changed,” said the redshirt freshman thrust into Ohio State’s starting quarterback job before the season when Braxton Miller underwent shoulder surgery. ”The first day of classes, the teacher calls your name to see if you’re here and everybody turns and looks back, like, ‘J.T.’s in class?”’Get used to it, kid. Every student seems to know – or wants to know – the guy running the Buckeyes’ offense. Most don’t know the name of the governor of Ohio, but they know who’s under center on Saturdays.As he walks across campus to and from classes, Barrett encounters plenty of students who greet him as if they grew up together.”It’s different,” he said with a slight smile. ”But I try to talk to them. I’m just a normal person, playing quarterback at Ohio State. I’m not anybody special. I don’t try to be a celebrity. I’m just a normal guy.”He has been very, very special so far on the field, that’s for certain.The native Texan leads the Big Ten and is 15th in the Football Bowl Subdivision in total offense (326 yards a game) and tops the conference with 271 passing yards per game.Over just the past three games since the Buckeyes were drubbed 35-21 at home by Virginia Tech, he’s put up video-game numbers: 14 touchdown passes, 1 interception, 909 passing yards and a 75 percent completion rate.Yet coach Urban Meyer isn’t wowed. Well, not exactly.Miller, a three-year starter and two-time Big Ten offensive player of the year, did things that made highlight reels. Barrett just produces.”Braxton gave us the ‘wow’ factor,” Meyer said…
Continue Reading: No Miller? Barrett steps right in for Ohio State
