MINNEAPOLIS – How good has J.T. Barrett been this season? So good that you may not believe this stat: Barrett is only four touchdowns away from breaking the Big Ten single-season record for most total touchdowns held by former Purdue quarterback Drew Brees, who had 42 in 1998. After another four-touchdown performance in Ohio State’s 31-24 win over Minnesota, Barrett already broke Ohio State’s single-season touchdowns record vs. the Gophers with 38. Barrett finished with 200 yards passing and three touchdowns, and 195 yards rushing and an additional score. Here’s a complete initial breakdown of Barrett’s performance: • It seems like Barrett does something every week that we didn’t know he was capable of. Against Minnesota, it was the first touchdown he scored – an 86-yard run that he took to the house virtually untouched. It was the longest run for an Ohio State quarterback in the history of the program. Ohio State lost a lot of natural athleticism with Braxton Miller’s injury, and the last thing even Meyer probably expected out of Barrett was an 86-yard touchdown run. He went the majority of the way untouched, but we didn’t know Barrett had the speed to outlast an entire defense that long. • Barrett’s a much more proficient runner than he was given credit for. Speed aside, he has good instincts, follows his blocks well and always seems to fight for extra yards. He isn’t as natural of a runner as Miller, and he can’t make people miss like that, but he is definitely an option to design runs around consistently. • Barrett’s pocket presence continues to be impressive. For a freshman, Barrett has an unparalleled comfort in the pocket and he always has a sense of where the pressure is coming from. And when it’s on the way, Barrett avoids it well by keeping his eyes down field and the play alive. A perfect example of this came on his 57-yard touchdown pass to Jalin Marshall. Barrett was in the pocket as it was beginning to collapse. He hung in there, then escaped at the last second, rolled and found a crossing Marshall with a perfectly placed pass…
Continue Reading: Ohio State football QB J.T. Barrett on brink of history after big show vs. Minnesota: Buckeyes Barrett Breakdown
