For the complete listing of SI’s preseason Top 25 rankings, click here. The nation’s knottiest quarterback competition gained some clarity on July 23, when senior Braxton Miller revealed he’s moving to H-back—a hybrid receiver position. That still leaves Ohio State with the most enviable and intriguing QB race, between sophomore J.T. Barrett and junior Cardale Jones. Each has established his credentials with a different style. Barrett went 11-1 as a starter last year, finished No. 5 in Heisman voting and broke Drew Brees’s 16-year-old Big Ten record by accounting for 45 touchdowns. At 6’ 2” and 225 pounds, Barrett is as much a deft distributor as a dynamic playmaker. His fractured right ankle in the regular-season finale allowed Jones to step in and lead Ohio State to victories over Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game, then Alabama and Oregon in the College Football Playoff. Along the way he established himself as an NFL prospect, a 6’ 5”, 250-pound drop-back archetype. So who’ll be throwing bubble screens to Miller…
Continue Reading: Top 25 college football team preview: No. 1 Ohio State Buckeyes
