×

Barrett will be a task for PSU

UNIVERSITY PARK — Any chance Penn State has of staying close against No. 2 Ohio State on Saturday starts with slowing down quarterback J.T. Barrett.

Two years ago, when the Nittany Lions lost to the Buckeyes in double-overtime, Barrett was healthy for the first half and helped Ohio State to a 17-0 lead.

He suffered a knee injury in the second half, was a different player after that, and the Buckeyes’ offense visibly struggled because of it.

Last year, in a 38-10 loss at Columbus, Barrett and the Buckeyes shredded Penn State’s defense just about every time the quarterback was on the field. Even though it was clear Barrett was the better of the two, Urban Meyer kept giving Cardale Jones every opportunity in that game, and the Nittany Lions had to be thankful for that because Barrett was doing far more damage.

“It seems like he’s been playing there forever, it really has,” Penn State coach James Franklin said of Barrett, a junior. “He’s very poised. He’s very mature. He’s got a lot of weapons around him. He’s got a veteran, talented offensive line in front of him.”

Barrett is a sensational runner, and at 222 pounds, the 6-foot-1 quarterback can run over defenders about as well as he runs by them.

Two years ago, Barrett ran for 75 yards on 20 carries, and he scored two touchdowns in the overtime periods as Ohio State escaped Beaver Stadium with a 31-24 win.

“I think we grew up as a team that night,” Barrett, then a freshman, said looking back on that game. “For myself, I think it was important to go through that adversity at my age, to see how far I could push myself.

“My knee was hurting, but I had an understanding that I didn’t need to come out of the game. I knew I could still play and still make plays, so it was something I had to fight through mentally. I did grow up in that aspect during that game, but the team as a whole grew much more.”

After watching the Buckeyes struggle against a mediocre Penn State team, few would have figured they would go on to win the national title in 2014. But that they did, with Jones having some monster games after replacing the injured Barrett.

Last year, Meyer found himself in a difficult spot, having to give Jones opportunities to play coming off the title season, even though it was evident to just about everyone early on in the season that Barrett was the more effective quarterback.

The experiment carried on through the game against Penn State, and Barrett was terrific in that game, running for 102 yards on only 11 carries and scoring twice.

Ohio State has good running backs, led by Mike Weber, who has 612 yards and averages 102 per game. What makes the offense so dangerous is that Barrett runs the read option to perfection, waiting until the last possible moment to either hand off or tuck it and run himself.

In the Buckeyes’ system, Barrett is about as dangerous of a weapon as there is in college football.

“They use him a lot,” Franklin said. “It’s not like a quarterback where they may have one or two designed runs or scrambles for him. They use him a lot. I mean, he’s a large percentage of their running game in designed quarterback runs or read options, and then you sprinkle in some of the scrambles, as well.”

The Buckeyes’ passing game has had some issues the past two weeks, so perhaps Penn State will try to force Barrett to throw the ball more. That can be extremely dangerous, as well, because he has 16 touchdowns to only four interceptions and is completing 63 percent of his throws.

Oh, and despite only being halfway through his junior season, Barrett, already holds the Ohio State career record with 61 touchdown passes, 34 of those coming in his incredible freshman season (which also included 11 rushing scores).

He threw four touchdowns at Oklahoma earlier this season, and six against Bowling Green.

Barrett, therefore, is the quintessential pick-your-poison kind of player. He was just 9-of-21 passing for 93 yards against Indiana two weeks ago, but he made up for it with 137 yards rushing on 26 carries.

“Timing is one,” Barrett said of where the passing game needs to improve. “Sometimes I’m ready to throw but the receivers aren’t open yet, or maybe I need to slow down my drop back to give them more time. I think timing-wise is the biggest factor when you’re throwing the ball deep down field.”

NEWSLETTER

Today's breaking news and more in your inbox

I'm interested in (please check all that apply)
Are you a paying subscriber to the newspaper? *
   

Starting at $3.92/week.

Subscribe Today