When Ohio State takes the field in August, J.T. Barrett will be the starting quarterback.
That, we've known since he announced his return in January, and it's good news for the the Buckeyes.
Barrett is one of the most decorated Ohio State quarterbacks in history entering his redshirt senior season. He already owns 21 schools, has a 26-4 overall record as a starter and was named the Big Ten Quarterback of the Year twice.
His starting spot is locked up. There's no question about that. The backup job though, that's a different story.
Behind Barrett is a three-horse race between redshirt sophomore Joe Burrow, redshirt freshman Dwayne Haskins and true freshman Tate Martell. Of that triad, only one has ever played a snap in a Buckeye uniform.
All three are capable and talented in their own ways.
"The funny thing about those guys, they're all a little bit different," said new quarterbacks coach Ryan Day. "Dwayne is a bit taller guy, can really deliver the ball from the pocket where Tate is more of a run-around guy, make things happen. Joe is kind of a little bit of everything and then J.T., obviously you guys know what he is. All kind of different but all are really hungry to get there."
With the battle for the backup spot raging on, let's take a closer look at each contender.
Joe Burrow
The eldest of the group, Burrow is the only one of the three with game experience.
After beating out Stephen Collier to earn the No. 2 spot before last season, Burrow saw mop-up action in five games, where he completed 22 of 28 passes for 226 yards and two touchdowns while running the ball 12 times for 58 yards and a touchdown. He also lit it up in the spring game last April, going 14-of-23 passing for 196 yards and three touchdowns with an interception, plus 31 yards rushing on 11 attempts.
Having been in the program for over two years now, he's the most experienced of the bunch and has impressed in practice.
"Very, very impressed," Day said. "Coach's son, really talented, really smart in the classroom, can run and can pass — been really impressed."
"I know I can play here now"– Joe Burrow
Burrow has great touch on his passes and is extremely accurate. His senior season in high school, Burrow threw 63 touchdowns and just two interceptions — and one was a pass that bounced off an open receiver's chest.
While he's not Braxton Miller, Burrow is a capable runner. He was one of his team's top cornerbacks in high school and rushed for over 500 yards each of his three seasons in high school, averaging over five yards a carry.
"What I got out of it is I know I can play here now," Burrow said after his spring game performance last year. "And I know what I need to get to be the starting quarterback and what I need to do to be the backup this season."
Dwayne Haskins
The coaching staff has been gushing about Haskins since his arrival at Ohio State.
"I’ve known Dwayne for three years," Urban Meyer said last April. "I sat and watched him work out. He was training at a facility and I got to physically watch. Some of these kids I don’t get to physically watch. I saw him in camp, although he was very young. His skill set is really good, his film is really good and I’m hoping he gets right in the middle of that."
Haskins is the least mobile quarterback of the bunch, finishing with negative rushing yards in his high school career, but he's deadly accurate from the pocket.
"Dwayne — talented," Day said of Haskins. "You watch him stand in the pocket and deliver the football, you can see the ball spin off his hands when you watch it. Just really jumps out at you how talented he is."
This is Haskins' first time participating in spring drills and Buckeye fans will get a chance to see him in action for the first time in the April 15 spring game.
Tate Martell
Martell is the most high-profile recruit of the trio, and for good reason. Martell finished high school with a perfect 45-0 record as a starter and threw just nine interceptions in his career to his 131 touchdowns.
Meyer compared Martell's ability to simply get the win to other quarterbacks he's coached like Braxton Miller, J.T. Barrett, Cardale Jones and Tim Tebow.
"Tate is a winner," Meyer said. "So obviously that's where he fits. He's a winner. He comes from a winning program, a winning sense of -- the way he is, personality.
Martell is the best runner of the group, with a style of play similar to Johnny Manziel. His senior season, he ran for 1,251 yards and and 21 touchdowns, averaging 8.6 yards per carry.
“I think I’m pass first, run second," Martell said. "When plays break down, I think that’s when I can separate myself from different players and other quarterbacks. That’s one of my best attributes is when plays break down and when stuff isn’t normal, I can make something happen.”
“I’m not thinking about 12 months, I’m thinking about right now. I want to play."– Tate Martell
Martell's talent is clear, but having only been in the program for two months, he has nowhere near the experience as the other two.
"It's not Bishop Gorman, that's for sure," Barrett joked of Martell's performance in the first few practices. "I was like, you didn't have a Jalyn Holmes or a Sam Hubbard running at you, 6'5", 270. I was like, 'Man, they're going to blast you if you don't get out of there, man.'"
"He's getting better," Barrett continued. "I think he's starting to adjust to it. Because when you come in and you come in from high school, he was the big fish in a small pond and now he's a guppy in a big pond."
Still, Martell plans to give it everything he has in the spring and summer to try to earn that backup spot and see game action.
“I’m not thinking about 12 months, I’m thinking about right now," Martell said. "I want to play. I know that I’m just going to go out there and if I don’t play, that’s on me."
How it Stands
Right now, Burrow is the No. 2 quarterback, but Haskins and Martell are pushing him.
“I’d say Joe is ahead of them, but they’re both getting reps," Meyer said. "Tate had his best day the other day in the scrimmage, so it’s a good competition there and that brings out the best in people."
While a backup quarterback battle is far less intriguing than then starting quarterback battle of 2015, whoever earns the job is just one play away from being the starter.
"We all know what happened here a couple years ago when all of the sudden someone taps you on the shoulder and says ‘You’re the starter. Go beat Wisconsin in the Big Ten Championship Game,’ and they did it," Meyer said. "That position is a key guy and everybody appreciates that.”
Fans will get a chance to see all the quarterbacks play on April 15 when the Buckeyes host their annual spring game.
